For the first time since the team disembarked for the Maui trip last season, UConn men’s basketball comes in at No. 2 in the AP Top 25. The 18-1 Huskies are coming off of a 2-0 week as they continue to
dominate in Big East play, knocking off then-No. 25 Seton Hall and Georgetown on the road. With Iowa State losing twice last week, the then-No. 2 Cyclones fell all the way down to No. 9, allowing the Huskies to jump to second.
With UConn defeating Seton Hall, it means that the Pirates dropped out of the ranking and that once again no other Big East schools are ranked. St. John’s is tied for the first team out of the poll with 64 votes and Villanova received three votes, signifying the only other schools in the conference to get at least one vote.
Arizona, UConn’s only loss of the season, remains at No. 1 after defeating UCF on the road over the weekend. The Huskies have four wins this season against teams currently ranked in the poll in No. 11 Illinois, No. 13 BYU, No. 16 Florida, and No. 19 Kansas. After both Florida and Kansas fell out of the ranking at one point, both are firmly in the Top 20 once again.
The Huskies return to action this week on Saturday, as UConn returns home to host Villanova after having its first bye of the season this week. The Huskies look to stay undefeated in Big East play and extend their winning streak overall to 15 games.
Looking at NET rating, UConn continues to remain at No. 8 despite the 2-0 record last week. The Huskies are one of 10 teams in the country with at least five Quad One victories this season. Looking ahead to this next week, Villanova, No. 32 in NET, is considered a Quad Two opportunity. It does have the potential to eventually jump to a Quad One, seeing the requirements for one is to be in the Top 30. In terms of KenPom, UConn ranks No. 11 overall being No. 35 in offensive efficiency and No. 6 in defensive efficiency.
