NCAA Basketball: Gonzaga, BYU falls, and Virginia rises in latest top-25 power ranking

18. BYU Cougars – 8-1

Ahead of a massive road battle at its rival Utah, BYU could’ve overlooked last week’s earlier opponent in Evansville, one of the most improved programs in all of NCAA Basketball compared to a year ago. It didn’t matter once the game started, as the Cougars were up by 22 points at the halftime break and won 96-55 for another NET booster.

Jaxson Robinson, who leads the team in scoring and is the early favorite for Big 12 6th Man of the Year, led the team with 19 pts off the bench. He was one of five players in double figures, with guards Dallin Hall and Trevin Knell each with at least 10 pts and 5 asts.

The big game for the program was on Saturday, looking to give its heated rival Utah another defeat. But they struggled out the gate, down 14 points at the break. They did come back to make it a close game late with a chance to win it but came up short to lose 73-69. Robinson led the team again with 17 pts, while Spencer Johnson had 10 pts and 11 rebs. But the absence of Fousseyni Traore was felt, as the frontcourt collectively struggled against the Utes’ size.

BYU isn’t unbeaten anymore but they still can rack up more wins before they start their first-ever Big 12 slate. They next two opponents this week are Denver and Georgia State, foes that the Cougars should be able to handle easily.