After a big win over No. 13 Gonzaga last Thursday, BYU Women’s Basketball is getting some love in both ESPN’s Bracketology and the AP Poll.
We wrote last week that the nation is finally starting to take note of BYU Women’s Basketball, as ESPN’s Bracketology had them as an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament.
A week later things look even better for the Cougars, after edging No. 13 Gonzaga on Thursday and using a late comeback to beat Portland on Saturday. Their winning streak now sits at 10 games.
The high-profile win over the Bulldogs was almost enough to help the Cougars crack the AP Top 25. In the latest poll released on Monday, BYU received 32 votes, which would rank them No. 26 if the poll extended past 25.
This week’s Coaches Poll will be released tomorrow, and it’s possible that the Cougars could find themselves in the Top 25 there. If so, it will be the first time that BYU enters either Top 25 since their Sweet Sixteen run in the 2013-14 season.
Even if they don’t fin themselves in tomorrow’s poll, they could end that drought next week with a little help. BYU only has one game this week, playing at San Diego on Saturday afternoon. If they can beat the Toreros and see a few teams just above them lose, there’s good shot they’ll find themselves ranked next Monday.
BYU’s Bracketology stock also rose, with the Cougars jumping up to a No. 9 seed in Monday’s updated predictions from ESPN’s Charlie Creme. He currently has BYU in that No. 9 spot in the Chicago regional, traveling to South Bend, Indiana to take on No. 8 seed DePaul.
Last week the Cougars were one of Creme’s “First Four In” as a No. 11 seed.