NCAA Basketball: Kansas rises, Duke, Kentucky, and Texas Tech fall in latest top-25 power ranking

16. BYU Cougars - 16-5 (4-4 Big 12)

After a win over Texas at home to end a two-game losing skid, BYU had to go on the road to take on West Virginia, a team that finally was fully equipped with the return of star big man Jesse Edwards. The Mountaineers, who already have wins over Kansas, Texas, and Cincinnati, have become a “spoiler” of sorts for the Big 12.

Making matters more difficult, the Cougars were without key big man, Aly Khalifa. He was out with flu-like symptoms and they were going to miss his elite passing ability. Yet it ultimately didn’t matter, as Fousseyni Traore stepped in to have his biggest game of the season, going for 24 points on 10/15 shooting in what ended up being an 86-73 road win.

Other key contributors in the road victory included Spencer Johnson (15 points), Jaxson Robinson (12), and Richie Saunders, who was second on the team with 17 points off the bench. The Cougars are not only back at .500 in league play but should now feel really good about its at-large hopes after originally being picked to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 in the preseason.

Up next for BYU is another road battle against an Oklahoma squad that’s had a rough past week. After that is a matchup with Kansas State at home, another Big 12 team that could use a win.