×
×
homepage logo
SUBSCRIBE

BYU women’s basketball enters Top 25, men’s hoops moves up to No. 12

By Daily Herald - | Nov 29, 2021

BYU's Paisley Harding prepares to throw the ball inbounds against No. 22 West Virginia in the St. Pete Showcase in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. (BYU Courtesy Photo)

After a 7-0 start and two top-25 wins, BYU women’s basketball entered the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2019 at No. 21 Monday.

BYU is off to its best start since the 2013-14 season when the Jeff Judkins led squad went 28-7 and made a run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Judkins has missed the last three games while quarantining for Covid-19, but assistant coach Lee Cummard has the Cougars 3-0 while filling in. BYU is coming off back-to-back wins over ranked teams in No. 17 Florida State and No. 22 West Virginia last week, winning the St. Pete Showcase.

The Cougars also defeated Mountain West Conference favorite Fresno State with an 80-64 win at the Marriott Center earlier this year. The team followed that win up with a 55-44 victory over Pac-12 foe Arizona State.

BYU is led by last year’s West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year, Shaylee Gonzales. Named the St. Pete Showcase MVP, Gonzales averages 18.9 points per game.

In addition to Gonzales, the Cougars also feature senior guard Paisley Harding, averaging 15.0 points and forward Lauren Gustin, averaging a double-double at 10.7 points and 10.7 rebounds.

BYU plays at Utah on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 5 p.m MST. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.

On the men’s side, BYU is ranked No. 12 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 released on Monday morning after remaining undefeated with wins over Texas Southern and Utah.

The Cougars jumped up six spots and are now ranked in the Top 15 in November for the first time since 1981. It is also their highest ranking since being No. 10 in the final poll of the 2010-11 season.

Duke (7-0) is the new No.1 with Purdue (6-0) in second and Gonzaga (6-1) in third. Baylor (7-0) is up two spots to No. 4 with UCLA (6-1) in fifth followed by Villanova (4-2), Texas (4-1), Kansas (5-1), Kentucky (5-1) and Arkansas (6-0). Arizona (6-0) is just ahead of the Cougars in 11thwith Tennessee (4-1) in 13th.

The Cougars continue their three-game road trip on Wednesday against Utah Valley. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the UCCU Center in Orem.

Newsletter

Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)