UConn men’s basketball drops to No. 20 in AP Poll, No. 15 in NET

The UConn men’s basketball team checked in at No. 20 in the latest AP Top 25 poll, falling five spots from No. 5, which was its highest ranking since 2013. The Huskies went 1-1 in the last seven days — first, a tough road loss to West Virginia and a gritty bounce-back win against St. Bonaventure on Saturday in the Never Forget Classic.

Their KenPom ranking comes in at No. 22, down one spot from last week, while their NET —arguably the most important ranking metric for March seeding — is No. 15, down two spots from last week. UConn is one of 13 teams with adjusted offensive and defensive efficiencies in KenPom’s top 30.

It was still a successful week for the program, all things considered. Going .500 without two of its top three offensive threats in Tyrese Martin and Adama Sanogo is nothing to shake a fist at, especially when the loss was on the road against a team now receiving top 25 votes. Other teams out there simply had better weeks. Ohio State and Seton Hall, for example, leapfrogged the Huskies after going undefeated last week while undefeated LSU also snuck past.

All-in all, UConn wrapped up its non-conference schedule without any bad losses and could have conceivably won against Michigan State and West Virginia if the ball had bounced a different way. Michigan State checks in at No. 12, Auburn sits at No. 13 and with the Big East looking deeper than anticipated, there are plenty of opportunities for the Huskies to pad their resume going forward.

Rounding out the Big East’s top 25 representatives are Villanova (No. 9), Seton Hall (No. 16), and Xavier (No. 22), while two more received votes (Creighton, Providence). Husky fans should be salivating at Saturday’s conference home opener vs. Providence, especially the optimistic injury news re: Martin.