Where BYU, Utah State ranked in the final pre-tournament AP Top 25
BYU and Utah State may be going dancing this week, but not before landing in one final pre-madness AP Top 25 poll.
The Aggies checked in at No. 20 in the latest rankings, while the Cougars received the No. 21 spot.
Utah State earned 346 votes to place behind No. 19 Alabama. BYU earned 310 points from voters to stay ahead of Big 12 foe Texas Tech.
In addition to the Cougars, five Big 12 teams are listed in the rankings: No. 2 Houston, No. 4 Iowa State, No. 14 Baylor, No. 17 Kansas and No. 22 Texas Tech.
The Aggies were joined by only one other Mountain West program in the poll: No. 24 San Diego State. Conference tournament champion New Mexico was just four votes shy of claiming the poll’s final spot.
As for the advanced metrics, BYU is still an analytical darling with a No. 12 NET ranking and No. 16 spot in KenPom. Utah State ranks No. 38 and No. 48 in each, respectively.
The No. 6-seeded Cougars will take on No. 11 seed Duquesne out of the Atlantic 10 Thursday at 10:40 a.m. MDT in Omaha.
The Aggies, a No. 8 seed, will face TCU Friday in Indianapolis at 7:55 p.m. MDT. Utah State’s No. 8 seed is tied for the highest mark in program history.
