Huskies have held their own so far
A double-overtime win over a Top 25 team. A tough loss to a likely soon-to-be Top 25 team. An ugly win over a defense-oriented opponent. A third-place finish.
UConn’s trip to the Battle 4 Atlantis may not have ended in the championship game against Baylor, Dan Hurley and his players’ stated goal. It may have revealed some weaknesses with the 22nd-ranked – consistent outside shooting, ability to break a press, etc.
But ultimately, it wasn’t all that bad.
“I’ll take this trip,” Hurley grudgingly admitted when it was all over.
Indeed, while fans may have wanted and expected more, think about this right now: Would you rather be a fan of No. 4 Kansas, which lost to Dayton last week? Or No. 10 Alabama, which lost to Iona (which, granted, is coached by Rick Pitino)? Or No. 18 St. Bonaventure, UConn’s Dec. 11 oppo
nent in the Never Forget Tribute Classic, which lost at home to Northern Iowa? Or Syracuse, which recently gave up 100 points in a home loss to Colgate?
(OK, we already know you wouldn’t want to be Syracuse fans).
How about No. 9 Memphis, which got rocked at home by unranked Iowa State? Or No. 14 Illinois, which got punched in the mouth by unranked Cincinnati?
We could go on and on. Point is, there is remarkable parity in men’s college basketball. The separation between the top teams and the mid-majors isn’t what it once was. The one-anddone departures, combined with the transfer market and extra year of eligibility, has made college basketball players older overall this season. It’s great that Memphis has two of the toprated 2021 recruits in its starting lineup. Jalen Duren is 18 and Emoni Bates is 17. They looked it in that ugly loss to Iowa State.
UConn (6-1) has essentially held serve so far this season. The Huskies destroyed the low-majors the way they were supposed to. They split a pair of battles against top-level teams. They out-uglied and ugly opponent. Two more awful cupcakes (Maryland-Eastern Shore, Grambling State) await this week before things get really difficult — at West Virginia (Dec. 8), vs. St. Bonny’s (Dec. 11 in Newark, N.J.) and then the 20-game Big East schedule.
In fact, UConn could find itself moving up when this week’s AP Top 25 rankings are revealed on Monday at noon. Twelve of the current Top 25 teams lost last week. Some were ugly. In truth, there are about 35 or 40 teams that are legitimately worth a vote this week.
But there’s only room for
25. And UConn will be one of them.
Here’s our ballot this week:
1. Purdue: The Big Ten may be overrated, but the Boilermakers aren’t
2. Duke: There’s a joke somewhere involving Paolo Banchero, Michael Saravino ...
3. Gonzaga: ... and Mark Few, but I’m not going near it.
4. Baylor: After a Battle 4 Atlantis title, are the national champs better this year?
5. UCLA: Bruins aren’t showing that Mick Cronin toughness.
6. Texas: Only loss is to Gonzaga
7. BYU: Big win at Utah on Saturday.
8. Kansas: After loss to Dayton, Jayhawks rebound vs. Rick Pitino’s Iona
9. Villanova: Justin Moore has emerged as big-time scorer.
10. Florida: Gators have wins over Florida State, Ohio State, Cal
11. Arizona: Tommy Lloyd happy with players Sean Miller left him
12. Tennessee: Definitely an SEC title contender.
13. Michigan State: Did Spartans enlist ref Gary Maxwell for that win vs. UConn?
14. Indiana: Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 43 vs. Marshall on Saturday.
15. Arkansas: Transfer U has looked pretty good so far.
16. Wisconsin: Badgers win Maui Invitational ... in Vegas.
17. Houston: Old pal Josh Carlton averaging 6.2 points, 2.8 boards off bench
18. UConn: Huskies’ non-league slate got a little worse with Bonnies’ loss
19. Auburn: Don’t forget, Tigers still without their best player, Allen Flanigan.
21. Seton Hall: 7-foot-2 Ike Obiagu is a shot-blocking force.
22. St. Bonaventure: Bonnies got just 8 bench minutes in home loss to Northern Iowa
23. Alabama: Nate Oats’ love affair with analytics is getting annoying
24. Iowa State: Picked last in Big 12, Cyclones beat two ranked teams last week
25. Marquette: Shaka Smart’s pressure ‘D’ could be problem for UConn Dec. 21