Men's Basketball: Despite Maryland Loss, UConn Moves Up to No. 25 in AP Poll

Despite being outclassed by Maryland at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night, the UConn men's basketball team moved back into the top 25 in the Associated Press Poll this week, checking in at No. 25.

UConn fell out of the top 25 after the Battle 4 Atlantis, dropping to 26th in voting for the two weeks since.

The Huskies (6-3) trailed by as much as 20 against Maryland in the Jimmy V Classic before mounting a comeback bid that fell short in a 76-66 defeat. UConn rebounded Saturday to thrash Ohio State 75-55 at Gampel Pavilion. The game was tied for the first 12 seconds before UConn took the lead and went wire to wire for the win. UConn has now defeated two power conference teams in four tries. The Huskies beat Michigan before falling to Syracuse and Maryland.

UConn is one of three American Athletic Conference teams in the top 25 this week. SMU (7-0) and Cincinnati (8-2) have consistently ranked among the nation's best all season.

Houston (6-1) earned one vote in this week's poll. The Cougars started the season 5-0 before going on the road and losing to a tough Rhode Island squad. Kelvin Sampson's team returned home to beat LSU in overtime Sunday afternoon.

SMU and Cincinnati are UConn's only future opponents in this week's poll, but Houston, Georgetown and Texas all received votes. Maryland is the only past opponent to make the cut, remaining at No. 6. UConn's other two losses, Syracuse and Gonzaga, were both on a few ballots.

How They Voted

• Dave Borges (UConn beat writer, New Haven Register): Unranked
• Seth Davis (CBS-Sports Illustrated): 20
• Dana O'Neil (ESPN): Unranked
• Dick Vitale (ESPN): Unranked
• Laura Keeley (Duke beat writer, The News & Observer): 24
• Rick Bozich (WDRB): Unranked
• Jon Rothstein (CBS): Unranked
• Aaron Brenner (Clemson beat writer, the Post and Courier): Unranked
• Zac Boyer (The Washington Times): Unranked
• Chuck McGill (Sports Editor, Charleston (W. Va.) Gazzette-Mail): Unranked
• Jay Drew (BYU beat writer, The Salt Lake Tribune): Unranked
• Christian Caple (Washington beat writer, Tacoma News Tribune): 24
• Bob Sutton (Sports Editor, Burlington (N.C.) Times-News): 22

The full poll is listed below.

Associated Press Poll, Dec. 14, 2015

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS
1	Michigan State Spartans (64)	11-0	1,621
2	Kansas Jayhawks (1)	8-1	1,499
3	Oklahoma Sooners	7-0	1,409
4	Kentucky Wildcats	9-1	1,385
5	Iowa State Cyclones	9-0	1,370
6	Maryland Terrapins	9-1	1,353
7	Duke Blue Devils	8-1	1,271
8	Virginia Cavaliers	8-1	1,132
9	Purdue Boilermakers	11-0	1,082
10	Xavier Musketeers	10-0	1,062
11	North Carolina Tar Heels	7-2	1,023
12	Villanova Wildcats	8-1	865
13	Arizona Wildcats	9-1	860
14	Providence Friars	10-1	724
15	Miami-Florida Hurricanes	8-1	622
16	Baylor Bears	7-1	605
17	Butler Bulldogs	8-1	562
18	SMU Mustangs	7-0	560
19	Louisville Cardinals	7-1	534
20	West Virginia Mountaineers	8-1	466
21	George Washington Colonials	9-1	256
22	UCLA Bruins	7-3	213
23	Cincinnati Bearcats	8-2	197
24	Texas A&M Aggies	8-2	152
25	Connecticut Huskies	6-3	47
Also Receiving Votes: Gonzaga 44, South Carolina 42, Oregon 37, Colorado 21, Vanderbilt 18, Wichita St 17, Arkansas-Little Rock 14, Dayton 14, Pittsburgh 12, Georgetown 8, Utah 7, Texas 4, Notre Dame 4, Syracuse 3, Northwestern 3, Iowa 3, Marquette 1, Army 1, Houston 1, Florida 1
Dropped Out: Gonzaga 20, Vanderbilt 21, Oregon 24, Utah 25