The UConn men’s basketball team slipped three spots to No. 6 in Monday’s AP Top 25 rankings after seeing its 18-game winning streak snapped by St. John’s on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
Now 22-2 overall and 12-1 in conference play, the Huskies were jumped by Houston, which moved up to No. 3 after wins over UCF and BYU, and Iowa State, which came in at No. 5 after a narrow victory over Baylor. Duke stayed at No. 4 despite its loss on the road at North Carolina while Arizona and Michigan remained the top two teams in the nation. It was the fourth week in a row that Arizona was unanimously voted No. 1.
UConn is still top-10 in the NET rankings and on KenPom at No. 8, with the 27th-ranked offense and fifth-ranked defense in the nation. The Huskies have the third-best resumé in the country behind Michigan and Arizona, according to EvanMiya.com.
They are 4-2 against teams that were ranked in Monday’s poll, including wins over No. 8 Illinois, No. 9 Kansas, No. 14 Florida and No. 22 BYU. Arizona served as the only loss in nonconference play when the Huskies were without two starters in Tarris Reed Jr. and Braylon Mullins.
St. John’s moved up to No. 17 after its win on Friday to make for two Big East teams in the top 25 for the third week in a row while Villanova received votes.
Silas Demary Jr. earned a spot on the league’s honor roll after his “rollercoaster ride” of a performance on Friday with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and nine turnovers against the Johnnies. He averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.5 steals, and shot 65% from the field and 4-for-7 from 3 over the 1-1 week, which included a 32-point rout of Xavier.
It was the second week in a row and the third time this season that the Huskies’ point guard landed a spot on the league’s honor roll.
AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll: Week 14
Arizona (59 first place votes)
Michigan
Houston
Duke
Iowa State
UConn
Nebraska
Illinois
Kansas
Michigan State
North Carolina
Gonzaga
Purdue
Florida
Virginia
Texas Tech
St. John’s
Saint Louis
Vanderbilt
Clemson
Arkansas
BYU
Miami (OH)
Louisville
Kentucky
