AP Poll Week #13 | Page 3 | The Boneyard

AP Poll Week #13

jibsey said:
Duke is not in the strongest conference. Do they ever move down after not losing a game?
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ACC is still better than the Big East and the past few weeks they've been winning these conf games convincingly, not going life and death with scrub teams
 
jibsey said:
Duke is not in the strongest conference. Do they ever move down after not losing a game?
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Duke has the benefit of playing some overrated teams in their conference like Louisville, Clemson, and Virginia.
 
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RuffRuff said:
The loss is old news at this point. These polls are week to week.

We did just get by PC at home. They have two top ten wins in one week. We have one all year (Illinois). They're also widely recognized as being neck and neck favorite with AZ from a metrics/Vegas perspective. This one really isn't that weird.
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You were doing good until you added Vegas again. You can’t help yourself. Again when will we have that opportunity that Michigan had last week in the BE? Or even something like what Duke will have next week against UNC and Clemson? Blame the BE. UConn can’t win this year in this conference
 
aceboon said:
ACC is still better than the Big East and the past few weeks they've been winning these conf games convincingly, not going life and death with scrub teams
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It's damn hard to tell how the ACC compares to the BE. In an alternate universe, if there were a BE / ACC Challenge this year, it would be very hard to know the status of UNC vs. St. John's, or Villanova vs. Louisville.

We do know, however, that Georgetown beat Clemson in THIS universe.
 
Guys if we keep pointing out how few good teams the Big East has, a certain poster is going to get very angry and say we are all Boston College fans.
 
upstater said:
It's damn hard to tell how the ACC compares to the BE. In an alternate universe, if there were a BE / ACC Challenge this year, it would be very hard to know the status of UNC vs. St. John's, or Villanova vs. Louisville.

We do know, however, that Georgetown beat Clemson in THIS universe.
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St. John's and Nova are just as good as UNC and Ville, IMO.
 
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rashadray11 said:
Next year we should schedule games against Gonzaga and Duke in January and February. They both need them like us
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Except not so much.

This is a result of a series of factors:
1. Struggling against the likes of Providence, the Hall, Georgetown, DePaul. Meanwhile Michigan was beating the #5 and #7 teams in the country.
2. There is always a recency bias in this. Our wins against ranked opponents occurred in November-December. Theirs occurred back to back last week.
3. Overall perception that the B10 is superior to the NBE. Which is true. 5 teams in the Top 10 is better than 1 in the Top 10 and 1 in the Top 25. And no, Nelson, I’m not advocating to rejoin the American. Just pointing out a fact.
4. Michigan’s wins are equal or better than our wins. They beat Gonzaga, Nebraska and Michigan State. In our only(I think) common opponent they blew Villanova out of the building. We got taken to OT at home. Again recency bias comes into play. Not a knock on our wins. Just the way things are perceived.
 
UConn disrespected. Drops in the polls after 2 good wins. Media and coaches continue to give the BE zero respect!!
 
freescooter said:
Except not so much.

This is a result of a series of factors:
1. Struggling against the likes of Providence, the Hall, Georgetown, DePaul. Meanwhile Michigan was beating the #5 and #7 teams in the country.
2. There is always a recency bias in this. Our wins against ranked opponents occurred in November-December. Theirs occurred back to back last week.
3. Overall perception that the B10 is superior to the NBE. Which is true. 5 teams in the Top 10 is better than 1 in the Top 10 and 1 in the Top 25. And no, Nelson, I’m not advocating to rejoin the American. Just pointing out a fact.
4. Michigan’s wins are equal or better than our wins. They beat Gonzaga, Nebraska and Michigan State. In our only(I think) common opponent they blew Villanova out of the building. We got taken to OT at home. Again recency bias comes into play. Not a knock on our wins. Just the way things are perceived.
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If we scheduled Gonzaga and Duke in JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, we'd have more high level win opportunities after non-con play. That removes recency bias.
 
freescooter said:
Except not so much.

