Cougars ranked 24th in latest AP Top 25

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s basketball is ranked No. 24 is the latest Associated Press Top 25 released on Monday morning.

The Cougars (7-1) finished their three-game road trip 2-1 following a 74-68 victory over Missouri State on Saturday where Te’Jon Lucas and Alex Barcello combined for 38 points. They have now been ranked in three consecutive polls for the second time under third-year head coach Mark Pope.

Purdue (8-0) is the third different school in the past three weeks to be ranked first as the Boilermakers picked up all 61 first-place votes. Baylor (8-0) moved up two spots to second with Duke (7-1) in third, UCLA (8-1) in fourth and Gonzaga (7-2) in fifth. Villanova (6-2), Texas (6-1) and Kansas (6-1) all remained the same with Alabama (7-1) jumping seven spots to ninth while Kentucky (6-1) dropped a spot to 10th.

The Cougars return to the friendly confines of the Marriott Center on Wednesday against in-state rival Utah State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.