AP Poll Feb 10th - Unranked

[HuskyHawk]

Why does this AP Poll show us at #24? I'll be honest, there's no meaningful difference in teams from 15-30.

USA Today Men's Top 25 Poll

The USA TODAY Sports Top 25 men’s basketball poll, with team’s RECORDS THROUGH SUNDAY in parentheses, total points based on 25 for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in last week’s poll and first-place votes received.

apnews.com

 

[RuffRuff]

I see those guys as secondary ball handlers with a healthy Hass, but u use what u got.

Hurley needs to get creative - running it out there the way he has ain’t gonna do much this year. Overly relying on a season long GTD PG isn’t the solution. Find a way to create matchup problems, something that nets an advantage.

 

[Hunt for 7]

It's amazing the margin of error between being ranked high, ranked low and unranked.

Just about all our losses could have gone the other way. But when you consider the eye test and results our trajectory has been downward, and another loss, this time with McNeeley back, albeit with rust, apparently sealed our fate. And you can add the reported PG issues as a contributing factor for the voters.

As posted recently, I don't remember a UConn team that fits the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde description. One stretch in the first half they looked like a top 10 team. Then the wheels fell off where they looked more like an unranked and defeated team.

Interesting that Marquette is in the throws of a 3 game losing streak that included a loss at home to UConn, at SJU and at Creighton they dropped a lot but not out of the top 25. They usually only drop a program so far, but it shows how the polls have a measure of subjectivity.

Not to muddy this thread, but it seems our 2025 postseason destiny is likely tied to the mistep of failing to add a more appropriate cultural and skill fit for the PG position and what creative adjustments that the staff can deploy to offset that. Most of us remember the adjustment the staff did in 2023 using Ajax as a point forward right in the middle of the D. Can the staff apply some sort of wrinkle and give Diarra some time off to get healthy while getting some Ws till he returns? Regardless if they can rest him or not, they need to figure something out and hope Alex gets back on track. More close losses are not going to help our cause.

Even with Diarra healthy we needed another guard. Also your other guard should be closer to your second best ball handler than your fourth best ball handler. We missed on the guards this year it is what it is. We can still win and make some noise and a run to the second weekend but Liam is going to have to play like an all American and AK is going to have to hit threes at his previous rate. Those two things have to happen for this team to compete with the top teams.

Every team has gotten better since November, us not so much.

 

[HooperScooper]

Why does this AP Poll show us at #24? I'll be honest, there's no meaningful difference in teams from 15-30.

USA Today Men's Top 25 Poll

The USA TODAY Sports Top 25 men’s basketball poll, with team’s RECORDS THROUGH SUNDAY in parentheses, total points based on 25 for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in last week’s poll and first-place votes received.

apnews.com

That’s the USA Today Coaches Poll, not the AP media poll.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Why do u listen to them? I can’t believe how bad sports radio has become in ny

I grew up listening to wfan and have never stopped. I live in Nashville and the callers from NYC area speak my language. It feels like a shot of red gravy in a sea of whatever they call gravy down here.
Nothing is more entertaining than some 60 year old dude from Yonkers propose a 'Gleyber Torres for Teoscar Hernandez + Will Smith' trade. You don't get talk like that outside of the tristate area.

 

[CTBasketball]

I grew up listening to wfan and have never stopped. I live in Nashville and the callers from NYC area speak my language. It feels like a shot of red gravy in a sea of whatever they call gravy down here.
Nothing is more entertaining than some 60 year old dude from Yonkers propose a 'Gleyber Torres for Teoscar Hernandez + Will Smith' trade. You don't get talk like that outside of the tristate area.

I call in sometimes just to piss Don La Greca off.

 

[HuskyHawk]

That’s the coaches poll, not the AP poll.

Ah weird because it's AP reporting it.

 

[gsmooth]

Why does this AP Poll show us at #24? I'll be honest, there's no meaningful difference in teams from 15-30.

