BYU's Broader Support Secures No. 25 Ahead of Missouri

BYU takes the final ranked spot in the AP men's basketball preseason poll with 179 points, 12 ahead of Missouri, the highest-scoring team outside the Top 25. BYU appears on 40 of the 59 ballots; Missouri appears on 30.

Among the voters who included each team, Missouri receives the higher average placement. Its ranked-only average is 20.4 across 30 ballots, compared with BYU's 21.5 across 40. BYU's 10 additional appearances supply enough points to overcome that difference.

The October 19 result therefore turns on two parts of support: how many voters include a team and where those voters place it. Looking at either part alone leaves the 12-point cutoff unexplained.

More Appearances, Fewer Points per Appearance

AP gives 25 points for first place, 24 for second and one fewer per position through a single point for 25th. An omitted team receives no points. At the lower end of a ballot, even one additional appearance can contribute to the total while offering only a few points.

BYU's 179 points across its 40 included ballots amount to 4.475 points per appearance, equivalent to the unrounded average rank of 21.525. Missouri's 167 points across 30 included ballots amount to about 5.567 points per appearance, equivalent to an average rank of about 20.433.

Multiplying each unrounded points-per-appearance figure by its own inclusion count returns the official totals: 179 for BYU and 167 for Missouri. The two ranked-only averages describe different groups of voters. Missouri's average drops its 29 omissions from the calculation; BYU's drops 19.

BYU's placements run from 15th through 25th, while Missouri's run from 14th through 25th. Neither receives a top-10 vote. The difference in inclusion is wider: 67.8% of the panel lists BYU, compared with 50.8% listing Missouri.

BYU holds the final spot because more voters give it a place on their ballots. Missouri collects more points per appearance from a smaller group, but BYU gets enough additional ballots to finish ahead. The published cutoff rewards that larger base of inclusion even though Missouri's listed placements are stronger on average.