Week 19 AP Poll Predictions: BYU basketball enters top 20
The regular season wrapped up this past week and conference tournaments are well underway. The Big 12 Tournament will begin tomorrow, but we won’t see the Cougars in action until Thursday. Their stellar end to the season earned them a bye until the quarterfinals, they will likely have a rematch with Iowa State. We know they will be the 4-seed in the Big 12 tournament, but what could their AP ranking be?
The rest of the AP Poll is fairly straightforward, but some ranked matchups on Saturday will shake things up a bit. Previous No. 1 ranked Auburn will slide a little bit after losing both games this week, including a buzzer-beating loss to Alabama.
Several new teams enter the rankings this week, with Drake, Illinois, Oregon, and UC San Diego joining the ranks. Ole Miss re-enters after its big win over Tennessee.
After a huge week for a red-hot BYU basketball team, expect something a bit more significant than the two-spot jump they were beneficiaries of in the previous week. This team is capable of playing with the best teams in the nation, and the national respect they’re due may arrive today with the new round of rankings.
Here’s how the rankings may shake out on Monday.
AP Poll Top 25 Rankings Prediction
1. Duke
2. Houston
3. Florida
4. Alabama
5. Tennessee
6. St. John’s
7. Auburn
8. Michigan State
9. Texas Tech
10. Clemson
11. Maryland
12. Louisville
13. Memphis
14. Wisconsin
15. Iowa State
16. Kentucky
17. BYU
18. Texas A&M
19. Saint Mary’s
20. Missouri
21. Illinois
22. Drake
23. Oregon
24. UC San Diego
25. Ole Miss