USA Today Men's Top 25 Poll

The USA TODAY Sports Top 25 men’s basketball poll, with team’s RECORDS THROUGH SUNDAY in parentheses, total points based on 25 for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in last week’s poll and first-place votes received.

apnews.com

Rankings are publicity for the program, but I am less concerned about the rankings since they are so subjective and more concerned with how UConn plays going forward and how they overcome their PG issue.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Listening to WFAN this morning, they are calling this st johns win the "beatdown in storrs"
Now unranked. Nobody is talking about us anymore.
We want fuel?
There it is.

lol.

Hoops hasn’t performed enough. Right now, 7 seed. Let’s see if the Huskies can reorient and make a run at a 4 seed.

 

[oshkosh]

The season’s over
/s

 

[RuffRuff]

Even with Diarra healthy we needed another guard. Also your other guard should be closer to your second best ball handler than your fourth best ball handler. We missed on the guards this year it is what it is. We can still win and make some noise and a run to the second weekend but Liam is going to have to play like an all American and AK is going to have to hit threes at his previous rate. Those two things have to happen for this team to compete with the top teams.

Every team has gotten better since November, us not so much.

My take on trying to right this season is this:

1) Start using Tarris on offense as a focal point. Let him play. As well as SJ has played lately, his limitations are his limitations. Give Tarris some consistency in how he's used. Build an offense that get's it into him early as one of the primary options when the shot clock is near 10 seconds. Get him engaged and keep him engaged. The guy is easily our most imposing athlete on the floor, and it's not close. He's not perfect, and can make mistakes, but let him work through it. Use him, create a "tougher" team. Make teams game plan for him. No one is game planning for Samson.

Tarris at 30mpg would be a 15/11/2.5 blocks a game guy. That's top of the league stuff and smokes a guy like Ejifor, better than Sorber and not even that far off Kalk, who is getting 33 minutes/game, and 19/8/2.6. He's easily the most prolific rebounder in the Big East. Yet he's coming off the bench.

2) Find an alternative to Hassan at PG that isn't Mahaney. Drop the AM experiment once and for all and use him as a breather as needed. Whether that's getting Nowell meaningful run once and for all, or finding a "point forward rotation" in a big lineup (based on matchup), that includes Ross or McNeeley. Create a bigger, tougher team.

3) Put AK back in his role as a second option, where he's comfortable. 100% kill the over abundance of him putting the ball on the floor, as it's a disaster waiting to happen. We don't need any more head down drives - just stop it. No mas. Make Liam & Solo & Tarris primary options, AK's looks a result of defenses focusing on them.

One of the biggest frustrations with this team is that they feel like cupcakes out there. Between AK being a headcase, our defense being a turnstile, Mahaney always looking scared, our guys now always seemingly banged up. Get bigger, get tougher. Don't put players in there that the other teams shed their fangs for. The true "tough" qualities we have are:

Liam's ferocity
Tarris' gladiator physique
Jayden's size/defense at guard
Solos shooting

Lean on advantages and mismatches, use that sh#t to it's max potential and shed as much of the finesse cr@p as possible. Don't put players in there that other teams get friggin excited to play against and attack. Use what pieces you have to be as big & physical as possible and let it ride. Watching snowflake shooting competitions is for the birds, and it's not going to win.

 

[gsmooth]

Even with Diarra healthy we needed another guard. Also your other guard should be closer to your second best ball handler than your fourth best ball handler. We missed on the guards this year it is what it is. We can still win and make some noise and a run to the second weekend but Liam is going to have to play like an all American and AK is going to have to hit threes at his previous rate. Those two things have to happen for this team to compete with the top teams.

Every team has gotten better since November, us not so much.

I think UConn got better since November and were clicking on all cylinders until Liam got hurt. That is why I felt terrible after that New Year's Day DePaul game even though UConn won by 12. It looks like that injury could derail the season, I hope it does not, but the injury really knocked the season of kilter.

