Cougars Ranked in AP and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Polls

PROVO -- BYU men’s basketball entered the national rankings for the first time this season on Monday, Jan. 4, at No. 25 in the AP Top 25 Poll and No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll.

The Cougars are 14-1 this season and have won their last nine games. This marks the fourth-consecutive season in which BYU has appeared in the rankings, the longest such streak in program history. The Cougars were ranked in three-straight seasons on three occasions, from 1964 to 1967, 1970 to 1973 and 1980 to 1982.

BYU head coach Dave Rose (111-35, .760 in his fifth season) is now second all-time at BYU having coached four teams into the rankings. Stan Watts leads the list with eight teams while Frank Arnold is second with three.

The Cougars will look to defend their ranking when they open Mountain West Conference play on Wednesday against UNLV at 8 p.m. MST in the Marriott Center. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.

AP Top 25 (1/4/10)

1. Kansas (56)

2. Texas (8)

3. Kentucky (1)

4. Purdue

5. Duke

6. Villanova

7. Syracuse

8. West Virginia

9. North Carolina

10. Michigan State

11. Kansas State

12. Georgetown

13. Connecticut

14. Mississippi

15. New Mexico

16. Tennessee

17. Wisconsin

18. Florida State

19. Gonzaga

20. Georgia Tech

21. Temple

22. Texas Tech

23. Pittsburgh

24. Washington

25. BYU

Others Receiving Votes: Clemson 139, Texas A&M 86, Cincinnati 76, Florida 75, Baylor 73, Miami (FL) 70, Rhode Island 52, USC 46, Dayton 45, Ohio State 42, Wake Forest 42, William & Mary 37, Northern Iowa 35, UAB 29, Mississippi State 26, Virginia Tech 20, Oklahoma State 16, California 15, UNLV 12, Cornell 9, Butler 6, Virginia Commonwealth 5, Oregon 4, Minnesota 3, Vanderbilt 1.

ESPN/USA Today (1/4/10)

1. Kansas (30)

2. Texas (1)

3. Kentucky

4. Purdue

5. Duke

6. Villanova

7. Syracuse

8. West Virginia

9. North Carolina

10. Kansas State

11. Michigan State

12. Georgetown

13. Connecticut

14. New Mexico

15. Tennessee

16. Mississippi

17. Georgia Tech

18. Gonzaga

19. Florida State

20. Wisconsin

21. Clemson

22. Washington

23. BYU

24. Butler

25. Temple

Others Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh 50, Texas Tech 42, Ohio State 41, UNLV 39, Wake Forest 36, Northern Iowa 35, Baylor 26, Florida 24, Cincinnati 19, William & Mary 19, Saint Mary’s 16, Cornell 15, California 13, Texas A&M 12, Rhode Island 9, UAB 9, Virginia Tech 9, Oklahoma State 8, Dayton 7, USC 7, Mississippi State 2.

BYU in the Rankings
Year     Highest Rank   Coach
1950-51       11        Stan Watts
1953-54       19        Stan Watts
1955-56        5        Stan Watts
1964-65        9        Stan Watts
1965-66        6        Stan Watts
1966-67        7        Stan Watts
1970-71       20        Stan Watts
1971-72        6        Stan Watts
1972-73       12        Glen Potter
1979-80       12        Frank Arnold
1980-81       15        Frank Arnold
1981-82       15        Frank Arnold
1987-88        3        Ladell Andersen
1992-93       21        Roger Reid
2006-07       21        Dave Rose
2007-08       20        Dave Rose
2008-09       25        Dave Rose
2009-10       25        Dave Rose