Polls: WBB still 10th, MBB up three spots as vital stretches loom
As each side prepares to embark on vital stretches of their respective schedules, both the men’s and women’s sides of the University of Connecticut basketball program received some encouragement from the latest edition of the Associated Press’ respective polls released on Monday.
The Huskies’ women team (13-4, 8-0 Big East) is situated in the 10th slot for the second straight week, ensuring that their Sunday afternoon showdown with No. 7 Tennessee is a battle of top ten teams. Meanwhile, the men’s side (15-4, 6-2 Big East) moved up three spots to No. 17, where they’ll reside for their matchups against Creighton on Monday evening (6:30 p.m. ET, FS1) and Saturday’s tilt against No. 12 Villanova. Following the game against the Bluejays, UConn will face three straight teams ranked in the latest top 25, joined by No. 24 Marquette and No. 21 Xavier on Feb. 8 and 11 respectively.
Prior to the Volunteers’ visit to Hartford, the UConn women will battle Creighton on the road on Wednesday night (7:30 p.m. ET, SNY) before welcoming Butler to Storrs on Friday. The Bluejays, currently tied for second in the Big East, earned a single vote in this week’s edition and played the Huskies to a 63-55 decision on Jan. 9. UConn faced the other runner-up, DePaul, last Wednesday in Chicago, taking a rescheduled thriller by an 80-78 final thanks to Caroline Ducharme’s banked winner. It was part of a road sweep in the last polling cycle, as the Huskies also topped Providence 69-61 on Sunday night.
For her road efforts, senior Christyn Williams appeared on the Big East’s weekly honor roll. Williams returned from a three-game absence induced by COVID-19 protocols and averaged 18 points and 4.5 rebounds in the wins. Wednesday opponent Aneesah Morrow made Big East history by securing her third sweep of the conference’s Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors, becoming the first player to do so. DePaul received 14 votes in this week’s poll, 46 behind last qualifier Kansas State.
Back on the men’s side, the Huskies moved up in the polls thanks to the continuation of their active five-game winning streak, matching their season-best originally set at the start of the season. Last week saw them convincingly top Georgetown 96-73 before taking a gritty 57-50 decision from DePaul. R.J. Cole repped the squad on the weekly honor roll, thanks mostly to a 25-point effort against the Blue Demons on Saturday night.
Auburn and South Carolina retained their respective spots at the top of the AP’s men’s and women’s polls. UConn is responsible for dealing the former its only loss of the 2021-22 season, while the Gamecocks bested the Huskies in the Battle 4 Atlantis’ finale back in November. A rematch was scheduled for last Thursday in Columbia but was canceled due to SEC schedule adjustments.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
