UConn men fall out of top 10 in latest AP poll

Adam Betz, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·2 min read

Jan. 16—The UConn men's basketball team's rise up the Associated Press top 25 poll during the first six weeks of the season was staggering to many pundits.

But the Huskies have been in another staggering trend of late, this time in the opposite direction.

Following two losses last week, UConn dropped nine positions to 15th in this week's poll, which was released Monday. The Huskies (15-4, 4-4 Big East) received 668 points.

The drop ends a seven-week stay in the top 10. The last time UConn was outside the top 10 was the week of Nov. 21 when it was ranked 20th.

The Huskies got as high as No. 2 and received as many as 21 first-place votes in that seven-week span.

But the team has hit stumbling blocks of late. It dropped from second to fourth the week of Jan. 2 and from fourth to sixth the week of Jan. 9.

UConn fell at Marquette, which moved up five spots to No. 20 this week, Wednesday before being handed its first loss at home this season by St. John's in an 85-74 defeat at the XL Center Sunday despite a career-high 31 points from sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins.

The Huskies have now lost four of their last five games and have dropped into a fifth-place tie with Seton Hall in the Big East standings.

UConn and the Pirates do battle Wednesday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. (FS1).

Houston (1,460 points, 34 first-place votes) was No. 1 for the second week in a row. Kansas (1,446, 23), Purdue (1,382, 3) and Alabama (1,347) maintained their second, third and fourth positions. UCLA (1,237) moved up two spots to fifth.

Xavier (1,047 points), which handed UConn its first loss Dec. 31, was the highest ranked Big East team at No. 8. Marquette had 306 points while Providence (262) dropped three spots to 22nd following its loss at Creighton Saturday. The Bluejays (9) were in the "others receiving votes" section of the poll.

The Big 12 led all conferences with six teams represented in the top 25, including five in the top 14. The SEC and the Big East were next with four teams each while the ACC had three teams.

For coverage of UConn football and men's basketball as well as area high school and local youth sports, follow Adam Betz on Twitter: @AdBetz1, Facebook: Adam Betz — Sports Writer, and Instagram: @AdBetzJI.