UConn finally makes its return

Editor’s note:

Herald sports reporter Steve Hewitt is a voter in the Associated Press college basketball Top 25 poll. Every week through the end of the season, he’ll write a column providing some analysis and thoughts from his poll.

Nothing in the world seems normal as we’ve entered 2021, but it’s starting to feel like old times in Storrs, Connecticut.

UConn is back in its rightful home of the Big East this season, and the Huskies are back in the rankings. When the new AP poll was released Monday, UConn had squeaked past Alabama to earn the No. 25 spot. It marks the first ranking for the Huskies since 2016, when they were ranked No. 18 to start the season before a loss to Wagner knocked them out and then a defeat to Bill Coen and Northeastern buried them and set the course for a dismal season.

These aren’t Jim Calhoun’s Huskies, but there’s a lot to be excited about at UConn. It wasn’t clear how long the rebuild would take when Dan Hurley took over the program in 2018, but he vowed to build a championship culture, one that he grew up watching. And though Big East championships might not be imminent — Villanova and Creighton are still in the Top 10 — they’re certainly closer in Hurley’s third season.

UConn, which I ranked 21st this week, has lost just once this season — an overtime home defeat by Creighton — but is otherwise unblemished with road wins over Marquette and Butler during a season that was temporarily paused due to COVID-19. The Huskies’ game against No. 3 Villanova this week that was postponed could have served as a barometer for where they are, but for now at least, they’re here to stay.

There wasn’t a ton of movement in this week’s poll, with Illinois being the biggest dropper after its loss to Maryland, falling from No. 7 to No. 16 in my poll. I said goodbye to Rutgers (previously 15) and Northwestern (previously 21) after its losses last week, and welcomed Louisville at No. 20 with its win over Virginia Tech and UCLA at No. 25 as the Bruins have continued a strong 9-2 start, including 5-0 in the Pac-12.