Movin on up!

[Schmoe]

The Cougs are now #37 in the AP and #32 in the USA Today polls:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/rankings? ... asonType=2

That's a jump of three and seven spots respectively. Looks like people are noticing us early and it shouldn't be too long before we break into the top 25.

[Mars]

We're #37! We're #37!

[gmj81]

That poll came out on last Monday I believe so it's a little old already. Quite a few top 25 squads have already lost and BYU is now 3-0 with a respectable win against Bradley. I would expect BYU to be a fringe top 25 team tomorrow when the polls come out again. At the very least we'll be ranked by week 4 after we beat USU up in Logan but I wouldn't be surprised to see us crack the polls after week 3.

I really think though that this team has the potential to put up 30 wins this season. The schedule is really not that daunting. I think it's realistic, even generous, to predict a couple of losses each in conference and out. After the USU game we should have a good idea of who this team is and what they are capable of. The young'uns seem to be coming along quickly and we are as deep as ever. My only real concern is that Miles does not appear to have improved much in the offseason. He has been a complete non-factor through three games this year. It would be nice to have a quality big guy manning the middle but maybe having a center by committee will be sufficient. There don't really seem to be any formidable bigs on opposing squads this year.

So to recap, I realistically think the Cougs could go 28-4, dropping a few on off-nights, leading up to the conference and NCAA tourneys. But looking at the matchups, I can't really find one that doesn't favor the Cougars. Could they possibly go undefeated in the regular season? Dare to dream. I know the schedule is a bit weak this year, but an undefeated season and the MWC auto-bid (if they go undefeated, I don't think anyone could get hot enough in the MWC tourney to knock them off, even the Rebs) should be enough to secure maybe a #2 seed I would think, at worst a #3.

[Schmoe]

Whoa, whoa, isn't it a little early to talk about going undefeated and getting a BCS bowl berth...errrmm...oops!

[gmj81]

I know I know, it seems awfully early. But I just don't see where the losses would come from, except for the guys suffering a collective letdown. We are even deep enough to absorb a couple starters having an off-night in the same game. The whole team would have to suffer a meltdown to drop one. The conference appears to be down this year or at least not as good as last year anyway. And the only real challenges out of conference will be USU, ASU and Zona. None of them appear to have teams as good as last year either.

[Schmoe]

Cougars have moved up to #30 in the USA Today poll and dropped (somehow) to #39 in the AP:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/rankings

Many times the polls influence each other, so if we break into the top 25 in one, we'd probably show up in the other one the following week.

PS-I hate how there are teams with losses who are still ranked. If they're that good, they'll keep winning and earn their way back in, but drop them out after a loss this early.

[SpiffCoug]

Being ranked in bball means relevance. People will then check your scores. If you're not ranked then no one really checks. Ranked gets you mentioned and maybe even a highlight or two. The key is to get ranked and then win several games in a row after that to move up far enough that one loss won't drop you out. So BYU needs to get above 18 or so before the conference season begins.

[GolfDiveNCougs]

I hate how there are teams with losses who are still ranked. If they're that good, they'll keep winning and earn their way back in, but drop them out after a loss this early.

I hear what you're saying, and I agree with you to a certain extent, but I think that's part of the beauty of college basketball that's been BLUDGEONED out of college football (especially for non-BCS teams). BYU became ranked the season before last due more to how well we played North Carolina than the fact that we beat Louisville. Sure, there were undefeated teams with better records (duh) that early in the season, but everybody who saw us play could tell we WERE one of the 25 best teams in the nation with how well we played against two powerhouse programs. In basketball, I feel a lot better about one team being or staying ranked after losing a tight game to a powerhouse, than in football, seeing the powerhouses guarantee staying high in the polls by playing exclusively powderpuffs.

Plus, it helps that the rankings in College football don't really mean anything [EDIT: I meant basketball, but it IS true that they don't mean anything in football either, the people with the power just PRETEND that they do]. Like kitic said, it's always good to be relevant, especially for seeding discussions, etc, but at the end of the day, BYU can be the National Champion by ending the season on a 9-game winning streak, no MATTER how some poser VOTES for them!
Wow, why didn't the College Football brass think of that???

[craigoscarson]

I'd rather be ranked later in the season in hoops. No reason to make ourselves the target of an ambitious underdog.

IN 1987-88, BYU was #3 in the country and that week, #1 UNLV and #2 Temple lost. All BYU had to do was beat the University of Alabama-Burmingham (Jeff Chatmans hometown) and of course, we lost the game.

[SpiffCoug]

I don't think we need to go 17-0 and be #3. But I do think we need to be in the 18-21 range. We're going to be the target regardless of who we play because of who we are. But a ranking makes us relevant to the people matter - those on the selection committee. By being ranked the majority of the season it will help us come seeding time and help us in the eyes of those members to be worhty of a decently high seed (4 or 5).