BYU Basketball Holds Steady in Lunardi Projection After Loss to Oklahoma State

On Tuesday, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi updated his NCAA Tournament projections. BYU, coming off a loss to last-place Oklahoma State, held stead as a

On Tuesday, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi updated his NCAA Tournament projections. BYU, coming off a loss to last-place Oklahoma State, held stead as a six-seed. In Lunardi's projection, BYU would play Texas A&M in the first round in Pittsburgh. The winner of BYU-Texas A&M would take on the winner of Duke-Charleston for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16.

Tuesday evening's contest against no. 11 Baylor is a critical game for Mark Pope and this BYU basketball program. With a win, BYU would add another great win to the resume and have the opportunity to start improving its seed in the NCAA tournament. With a loss, BYU would be on a two-game losing streak with two challenging road games at Kansas State and Kansas on deck.

BYU in the Polls

On Monday, the new AP poll for college basketball was released and BYU stayed in the top 25 for the 13th consecutive week. The Cougars, who are coming off a disappointing loss to last-place Oklahoma State, dropped six spots from no. 19 to no. 25. BYU has an opportunity for a bounce-back win on Tuesday night. BYU hosts no. 11 Baylor on Tuesday in the Marriott Center. BYU plays two games this week against Baylor and Kansas State.

BYU is one of six Big 12 teams in the AP top 25. They are joined by Houston (2), Iowa State (6), Kansas (9), Baylor (11), and Texas Tech (23). Now that Iowa State is in the top 10, BYU has a win over a top 10 team. BYU beat Iowa State convincingly last month.

It's also worth noting that San Diego State is back in the top 25 at no. 19. BYU beat the Aztecs earlier this year. San Diego State is BYU's second win over a top 25 team now that they're back in the top 25.

Below is the full AP top 25.

1. UConn
2. Houston
3. Purdue
4. Arizona
5. Tennessee
6. Iowa State
7. Marquette
8. Duke
9. Kansas
10. North Carolina
11. Baylor
12. Illinois
13. Alabama
14. Auburn
15. Creighton
16. Dayton
17. Kentucky
18. Saint Mary's
19. San Diego State
20. South Carolina
21. Washington State
22. Colorado State
23. Texas Tech
24. Florida
25. BYU

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