 

[NJHusky]

It's horrible, the only show I actually like is Dave Rothenberg and Rick DiPietro in the mornings on ESPN. Everyone else is insufferable

I like Evan & Tiki also

 

[HuskyHawk]

My take on trying to right this season is this:

1) Start using Tarris on offense as a focal point. Let him play. As well as Samson Johnson has played lately, his limitations are his limitations. Give Tarris some consistency in how he's used. Build an offense that get's it into him early as one of the primary options when the shot clock is near 10 seconds. Get him engaged and keep him engaged. The guy is easily our most imposing athlete on the floor, and it's not close. He's not perfect, and can make mistakes, but let him work through it. Use him, create a "tougher" team. Make teams game plan for him. No one is game planning for Samson.

Tarris at 30mpg would be a 15/11/2.5 blocks a game guy. That's top of the league stuff and smokes a guy like Ejifor, better than Sorber and not even that far off Kalk, who is getting 33 minutes/game, and 19/8/2.6. He's easily the most prolific rebounder in the Big East. Yet he's coming off the bench.

2) Find an alternative to Hassan at PG that isn't Mahaney. Drop the AM experiment once and for all and use him as a breather as needed. Whether that's getting Nowell meaningful run once and for all, or finding a "point forward rotation" in a big lineup (based on matchup), that includes Ross or McNeeley. Create a bigger, tougher team.

3) Put AK back in his role as a second option, where he's comfortable. 100% kill the over abundance of him putting the ball on the floor, as it's a disaster waiting to happen. We don't need any more head down drives - just stop it. No mas. Make Liam & Solo & Tarris primary options, AK's looks a result of defenses focusing on them.

One of the biggest frustrations with this team is that they feel like cupcakes out there. Between AK being a headcase, our defense being a turnstile, Mahaney always looking scared, our guys now always seemingly banged up. Get bigger, get tougher. Don't put players in there that the other teams shed their fangs for. The true "tough" qualities we have are:

Liam's ferocity
Tarris' gladiator physique
Jayden's size/defense at guard
Solos shooting

Lean on advantages and mismatches, use that sh#t to it's max potential and shed as much of the finesse cr@p as possible. Don't put players in there that other teams get friggin excited to play against and attack.

I think your #1 is misguided. I expect Samson to get most of the minutes against Kalkbrenner because he gives Kalk fits and can chase him all over the floor. Tarris isn't quick enough. Against Zuby? He's a bull, he's probably as strong as Tarris, and Johnson is a bad matchup.

Those two will and should see minutes based on taking advantage of the matchup we have. Neither is really better than the other.

#2 I expect Nowell to start getting minutes, but I think against teams that don't press we will increasingly go positionless with Liam/Ross/Stewart/Ball holding down the 1-2-3 (with a dose of Mahaney as well). You can do that against teams that are not St. Johns or PC.

AK, not sure how to fix this honestly. He's putting it on the floor because wants to do something and lacks confidence in his shot. It's mostly on Alex to fix himself. Staff can't do it.

 

[Hunt for 7]

I think your #1 is misguided. I expect Samson to get most of the minutes against Kalkbrenner because he gives Kalk fits and can chase him all over the floor. Tarris isn't quick enough. Against Zuby? He's a bull, he's probably as strong as Tarris, and Johnson is a bad matchup.

Those two will and should see minutes based on taking advantage of the matchup we have. Neither is really better than the other.

#2 I expect Nowell to start getting minutes, but I think against teams that don't press we will increasingly go positionless with Liam/Ross/Stewart/Ball holding down the 1-2-3 (with a dose of Mahaney as well). You can do that against teams that are not St. Johns or PC.

AK, not sure how to fix this honestly. He's putting it on the floor because wants to do something and lacks confidence in his shot. It's mostly on Alex to fix himself. Staff can't do it.

I agree with both. Let’s get them both on the floor and play a bigger line up. I still don’t know why he did not give Ross a shot at covering Luis in the St Johns game. I mean if we have 20+ turnovers with our primary point guard on the floor, I understand everything can get worse but use the combination of Liam, Ball, Ross and Stewart as the primary ball handlers. Even Alex is ok unless he tries to take it all the way to the basket.

Hass playing in pain is not working. Rest is the only thing that will help him if it is tendinitis. Maybe Nowell can get healthy and play a few minutes a game.

We play in a physical league, I agree let’s play our big guys even give Abraham some run. He seems stout. Even if he does not play a lot of minutes he can make the other team feel him.