This is a result of a series of factors:
1. Struggling against the likes of Providence, the Hall, Georgetown, DePaul. Meanwhile Michigan was beating the #5 and #7 teams in the country.
2. There is always a recency bias in this. Our wins against ranked opponents occurred in November-December. Theirs occurred back to back last week.
3. Overall perception that the B10 is superior to the NBE. Which is true. 5 teams in the Top 10 is better than 1 in the Top 10 and 1 in the Top 25. And no, Nelson, I’m not advocating to rejoin the American. Just pointing out a fact.
4. Michigan’s wins are equal or better than our wins. They beat Gonzaga, Nebraska and Michigan State. In our only(I think) common opponent they blew Villanova out of the building. We got taken to OT at home. Again recency bias comes into play. Not a knock on our wins. Just the way things are perceived.
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This wouldn’t be a problem if the BE didn’t suck. You know why you don’t remember Mich close win against Penn State or them losing to Wisconsin? Because they had high end opportunities after that.
 
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Schools with good programs we should be scheduling games against after the non-con:

Duke, Gonzaga, UNC, Louisiville, St. Louis, Dayton, St. Marys, San Diego State.

All of these schools have reliably strong Q1 programs. All of them play in leagues that they would be open to scheudling other top level competition outside of their conference play. We should try to get at least two of these every year during BE play.
 
rashadray11 said:
The UConn women played Tennessee yesterday. They do this to ensure they play high level competition throughout the year, despite being in the worst of the P5 leagues. We should be doing the same type of thing. It's pretty obvious.
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Our schedule is perfect this season. If we were healthy we would be #1 and heading into the Garden to play a really tough opponent.
 
KingAG said:
You were doing good until you added Vegas again. You can’t help yourself. Again when will we have that opportunity that Michigan had last week in the BE? Or even something like what Duke will have next week against UNC and Clemson? Blame the BE. UConn can’t win this year in this conference
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When I say Vegas, I am saying the odds on favorite, which aligns with most viewers/analysts/talking heads.

We'll have that opportunity on the road against StJ this week? If we can go into MSG and win, I think we'll be alright.
 
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KingAG said:
Yea that was until I saw the light. It’s the BE.
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I'd say the Big East is responsible for us being ranked as high as we are, because lets be honest, if we had played a B12/B10 type schedule over the past month we probably would have lost and would be ranked lower than 3.
 
7774 said:
I'd say the Big East is responsible for us being ranked as high as we are, because lets be honest, if we had played a B12/B10 type schedule over the past month we probably would have lost and would be ranked lower than 3.
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Given our only loss is to the current number one by 4 points without two of our starters, I'm inclined to disagree.
 
superjohn said:
Our schedule is perfect this season. If we were healthy we would be #1 and heading into the Garden to play a really tough opponent.
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Even Hurley has discussed adding another quality OOC.
 
7774 said:
I'd say the Big East is responsible for us being ranked as high as we are, because lets be honest, if we had played a B12/B10 type schedule over the past month we probably would have lost and would be ranked lower than 3.
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I know. You think we suck.
 
KingAG said:
This wouldn’t be a problem if the BE didn’t suck. You know why you don’t remember Mich close win against Penn State or them losing to Wisconsin? Because they had high end opportunities after that.
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You’re right. I agree (and just for the record Wisconsin doesn’t suck. They got some T25 votes I believe.) And they have multiple high end games coming up. Their final 6 games include 4 different ranked opponents including Duke. Our final 6 games include St John’s. Hurley gets that for us to go where we want to go high end non-league scheduling is crucial. Problem is playing those games early loses its impact on voters as time goes by.
 
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freescooter said:
You’re right. I agree (and just for the record Wisconsin doesn’t suck. They got some T25 votes I believe.) And they have multiple high end games coming up. Their final 6 games include 4 different ranked opponents including Duke. Our final 6 games include St John’s. Hurley gets that for us to go where we want to go high end non-league scheduling is crucial. Problem is playing those games early loses its impact on voters as time goes by.
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Hence playing one or two of them in Jan or Feb : ) Resting my case now. Go Huskies.
 
aceboon said:
ACC is still better than the Big East and the past few weeks they've been winning these conf games convincingly, not going life and death with scrub teams
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OK, here is the issue, they are not scrub teams. The Big East may not be great with consistent good and ranked teams BUT many of these teams have players who will play at the next level and on any given night keep their team hanging around in games. Particularly when we have a horrible shooting night, or we don’t have our lottery pick playing.
If you need confirmation of that just ask someone who actually knows, Dan Hurley. He has said it over and over again that BE games are not easy. We had the best team ever a couple years ago we were challenged and lost games, right?
 
