UConn men’s basketball moves up to No. 15 in AP Poll, ranks No. 13 in NET

UConn men’s basketball continues to rise up the AP Poll rankings this season. After coming in at No. 24 in the preseason poll, the Huskies (8-1) have continued to climb and are ranked at No. 15 this week after wins over Maryland- Eastern Shore and Grambling State.

Despite the jump up in rankings, it ends what was a tough week overall for the program. The Huskies looked sluggish and let Maryland- Eastern Shore hang around for far too long last Tuesday, but held on to get the win and not torch their NCAA tournament resume.

Later on, head coach Dan Hurley announced that star big man Adama Sanogo would miss extended time — initially three weeks or more — due to an abdominal injury suffered in Tuesday’s victory. While it seems like Sanogo’s injury may not be as bad as it was thought to be at first, it’s still a long time to go without one of the team’s best players as Big East play approaches.

The Huskies salvaged the week with a convincing win over Grambling State, finishing the extremely weak part of their non conference schedule unscathed. UConn joins Villanova (No. 6) and Seton Hall (No. 23) once again in the poll this week from the Big East. Xavier and St. Bonaventure — the Huskies’ opponent this Saturday in the Never Forget Tribute Classic — received votes.

With six quadrant four wins and a 1-1 record in quadrant one games — a win against then-No. 19 Auburn and the loss to Michigan State in the Bahamas, UConn is ranked No. 13 in the NCAA’s first NET rankings of the season. The Huskies will have an opportunity for another quadrant one win right away as they head to Morgantown, West Virginia on Tuesday night to take on West Virginia, which ranks No. 73 in NET. As of now, UConn’s neutral site tilt with St. Bonaventure on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey will be a quadrant two opportunity for the Huskies.