We do need to get tougher much tougher. We are week at the point of attack unless it is Liam or Reed and even Reed gets too cute some times. I think Samson could play some of AK minutes at the four.

 

[Hunt for 7]

I think UConn got better since November and were clicking on all cylinders until Liam got hurt. That is why I felt terrible after that New Year's Day DePaul game even though UConn won by 12. It looks like that injury could derail the season, I hope it does not, but the injury really knocked the season of kilter.

Yes I agree we were getting better until that happened. The injury changed everything. I could have been more specific. But we were starting to peak or find what we could be and then boom, it was over. We would have went into the St Johns game with one loss league loss at the most and with a ton more confidence.

I really am surprised by how much AK has regressed as he has felt pressure before but this is as bad a stretch as he has had in his time at UConn. And then it could be a combination of the ankle and head injury. His shot is so unique who knows maybe the smallest of things can create an issue. But he is not just missing he is throwing up hopes and prayers they got no chance from the time they leave his hand. If I can see it in TV it must look even worse live.

 

[Vowelguy]

ranked

9/16 56% SEC
5/16 31% B12
5/18 28% BiG
3/11 27% BgE
2/18 11% ACC
1/13 8% AAC

 

[gtcam]

The one thing this team and staff can not think about is a ranking. They need to ascertain what the hell is going on and what can they do to remedy the situation to ensure a NCAA bid.

 

[UConniki]

If we make the tournament we have the potential to be competitive in games against good teams (we beat Marquette)as well as possibly losing to non top 25 teams. It’s disappointing but coming off back to back we can’t be mad about it.

As much as Dan Hurley patted himself on the back for winning B2B titles he needs to own this debacle for completely misreading the portal…. badly and not bringing in any players of note after winning the first championship. Our two freshmen have offered pretty much nothing. Combined with losing 4 players to the NBA ( not his fault) we replaced them with TR. The talk about 3 peat was overblown and put unrealistic expectations on these players. That and Dan Hurley still hasn’t lost the stubborn habit of playing players out of loyalty when they’re playing terribly ( AK, Mathaney ) and burying other players on the bench for entire halves after they played well in the first half (JS). And last but not least Dan Hurley’s reputation for losing close games whether deserved or not is happening with increased regularity unfortunately and turning literal blowouts into almost nail biters ( Providence ) which is affecting some of the computer models negatively for no good reason ( I think we scored 4 points in the last 8 minutes), there’s taking the air out of the ball and there’s standing around for 35 seconds on not trying to score and having a poor shooting point guard hoist up a desperation heave as the shot clock goes off and playing matador defense on the other end allowing a 20+ lead dwindle to 4? points. I’m seriously concerned about missing the tournament or having to win the BE tournament to get in. Rant over JMHO

 

[gtcam]

The season’s over
/s

Did UConn 3 peat????????????????????????????????????????????

 

[jibsey]

My take on trying to right this season is this:

1) Start using Tarris on offense as a focal point. Let him play. As well as Samson Johnson has played lately, his limitations are his limitations. Give Tarris some consistency in how he's used. Build an offense that get's it into him early as one of the primary options when the shot clock is near 10 seconds. Get him engaged and keep him engaged. The guy is easily our most imposing athlete on the floor, and it's not close. He's not perfect, and can make mistakes, but let him work through it. Use him, create a "tougher" team. Make teams game plan for him. No one is game planning for Samson.

Tarris at 30mpg would be a 15/11/2.5 blocks a game guy. That's top of the league stuff and smokes a guy like Ejifor, better than Sorber and not even that far off Kalk, who is getting 33 minutes/game, and 19/8/2.6. He's easily the most prolific rebounder in the Big East. Yet he's coming off the bench.

2) Find an alternative to Hassan at PG that isn't Mahaney. Drop the AM experiment once and for all and use him as a breather as needed. Whether that's getting Nowell meaningful run once and for all, or finding a "point forward rotation" in a big lineup (based on matchup), that includes Ross or McNeeley. Create a bigger, tougher team.

