Where did BYU basketball rank in the AP’s Top 100 list?
The Associated Press released their list of the Top 100 college basketball programs. Where did BYU basketball fall?
The AP has put out their list of the Top 100 college basketball programs. The rankings are based on the consistency of the program (i.e. how many times the school has appeared in the AP poll). BYU basketball made the cut.
Where did the Cougars land?
No. 63.
Not too bad.
BYU basketball was ranked below Providence, Wichita State, Bradley, South Carolina, Xavier and San Francisco (among others). But the Cougars ranked better than Miami, Boston College, Baylor, Cal, and some other traditional basketball powerhouses.
The Cougars haven’t traditionally had stays in the AP Top 25 poll. In 2010 BYU began the season ranked No. 24. It was the first time in 30 years the Cougars had cracked the preseason AP poll.
BYU basketball’s success has primarily come under head coach Dave Rose and superstar Jimmer Fredette, but there were other eras where the Cougars were a force (the 80’s with Danny Ainge jump to mind).
BYU’s resume looks as follows:
Elite Eight berths: 3
Sweet 16 berths: 7
NCAA Tournament berths: 29
Conference Tournament Championships: 3
Regular Season Championships: 27
The Cougars finished with 129 points. One point was awarded for each poll appearance, two points for each No. 1 ranking. For a comparison, Kentucky was first in the poll, and the Wildcats had 1,111 points.
In-state rival Utah was No. 39 on the list. The Utes captured the 1944 NCAA title after defeating Dartmouth 42-40 and were the runners up in 1998.
For now, the Cougars ramp up towards the 2017-18 season. They’ll have 3-point marksman Zac Slejaas, but will likely be without Eric Mika.