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The top of the sport didn’t change much last week, but Dan Hurley and UConn appear to be back in business entering conference play.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 6 of the college basketball season and the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.
The University of Connecticut recovers
The University of Connecticut completely collapsed in Hawaii last month. The Huskies lost three straight games to unranked opponents at the Maui Invitational over Thanksgiving, sending head coach Dan Hurley into a fit of rage. He even threatened to never play in those types of events again after his struggles.
Now, that seems to be completely behind us.
The Huskies have won four straight, including a huge 77-71 victory over Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Freshman Liam McNeeley had 26 points and eight rebounds in that game, which was by far the best of his career.
That also came after wins over Baylor and Texas, and pushed them back to 8-3 when Big East play begins this week. As a result, UConn, which almost completely dropped out of the rankings after its skid in Hawaii, jumped seven spots to No. 11 in this week’s poll. Gonzaga, now with three losses on the season, fell to 13th place.
The top of the poll didn’t change much this week. Tennessee remained in first place after Jordan Gainey led them past Illinois on Saturday with a wild buzzer-beater along the way. That improved the Vols to 10-0 for the first time since the 1999-2000 campaign. Auburn edged out Richmond and Ohio State to stay at No. 2, and Iowa State took care of Iowa on Thursday before topping Omaha on Sunday to move to 9-1 and stay at No. 3.
Duke and Cooper Flagg earned a pair of double-digit wins last week, but fell one spot to No. 5. Kentucky fought a tough rivalry battle with Louisville to earn its third straight victory. The Wildcats traded with Duke to round out the top five. The first major move came with Marquette, which fell to unranked Dayton on the road Saturday. It marked the Golden Eagles’ second loss in three games and dropped them three spots to No. 9. The Flyers entered the poll this week at No. 22.
The hardest part of Hurley’s schedule is behind him. The Huskies will begin Big East play on Wednesday when they host Xavier before traveling to Butler this weekend. While conference play won’t be easy by any means, especially with Creighton and Marquette circling, this looks like an opportunity for the Huskies to finally settle back in. They also won’t watch any of those shows for at least a month. , which should help significantly.
Although it seemed like it might all be over, UConn’s quest for a third straight national championship is far from buried.
“Maybe the people with the shovels and the dirt, maybe they were too quick to grab the shovel and throw the dirt at us,” Hurley said after beating Texas. via NJ.com. “Maybe, we’ll see.”
Games to watch this week
*Neutral site game
Tuesday December 17
Clemson No. 25 in South Carolina | 7 pm Eastern Time | SEC Network
Wednesday, December 18
No. 14 Oklahoma at No. 24 Michigan | 9 pm ET | ESPN2
Friday December 20
Cincinnati No. 19 at Dayton No. 22 | 8:30 pm ET | ESPNU*
Saturday December 21
No. 16 Purdue at No. 2 Auburn | 4:30 pm ET | ESPN
AP Top 25
The complete Associated Press men’s basketball poll for December 16, 2024.
1.Tennessee (10-0)
2. Chestnut (8-1)
3. Iowa State (9-1)
4.Kentucky (10-1)
5. Duke (8-2)
6.Alabama (8-2)
7.Florida (10-0)
8. Kansas (8-2)
9. Marquette (9-2)
10. Oregon (10-1)
11. University of Connecticut (8-3)
12. Texas A&M (9-2)
13. Gonzaga (7-3)
14.Oklahoma (10-0)
15. Houston (6-3)
16. Purdue (8-3)
17. Old Miss (9-1)
18.UCLA (9-1)
19. Cincinnati (8-1)
20. Michigan State (8-2)
21. Memphis (8-2)
22. Dayton (9-2)
23. SDSU (7-2)
24. Michigan (8-2)
25. Clemson (9-2)
Others receiving votes: Mississippi State 158, Arkansas 151, Missouri 120, Baylor 115, Illinois 70, Drake 52, St. John’s 50, Utah State 48, Pittsburgh 28, Maryland 24, West Virginia 19, Wisconsin 18, Georgia 18 , Oklahoma State 16, Arizona State 14, Creighton 12, North Carolina 9, Pennsylvania State 8, Indiana 7, Texas 3, San Buenaventura 2