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BYU humble about national ranking |
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JaredLloyd | Friday, February 23, 2007, 5:22 pm
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Jason Franchuk
DAILY HERALD
BYU spent about three minutes Monday dissecting its first national men’s basketball ranking in nearly 14 years.
It was March 8, 1993, to be exact, that the Cougars were last mentioned in the two major polls. Now they’re 21st in the Associated Press (media) poll and No. 22 in the ESPN/USA Today (coaches) version that were released hours before the Cougars practiced.
Winning seven games in a row, plus a first-place standing in the Mountain West Conference, finally earned some national recognition for the 20-6 squad, which is 10-2 in league games.
Players, like head coach Dave Rose, took the news somewhat excitedly but with more than a dash of realism.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” sophomore Lee Cummard said. “But we know it can get taken away if we lose the next game. So that’s our focus.”
BYU held practice at the same time of afternoon as usual, despite the school holiday (Presidents’ Day). Rose used a portion of the half-hour film session to talk about topics besides the next opponent, which happens to be Colorado State on Wednesday at the Marriott Center.
The players had all presumably found out their ranking before practice, though information wasn’t the easiest to come by. E-mail was down around campus all day. Jimmy Balderson said he found out from teammate Mike Rose in a morning phone call.
“I thought he’d want to go play golf, but then I figured that wouldn’t happen (because of the snow),” he said. “Then I just thought he needed a ride. It was good ... nice to see that our hard work is being rewarded. The ranking resembles that. But I’m happier at our spot in league.”
Air Force is the MWC’s highest-ranked team, coming in at No. 14 in the AP poll and 13th in the coaches version.
That’s despite being one game behind BYU in the conference standings. The Falcons have been in the top 20 for seven consecutive weeks.
“It’s a reward for how hard the players have worked,” coach Rose said. “But it’s not a destination. I think it’s part of a process.”
With UNLV’s Top 25 ranking two weeks ago, this marks the first time in the conference’s eight-year history that three different teams have been ranked at some point during the season.
The Cougars have reason to stay focused, even though Colorado State looks like an easy target. The Rams have lost 6-of-7 since defeating BYU, 90-78, Jan. 20 in Fort Collins.
That defeat has also been talked about within BYU’s locker room. It was their last loss.
But there could be long-term gains to the ranking.
For one, there’s always talk it can help with recruiting. Name recognition matters, particularly within a conference which has struggled to get its names (and games) to the public because of a fledgling television network after ditching ESPN.
While no one around BYU is ready to talk NCAA tournament yet — four regular-season games remain, then the conference tournament — this newfound appreciation could pay dividends come seeding time.
The 10-member committee, when creating the 65-team bracket to be unveiled March 11, may make note of squads that were appraised with national rankings. Perception can often affect reality in these situations.
At their current ranking, the Cougars could theoretically be a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament next month — an almost unheard-of status for an MWC team. (A USA Today bracket had the Cougars and Air Force each at No. 4 slots).
That may be really simple math, done way too early. But there’s some historical significance to consider in the Cougars’ ranking.
It coincides with the last time the Cougars won an NCAA tournament game.
BYU’s previous appearance in the polls was at No. 25 in March of 1993 — with a team that finished 25-9, tied for the Western Athletic Conference championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Those Cougars, led by Gary Trost and Russell Larson, defeated SMU before losing to Kansas.
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