USU jumps four spots in AP Poll, Osobor named POTW second time – Cache Valley Daily

Utah State forward Great Osobor (1) shoots over UNLV forward Kalib Boone (10) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

The recognition and awards keep rolling in for Utah State as it continues it’s stellar start to this season and still holds the longest active winning streak in the nation at 15 consecutive victories.

Following wins over Wyoming and UNLV, the Aggies jumped from 20th in last week’s AP Top 25 poll up to 16th this week. That ranking is the highest for USU since the Nov. 25, 2019 poll in which the Craig Smith-led Aggies were ranked 15th. The Aggies are ranked 17th in this week’s Coaches Poll.

Utah State’s rise was facilitated not only by its two wins, but by an unusual number of losses by Top 25 teams, especially to unranked ones. Fellow ranked Mountain West schools, Colorado State and San Diego State (ranked 17th and 19th, respectively), both lost this week. USU leapfrogged both of those teams along with BYU and Marquette (ranked 18th and 11th previously).

A major factor in USU’s two wins was the continued top-flight play of junior forward Great Osobor. He was named the Mountain West Player of the Week for a second week in a row. This week, Osobor scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games and averaged 11 rebounds between USU’s two wins. He scored 20 points with eight rebounds against Wyoming and then recorded a double-double with 24 points, 14 rebounds in the Aggies thriller at UNLV.

In four games of conference play, Osobor has scored at least 20 points in each outing and is averaging 24.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and is shooting 65.3 percent from the fields. All three of those averages lead the Mountain West. For all games this season, Osobor leads the Mountain West in seven different statistical categories, is second or third in 12 other categories, and top 10 in an additional 11.