The Utah women’s basketball team has spent the past several weeks showing up in the “other receiving votes” category in the Associated Press top 25 rankings, without being able to break into the polls.
On Monday, the Utes finally found themselves in the top 25.
Utah jumped to No. 22 in the latest edition of the AP top 25 rankings, one day after the Utes won a 75-67 thriller at Iowa State.
That was Utah’s seventh straight victory and keeps them unbeaten in Big 12 action, at 3-0.
Last week, the Utes (12-2, 3-0 Big 12) sat two spots outside of the top 25 in the AP rankings — now, they are ranked for the first time this season.
Monday’s rankings set up a top-25 matchup this week. No. 22 Utah will host No. 12 Kansas State on Wednesday at the Huntsman Center at 7 p.m. MST.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on 700 AM.
The Wildcats, who stayed put at the No. 12 spot in the polls, come into the matchup with a 15-1 record and a 3-0 start to conference play. Kansas State has won its three league games by an average of 18.7 points.
Utah’s seven-game win streak that vaulted them into the rankings began with a win over No. 3 Notre Dame two days after Thanksgiving.
Since then, the Utes beat Utah State in a rare Delta Center matchup, then won nonconference games against Princeton and Washington, two squads that are NCAA tournament contenders.
Following the end of nonconference play, the Utes beat former Pac-12 foe Arizona State in their first-ever Big 12 Conference game, then won on the road at Arizona before topping the Cyclones on Sunday.
There are currently four Big 12 teams in the AP top 25.
In addition to Utah and Kansas State, TCU is the league’s highest-ranked team at No. 11, while West Virginia comes in at No. 17.
The Utes will play at TCU on Jan. 17 and at West Virginia on Feb. 26.
