NCAA Basketball Takeaways: UNC, Gonzaga, Houston and UCLA all get major wins

8. UConn dominates Butler on the road to open Big East play

With Virginia falling to Houston, it’s expected that the UConn Huskies will be moving up to No. 2 on Monday. But after Purdue’s recent struggles, should the Big East program have a claim to take that spot instead? To this point, the Huskies are not only unbeaten but also haven’t had a game decided by fewer than double-digits.

That streak continued on Saturday against Butler to start up league action. True road games in conference play can be a real equalizer, as Utah’s upset over Arizona a couple of weeks ago proved. The Bulldogs looked up to the task at first, leading early on in the first half. But eventually, Adama Sanogo and company pulled away in the second half for a 68-46 win.

Sanogo had 27 points and 14 rebounds to lead all scorers, while Jordan Hawkins had 12. It wasn’t a great offensive game for the team overall, shooting under 40% in the game and guards Tristen Newton and Andre Jackson combining for eight points on 2/12 shooting. But UConn’s defense limited Butler to just 30% shooting overall and 3/14 from deep.

Holding a power conference program to under 50 points on the road is highly impressive and to this point, UConn hasn’t had issues in general. Why Purdue will be No. 1 on Monday, the Huskies have been the best team this season.