KingAG said:
You were doing good until you added Vegas again. You can’t help yourself. Again when will we have that opportunity that Michigan had last week in the BE? Or even something like what Duke will have next week against UNC and Clemson? Blame the BE. UConn can’t win this year in this conference
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Nothing has changed since the mid-November. The team hasn't deviated from impressions that it is a plausible contender and the door is still open for a National Championship. Only a select number of teams have been and still are seen that way.

Given the rarity of a team winning 6 consecutive win-or-go-home games, and the way that (un)lucky bounces and injuries have resulted in great teams not winning and not-so-great teams winning, it should be more widely recognized that we fans are in a weird & enviable position.

Our anxious natures are aroused by regarding the season as a binary situation: we either win the NC (Yay) or we don't (Boo/Boohoo). We won't know which until our time in the Tournament ends.

Figure that less than 5% of fan D1 bases allow themselves such fantasies, and the majority of those precious few aren't operating with the Yes or No mentality.

So far, we've seen a 6-1 November, a 7-0 December, and an 8-0 January. A pre-season #4 ranking has improved to a #3 current ranking.

Of course things will be decided on the court, but in addition to overall talent & playing well, a healthy roster, team chemistry, and excellent coaching will be most determinative.

The 2025-26 team has had numerous injuries and roster adjustments. The coaching staff has acknowledged that these shifts have been disruptive. In the best light, it could now look as though the team did not get to know & reveal itself until last Saturday night, with a 9 player rotation that has previously been too variable for comfort. The ideal would be for tomorrow night's game to show a solidification of what was seen in the final 20+ minutes in Omaha.

I still deeply want to see the rim attacked, fouls drawn, and foul shots made, and I want Demary to lead the way in this regard. If successful, a stronger inside game will result in improvements throughout the team. I also think that Dan Hurley wants this as well, and holds himself responsible for deficiencies that we are bickering about and attributing to individual players.

A major theme in the Hurley years before NCAA Tournament invitations was "excruciating losses," and then it carried over to opening round disappointments. And then there were back-to-back championships.

January 2026 was not particularly beautiful and fun-to-watch basketball. But, each game earned a handwritten W on the refrigerator calendar that is an evolving symbol of this season's success. We just witnessed a month with a number of "excruciating wins." Time to move forward.

The coaching staff has its team, and I am most concerned that the players heal from, work through, and/or avoid injuries. May each player grow into their role within the whole, and may the staff continue to do its best to have a great season. We are still in the hunt.

Go Huskies.
One game at a time.
 
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freescooter said:
Except not so much.

This is a result of a series of factors:
1. Struggling against the likes of Providence, the Hall, Georgetown, DePaul. Meanwhile Michigan was beating the #5 and #7 teams in the country.
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Yet Michigan struggled with Penn State and Wisconsin, and they didn't blow out the next 4 teams either, the likes of Oregon & Washington. The only decent team they beat was Indiana.
freescooter said:
4. Michigan’s wins are equal or better than our wins. They beat Gonzaga, Nebraska and Michigan State. In our only(I think) common opponent they blew Villanova out of the building. We got taken to OT at home. Again recency bias comes into play. Not a knock on our wins. Just the way things are perceived.
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Well they have 3 of those wins, UConn has 4. And I'd be really hardpressed to argue how much better Nebraska is than Illinois or Florida.

But I know this: UConn did not lose to an unranked team. Up until now, UConn's resume has been better
 
jibsey said:
OK, here is the issue, they are not scrub teams. The Big East may not be great with consistent good and ranked teams BUT many of these teams have players who will play at the next level and on any given night keep their team hanging around in games. Particularly when we have a horrible shooting night, or we don’t have our lottery pick playing.
If you need confirmation of that just ask someone who actually knows, Dan Hurley. He has said it over and over again that BE games are not easy. We had the best team ever a couple years ago we were challenged and lost games, right?
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I'd like to know which players we've faced that are playing at the next level? I've seen a bunch of mocks so far this year and I'm not sure the BE has anyone non UConn other than Zubi in the second round. There is literally no NBA talent in the BE this year.

BE games are not easy because of reffing, familiarity and target on back.
 
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