Uconn takes status as reigning NCAA champ, No. 1 in AP Top 25 into tough week of Big East play
A week full of upsets helped reigning national champion Connecticut push to its first No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll since 2009.
The Huskies' first week at the top won't be easy, either.
Uconn hosts No. 18 Creighton on Wednesday to headline the week's AP Top 25 national schedule, then visits Villanova — which has wins against currently ranked teams North Carolina, Texas Tech and Creighton — on Saturday.
Uconn (15-2) has won five straight since falling at Seton Hall, a game that saw 7-foot-2 sophomore Donovan Clingan go down to a foot injury. Coach Dan Hurley said after Sunday's win over Georgetown that Clingan is getting close to a return, saying he's not fighting symptoms from multiple days of workouts.
Clingan is averaging 13.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.
“The only way he's out there versus Creighton is if this thing continues to progress and we feel like he has had enough practice time,” Hurley said, adding that Clingan likely would see “spurts” off the bench when he first returns.
The Big 12 has a national-best eight teams in the AP Top 25, so the league dominates the slate of ranked-vs-ranked matchups for the week.
That includes No. 20 BYU, No. 24 Iowa State and No. 25 Texas Tech, in particular.
The Cyclones and Red Raiders are two of five new teams into this week's poll, and they each have two games against ranked opponents this week.
Iowa State visits BYU on Tuesday, then visits No. 19 TCU — a third new entrant to Monday's poll from the Big 12 — on Saturday. Texas Tech goes on the road to tussle with fifth-ranked Houston on Wednesday, then returns home to face BYU on Saturday.
No. 13 Auburn (14-2) has won nine straight games since falling at Appalachian State in early December, including a 3-0 start in the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers' week includes a visit from No. 22 Mississippi (15-1), with Chris Beard's Rebels having lost only to Tennessee this season.
No. 2 Purdue gets another shot at handling the test of playing on the road with a high ranking.
The Boilermakers lost last week at Nebraska to fall out of the No. 1 ranking for Monday's poll. Coming off a home win against Penn State, Purdue goes on the road Tuesday to face instate Big Ten foe Indiana then visits Iowa on Saturday.
Last week's line of upsets knocked five teams out of the poll, including Gonzaga for the first time since 2016 to end a 143-week streak of poll appearances.
While that group lingers just outside the Top 25, Seton Hall and Grand Canyon could be teams to watch going forward.
The Pirates (12-5) have home games against St. John's and Creighton this week to build some momentum toward potentially their first AP Top 25 appearance under second-year coach Shaheen Holloway.
As for the Antelopes (16-1), their only loss came against South Carolina in November and they've won 13 straight. They have a home game against Utah Valley and a trip to Seattle this week to stay unbeaten in the Western Athletic Conference.
Dalton Knecht scored a careerhigh 39 points and had eight rebounds to lead No. 6 Tennessee past Florida 85-66 on Tuesday.
Jonas Aidoo had 19 points and a team-high 10 rebounds to help the Volunteers (13-4, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) win their 12th straight at home.
“Anytime Jonas is aggressive and locked in, he's a major factor,” said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. “The guys are starting to understand each other where they need the ball.”
Knecht averaged 32 points in two games last week as he captured SEC Co-player of the Week honors.
“I'm just playing with confidence,” Knecht said. “It's a lot easier with my teammates. It's a lot of hard work. My teammates make it super easy.”
Knecht shot 13 of 23 overall including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers and made all nine of his free throws.
“He's been doing that to everybody,” said Florida coach Todd Golden. “He did a lot in transition and broken plays. We weren't good enough to protect the rim.”
The Gators (11-6, 1-3), who haven't won in Knoxville since 2014, were led by Walter Clayton Jr. with 16 points and Riley Kugel with 12. Tyrese Samuel had 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds and Zyon Pullin scored 11.
“I thought we got our opportunities at the rim,” Golden said. “We didn’t match their physicality. (The Vols) play with an edge at home.”
Florida was limited to 29% shooting from the field (20 of 68).
“They're an outstanding offensive team,” Barnes said of the Gators. “They're one of the fastest teams in the country. When you hold a team to 29%, you're doing a good job.”
Knecht hit 9 of 10 field goals — including three 3-pointers — and scored 22 points in the first half as Tennessee jumped to a 44-32 halftime lead. A 12-3 run midway through the half gave the Vols some breathing room. Kugel had 10 to lead the Gators in the half.
“We're just feeding off the crowd,” said Knecht. “It starts with our defense: Make a stop and score.”
Florida could not make up the deficit.
“You don't want to fall behind against this team,” Golden said. “They're very disciplined. They're not going to make mistakes.”
The game started two hours early because of dangerous weather conditions.
The loss to Tennessee started a stretch of tough games for the Gators. They will play what figures to be four more Quadrant 1 games, considered in the NCAA Evaluation Tool, over the next two weeks. Florida is 0-5 this season in Q1 games and 2-19 over the last two seasons.
The Vols are giving up eight more points a game (66.057.9) compared to last season, but they are scoring eight more points a game (78.7-70.8). The focus for Tennessee coach Rick Barnes has been consistency. The Vols have struggled with that all season and it continues to haunt them at different times.
The Gators have another road game Saturday night against Missouri.
The Vols will remain at home Saturday for a battle with Alabama.