After an up-and-down week last week in the middle of a wild seven day stretch across the top of college hoops, UConn men’s basketball fell down one spot to No. 6 in the latest AP Top 25. The 25-3 Huskies are coming off a surprising home loss to Creighton and a big road win over Villanova.
Seven of the top nine teams from last week’s poll moved multiple spots this week, including former No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Houston falling to No. 3 and N0. 5 respectively. Duke jumped up to the top spot from third,
while Arizona jumped to second from fourth.
St. John’s remains the only other Big East team ranked in the poll this week, checking in at No. 15 after knocking off Marquette in Milwaukee and Creighton at home. The 22-5 Red Storm have won 13-straight games after losing a heartbreaker to Providence in early January and have been playing their best basketball of the year in league play. Villanova is still the only other school in the conference to receive any votes, checking in as the third team out of the poll.
Arizona, UConn’s only non-conference loss of the season, defeated Houston on the road shorthanded to move back up into the Top 2 after a rough week last week. The Huskies have four wins this season against teams currently ranked in the poll in No. 7 Florida, No. 10 Illinois, No. 14 Kansas and No. 19 BYU.
The Huskies return to action this week on Wednesday as UConn hosts St. John’s in Hartford for perhaps the highest anticipated game at PeoplesBank Arena this season and one that will go a long way in deciding who wins the Big East regular season title. Then on Saturday, the Huskies host Seton Hall in Storrs for Senior Day.
Looking at NET rating, UConn stayed put at No. 10 from last Monday with the bad loss to the Bluejays offset by the big win over the Wildcats. The Huskies are one of four teams in the country with three or fewer losses and seven or more Quad One wins. Looking ahead to this next week, home against St. John’s, No. 23 in NET, is considered a Quad One opportunity while Seton Hall, No. 53 in NET, will be a Quad Two game. In terms of KenPom, UConn ranks No. 11 overall, No. 23 in offensive efficiency and No. 12 in defensive efficiency.
