MBB remains at 24th, WBB drops two spots in latest AP polls
The latest Associated Press polls each showed love to the Connecticut Huskies on Valentine’s Day.
Though both the men’s and women’s programs endured tough losses in the last cycle, the Huskies still appear in both rankings. The former remains in the 24th slot after falling to previous No. 25 Xavier last Friday night, while the women dropped two spots after their conference winning streak ended against Villanova last Wednesday. They are still ranked 10th in the nation as the late stages of the regular season commence.
Last week put the UConn men (17-7, 8-5 Big East) on a bit of a rollercoaster: their 72-69 loss in Cincinnati was immediately preceded by an 80-72 triumph over formerly No. 18 Marquette in Hartford three nights prior that earned a season sweep of the Golden Eagles. Forced into another road game less than 48 hours after the Xavier loss, the Huskies then earned a 63-60 win over St. John’s on Sunday afternoon in Manhattan.
For his efforts in the eventful week, Tyrese Martin was named to the conference’s weekly honor roll. The senior’s activities were headlined by a double-double effort in the win over Marquette (18 points, season-high 15 rebounds) and he later led the team in scoring with 17 in the weekend win over the Red Storm.
The men’s 8-5 record in Big East play situates the Huskies in a third-place tie with Creighton. Though the Bluejays own the third seed on the current conference tournament bracket, UConn is a current holder of one of the five first-round byes offered at Madison Square Garden. The Huskies are also one of only three Big East teams to appear in the latest men’s poll after both Maquette and Xavier dropped out. Conference leader and eighth-ranked Providence will host No. 10 Villanova in a battle for first place on Tuesday night.
On the women’s side, the Huskies (17-5, 11-1 Big East) saw a 169-game winning streak against conference competition end with a 72-69 loss to the Wildcats but they got back on track with an 84-60 home win over DePaul on Friday before holding off a tough challenge from Marquette on Sunday day afternoon. Behind a united, complete effort from Azzi Fudd and Dorka Juhasz, the Huskies used a 16-point fourth quarter advantage to take a 72-58 win in Milwaukee to close the week out.
Further injuries forced the Huskies to work through this week without Caroline Ducharme (head) and Olivia Nelson-Ododa (groin). The freshman Fudd picked up the slack, scoring 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting (4-of-6 from three-point range) in the win over Marquette and earned a young career-best 29 in the Wednesday loss to Villanova. Fudd was likewise named to the conference honor roll in recognition.
UConn remains the only Big East team to appear in the weekly women’s poll, though Villanova (5) and DePaul (2) each received votes. The Huskies remain in control of their destiny when it comes to the conference’s regular season championship, currently up by a half-game on Creighton (who has played five more conference games).
Connecticut basketball returns to action on Wednesday when the Huskies’ men open a three-game homestand against Seton Hall in Storrs (8:30 p.m. ET, CBSSN). The women’s group resumes play on Friday in Cincinnati against Xavier (7 p.m. ET, SNY).
South Carolina unanimously topped the women’s poll for the second straight week with Stanford and Louisville rounding out an unchanged top three. Gonzaga usurped Auburn for the top spot in the men’s group after the new-runner up dropped an 80-76 decision to Arkansas on Wednesday.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
