The UConn men dropped one spot to No. 5 in this week’s AP poll after coming just a last-second shot away from beating Kansas, now No. 2, on the road Friday.
The top five was reshuffled again this week after former top-ranked Purdue lost to Northwestern for the second time in as many seasons and then-No. 3 Marquette lost its rivalry game against Wisconsin.
It is UConn’s fourth consecutive week ranked in the top five.
Takeaways from UConn’s loss at Kansas, a top five matchup that lived up to the hype
Unbeaten Arizona (7-0) is No. 1 this week and Kansas moved into the No. 2 spot with its win over the Huskies in the battle of the last two national champions. Houston (8-0) moved up to No. 3 and Purdue dropped three spots to No. 4. Marquette, after suffering its second loss of the season, dropped to No. 8. Creighton, No. 10, makes three Big East teams in the top 10.
Tristen Newton was selected to the Big East honor roll for the third consecutive week after his 31-point performance that nearly lifted the Huskies over Kansas on the road. He averaged 24 points, eight rebounds and 4.5 assists over the week which also includes Monday’s 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists against New Hampshire. Newton responded to an 0-for-5 shooting night against the Wildcats by making 6 of 9 from deep in Allen Fieldhouse.
Newton leads UConn in points (17.5), rebounds (7.9) and assists per game (6.3) since the start of the season and his 37.5% 3-point shooting is second only to Cam Spencer (43.4%).
UConn returns to Madison Square Garden to face No. 9 North Carolina on Tuesday and will fly out to Seattle next week for a matchup with No. 7 Gonzaga. Texas, which UConn beat 81-71 at MSG on Nov. 20, moved up to No. 12 in the AP poll this week.
Big names, title-worthy tests: A look at UConn men’s basketball history vs. North Carolina