NCAA Basketball top 25 power rankings: Villanova rises, Houston and Duke fall
By Joey Loose
25. Connecticut (17-7)
Last week, the Huskies lost a pair of tough games and saw their standing slip a bit in the Big East. The Huskies have that double-overtime win over Auburn from November but haven’t exactly stockpiled impressive wins besides that performance. They didn’t have a flawless week, but this past week was certainly a step back in the right direction for a team looking to do some damage in the postseason this year.
On Tuesday, the Huskies completed the season sweep over Marquette with an 80-72 win, getting 24 points and 15 rebounds from Adama Sanogo. Three days later, the Huskies took a tough loss at Xavier, falling 74-68 against a tough Musketeers squad despite 22 points from RJ Cole. Sunday brought a good conclusion to the week, as Connecticut clawed out a 63-60 road win at St. John’s, getting 17 points from Tyrese Martin in a defensive struggle.
Can the Huskies cause damage in the postseason this year? They sit at 8-5 in a tough Big East and have certainly made their mark at this point in the season. They still have a number of conference games left, including dates with Seton Hall and Xavier next week. What remains to be seen is if they can put together the kind of performances that won them games over Auburn and Marquette on a more regular basis.