The UConn men’s basketball team enters the final week of the regular season at No. 4 in the AP Top 25 poll after a 2-0 week that included its eighth Quad 1 victory in 10 opportunities this season.
Bracketologists have UConn positioned to land the fourth No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament come Selection Sunday, which would place it as the top dog in the South Region with a potential rematch against Florida, the projected top No. 2 seed, should the last two national champions each make the Elite Eight in Houston.
The Huskies went 4-2 against teams ranked in Monday’s AP poll, including a win over the fifth-ranked Gators at Madison Square Garden in December. The top three remained the same as Duke, Arizona and Michigan, respectively, each started the day at 27-2 on the year. The Blue Devils, 12-2 in Quad 1 games, received 55 first place votes with the other four going to Arizona, which is 13-2 in Quad 1.
Iowa State, Houston, Michigan State, Nebraska and Texas Tech rounded out the top 10.
St. John’s came away from Wednesday’s embarrassing, 72-40 loss at the hands of the Huskies in Hartford with a slide to No. 18 as the Big East’s only other ranked team. The Johnnies responded with their own 32-point win over Villanova at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Villanova remained in the receiving votes category.
With one regular season game to play at Marquette, currently a Quad 2 opportunity, UConn is No. 8 in the NET rankings and No. 10 on KenPom, with the 20th-ranked offense and 11th-ranked defense in terms of efficiency.
Karaban, Reed earn Big East honors
UConn had two representatives on the Big East’s Weekly Honor Roll for the first time this season in Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr., who both played their final game in Connecticut on Saturday.
Karaban, the first active player inducted into UConn’s Huskies of Honor, averaged 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in a 2-0 week. The captain lifted the Huskies to a 71-67 win over Seton Hall on Saturday with a 23-point effort, which tied his season high, on 5-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. He had 14 points, five rebounds and two assists in the blowout win over St. John’s.
The main takeaway from the game against the Johnnies was the domination by Reed, who is proving to be the team’s X-factor down the stretch. The Huskies’ center had one of the best games of his life with 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, six blocks, and two steals against St. John’s. He followed that performance with 10 points and 11 rebounds – his eighth double-double of the season – in the win over the Pirates.
AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll: Week 17
Duke (55 first place votes)
Arizona (4)
Michigan
UConn
Florida
Iowa State
Houston
Michigan State
Nebraska
Texas Tech
Illinois
Gonzaga
Virginia
Kansas
Purdue
Alabama
North Carolina
St. John’s
Miami (OH)
Arkansas
Saint Mary’s
Miami (FL)
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Saint Louis
