NCAA Basketball: Texas, Virginia soar on top 25 ranking ahead of Thanksgiving

22. Connecticut (5-0)

These last few seasons under Dan Hurley have been great for the Huskies, who have taken a step in the right direction. They’ve returned significant talent from last season and have made the NCAA Tournament in each of their first two years back in the Big East. This year, they’re off to a hot start yet again, even if they haven’t been significantly challenged to this point.

After two easy wins to open the season, the Huskies got three more at home this past week. First, they toppled Buffalo 84-64, with Tristen Newton’s triple-double the clear highlight; a 22-point, 11-assist, 10-rebound effort. Friday became another laugher with an 86-50 win over UNC Wilmington, led by Adama Sanogo’s 24 points and 20 from Jordan Hawkins. Sanogo added 26 points to finish the week in a 95-60 win over Delaware State.

Let’s be very clear: the Huskies’ schedule has not been great two weeks into the season. We’ve seen Sanogo and Newton and others really stand out in these early games, but we’re going to learn a lot more about this program in the weeks ahead. A 5-0 start is great, but their performance next week in the Phil Knight Invitational will tell us plenty more, starting with a game against Oregon.