3) Put AK back in his role as a second option, where he's comfortable. 100% kill the over abundance of him putting the ball on the floor, as it's a disaster waiting to happen. We don't need any more head down drives - just stop it. No mas. Make Liam & Solo & Tarris primary options, AK's looks a result of defenses focusing on them.

One of the biggest frustrations with this team is that they feel like cupcakes out there. Between AK being a headcase, our defense being a turnstile, Mahaney always looking scared, our guys now always seemingly banged up. Get bigger, get tougher. Don't put players in there that the other teams shed their fangs for. The true "tough" qualities we have are:

Liam's ferocity
Tarris' gladiator physique
Jayden's size/defense at guard
Solos shooting

Lean on advantages and mismatches, use that sh#t to it's max potential and shed as much of the finesse cr@p as possible. Don't put players in there that other teams get friggin excited to play against and attack. Use what pieces you have to be as big & physical as possible and let it ride. Watching snowflake shooting competitions is for the birds, and it's not going to win.

Correct on number 2. Hurley needs to make adjustments that don’t include Mahaney, and if Hass is injured and inneffective then he sits too.

 

[RuffRuff]

Correct on number 2. Hurley needs to make adjustments that don’t include Mahaney, and if Hass is injured and inneffective then he sits too.

You’re at a point in the season you know your inventory and should know what pieces can work with the highest upside. Time to stop with the square hole stuff and being a nice guy, work up your best talent for the stretch run.

 

[QDOG5]

NCAA College Basketball Rankings: AP Top 25 Basketball Poll

The official page for the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll. Keep up to date and view the latest NCAA men's basketball ranking updates each week for the 2023-24 season.

apnews.com

We're 27th.

St John's at #9, Marquette at #18, Creighton at #24.

Auburn maintained #1 despite losing at home vs. Florida. Top ten are:

1. Auburn
2. Alabama
3. Florida
4. Duke
5. Tennessee
6. Houston
7. Purdue
8. Texas A&M
9. St. Johns
10. Iowa State

Houston, St, Johns and Texas A&M are not winning the national title this year. I'm leaning toward Bama winning.

 

[DogMania]

As much as Dan Hurley patted himself on the back for winning B2B titles he needs to own this debacle for completely misreading the portal…. badly and not bringing in any players of note after winning the first championship. Our two freshmen have offered pretty much nothing. Combined with losing 4 players to the NBA ( not his fault) we replaced them with TR. The talk about 3 peat was overblown and put unrealistic expectations on these players. That and Dan Hurley still hasn’t lost the stubborn habit of playing players out of loyalty when they’re playing terribly ( AK, Mathaney ) and burying other players on the bench for entire halves after they played well in the first half (JS). And last but not least Dan Hurley’s reputation for losing close games whether deserved or not is happening with increased regularity unfortunately and turning literal blowouts into almost nail biters ( Providence ) which is affecting some of the computer models negatively for no good reason ( I think we scored 4 points in the last 8 minutes), there’s taking the air out of the ball and there’s standing around for 35 seconds on not trying to score and having a poor shooting point guard hoist up a desperation heave as the shot clock goes off and playing matador defense on the other end allowing a 20+ lead dwindle to 4? points. I’m seriously concerned about missing the tournament or having to win the BE tournament to get in. Rant over JMHO

Um, I think you forgot about one of our freshmen, namely Liam McNeeley. Granted, failing to add ready to contribute PG help was a big fail. But the addition of McNeeley and Reed Jr have been big.

As much as this team has its shortcomings, imagine what the record and ranking would be if Karaban played up to his capability? And even more so, if Liam didn't injure his ankle?

Of all the hiccups, most that I think can be addressed, the PG dilemma with Diarra's chronic knee problem has me most concerned. Though we did manage to beat MU with a hobbled Hass and turning it over and over and over.

I just don't know what to expect. I guess we'll learn a little more tomorrow.

 

[freescooter]

Maybe this is the incentive of the coaches and team to play deep and strong. We have the talent to be nasty going forward.

Yeah, we really don’t. Our only proven point is injured. Karaban is struggling. It is a difficult transition year. Saying we have talent doesn’t make it so.