An excitement-filled Feast Week has finally wrapped up, and several winners and losers have emerged from a week headlined by surprises. There were around 10 different tournaments throughout the week, in addition to several other standalone high-profile matchups. Given that most high-major teams participated in one of those tournaments, there is a little more clarity regarding who may be contenders and who may be pretenders.
Several teams made a statement during feast week, some for all the right reasons and some for all the wrong reasons. With that in mind, here are some of the winners and losers from Feast Week.
Winner: Auburn
Entering feast week, Auburn was ranked no. 4 in the top 25 polls and was set to take part in the loaded Maui Invitational Tournament that presented teams with several opportunities for early season signature wins. The Tigers rolled through the Maui Invitational, winning the tournament and picking up impressive wins over Iowa State, North Carolina, and Memphis. The Tigers have moved up to no. 2 in the latest poll, and given the way they played in Hawaii, there's a real argument for Auburn to be ranked no. 1 in the polls. Nonetheless, the Tigers already have four quad 1 wins (and counting) ahead of the gauntlet that will be SEC play this year.
Loser: UConn
Like Auburn, UConn also took part in the loaded Maui Invitational field, but their result was the polar opposite of Auburn's. In a shocking turn of events, the Huskies went 0-3 in Hawaii and finished last place in the tournament. Ranked no. 2 entering the tournament, UConn lost to Memphis, Colorado, and Dayton, all of whom were unranked entering the event. UConn struggled on defense throughout the week and looked rather sloppy all-around. UConn fell to no. 25 in the most recent rankings, and with upcoming games against Baylor and Texas, another loss would almost certainly knock them out of the top 25. The Huskies still have a few more opportunities for some signature non-conference wins ahead of Big East play, but should they fail to capitalize on those opportunities, they could be in big trouble.