Big East conference play is here, and both the UConn men and women may not be happy with where they stand when it comes to NCAA Tournament projections.
It’s been a different kind of season for the UConn women’s basketball team, and you don’t have to look too far– well actually you do, you have to scroll down to the fifth line in ESPN’s latest Bracketology– to understand why.
Bracketologist Charlie Creme has the Huskies as a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament in his latest projections, released Tuesday.
If the season ended today and the Huskies were actually given a five seed, it would mark the first time since 1993 that they were seeded that low. Creme has UConn facing 12th-seeded North Texas in South Bend, Indiana, in Round 1 (which would also feel like a jab to UConn fans), with a potential matchup with host and No. 4 seed Notre Dame waiting in Round 2. Iowa is the top seed in that region in the projected bracket, with the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in Portland, Oregon.
If that doesn’t feel disorienting enough for UConn fans, the Huskies also descended to No. 17 in the AP poll earlier this season, the lowest the program has been in the Top 25 rankings since 1993.
AP voters– and Creme– seem to place little weight in the fact that the three teams that beat UConn so far this season– NC State, UCLA and Texas– are all now ranked in the top five in the country. The Huskies moved up to No. 15 in the latest AP Top 25 poll on Christmas, only vaulting two spots after defeating No. 18 Louisville and No. 24 North Carolina since their last loss.
Unlike virtually every season in the last 30 years, the Huskies have a lot to prove as they venture further into conference play. Marquette, which UConn faces next, is seeded higher than them in the latest Bracketology– at No. 4.
Creighton, which also finds itself on the No. 5 line, awaits after that, with the Huskies traveling to Omaha. Back-to-back wins would probably go a long way in restoring AP voters, and potentially Creme’s, faith in the Huskies. There’s still a long way to go.
UConn men fall to No. 2 seed
The nonconference season is over, Big East play is upon us, and that means for the first time since early last March, the UConn men’s basketball team looks mortal.
The defending national champs were quickly humbled in their Big East return, falling flat in an ’embarrassing’ (Dan Hurley’s word) 75-60 loss at Seton Hall. UConn responded by gutting out a 69-65 home win over St. John’s a few days later, but the damage had been done– the Huskies fell to No. 5 in the KenPom rankings and dropped to a 2-seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology projection.
Despite a neutral-site loss to Florida Atlantic on Saturday, Arizona retained a No. 1 seed in ESPN bracketologist Joe Lundardi’s projections. Purdue, Houston and Kansas were also on the top line. Lunardi has UConn as the 2-seed in Kansas’ bracket, albeit in Boston, where the Huskies would figure to have a much more favorable crowd than the one they played in front of when they faced the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 1.
Houston (12-0) enters Big 12 play undefeated, but the Cougars’ resume isn’t close to as impressive as UConn’s. Houston’s best win is a neutral-site victory over Texas A&M (70-66) on Dec. 16. Outside of that, the Cougars own wins over Dayton, Utah and Xavier. None of those teams have been as impressive as Indiana, Texas, North Carolina or Gonzaga– all of whom the Huskies have beaten.
Still, UConn can’t expect to struggle in conference and be rewarded with a No. 1 seed in the bracket. Over the last two seasons, the Huskies are 27-1 in nonconference play and 14-8 in the Big East. As Hurley, Newton and others mentioned, Big East basketball is a different animal.
Hurley has said it’s one of the program’s goals to win a regular season conference title, something UConn hasn’t done since 2006. That just may end up being a prerequisite if the Huskies want to end up on the top line in the bracket.
UConn next faces DePaul at Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 2.
