The Utah State Aggies have won 15 in a row — and they’re ranked No. 16 in the nation because of it.
USU moved up four spots in the Associated Press men’s basketball poll Monday.
The Aggies are coming off a wild 87-86 win over UNLV.
Trailing the Rebels on the road, Utah State needed a five-point play to extend its streak over the weekend. Guard Darius Brown II hit a 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds to play. Meanwhile, Aggie wing Great Osobor was fouled with the ball in the air. He hit both free throws, giving USU its only lead of the game.
The Aggies’ 15 consecutive wins are tied for the longest active streak in the country. USU will play at New Mexico on Tuesday night.
While the Aggies moved up, the Cougars fell in Monday’s poll.
BYU dropped two spots to No. 20 in the latest rankings.
The Cougars split their games last week, losing at now-No. 9 Baylor before notching their first Big 12 Conference win at Central Florida.
“Proud of our guys for fighting,” BYU head coach Mark Pope said after the 63-58 victory. “It’s a slugfest like we kind of expected coming in. We came away win and we’re so proud of that.”
In the women’s poll, the Ute dropped another spot to No. 20.
But head coach Lynne Roberts believes her team could be headed in the right direction after a much-needed win over Cal on Sunday.
The Utes cruised to a 93-56 win over the Bears, helping ease the sting of narrow defeats to Arizona and Stanford in recent days.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team,” Roberts said. “You know, the last two games against Arizona and then against Stanford have been really hard. But, [Saturday] when we met as a team for the first time since, I was so impressed with their fortitude and confidence to move forward. I think what you saw today was just a motivated, ticked off team that felt like we were starting to play to our potential.
“The rotations and benches through the last two games played really well, which is going to matter. The whole team contributed with all five starters in double figures. Just a great win, and a statement when after the last couple games have been so hard, proud of my team.”
The Utes were led by point guard Ines Vieira, who had 19 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds.
“What can you say about Ines? That was quite a game,” Roberts said. “It’s not very often you get a standing ovation when you come out. It’s never happened to me. She just did a tremendous job of leading the way, setting the tone, defending, and she took great shots, just playing at such a high level, and the team is feeding off of that.”
The Utes will need more of that as they prepare for tough tests this week against No. 6 USC and No. 5 UCLA.