UConn men’s basketball ranked No. 4 in AP Preseason Top 25
· Yahoo Sports
UConn men’s basketball is set to start the season as the No. 4 team in the country according to the Associated Press (AP) Preseason Top 25 released Monday afternoon. It’s the fourth-straight season UConn has been ranked in the preseason poll, with the Huskies ranked inside the top five for the third year in a row.
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Dan Hurley and UConn are the top ranked Big East team in the Top 25, with St. John’s as the only other school in the conference ranked in the polls at No. 14. Villanova and Marquette received six and three votes respectively, but not enough to be ranked.
UConn will face seven of the preseason top 25 in nonconference play this season, including four teams in the top 10. The Huskies have matchups with No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Illinois, No. 5 Arizona and No. 9 Virginia this season along with defending champion No. 16 Michigan and No. 17 Kansas. Ohio State, another one of the Huskies’ nonconference opponents this season, also received votes. Michigan State, UConn’s exhibition opponent Tuesday night, is ranked No. 6.
Preseason rankings may seem trivial, but the rankings do have some predictive value for a team’s talent and output. Per research from basketball researcher Evan Miayakawa, 80 percent of a team’s season is determined by the talent on the preseason roster. Only 20 percent of the team’s season is determined by everything that happens after the ball is tipped for the first regular season game. The reason? Talent reigns supreme, and even the best coaches can only outperform the talent on their roster so often.
Anecdotally, this logic does track for UConn. The Huskies were the No. 4 preseason team last year and reached the national title game. The year before that, UConn was No. 3 and had an up-and-down season due to injuries. They fell in the Second Round, but took eventual champion Florida down to the wire. In the 2023-24 season, the Huskies were ranked No. 6 and proceeded to be one of the most dominant teams in the history of college basketball en route to a national title.
This season, UConn’s roster oozes talent with the additions of Nik Khamenia and Na’jai Hines to complement key returners like Silas Demary Jr., Braylin Mullins and Jayden Ross. Solo Ball, once thought to be out for the whole season, could potentially be back during conference play. Highly-touted freshman Colben Landrew and Junior County looked good in the exhibition win over Syracuse, and figure to be key contributors to this year’s squad.
That being said, there are some interesting question marks as UConn enters an era without the stability that stalwarts like Alex Karaban, Luke Murray and Tom Moore provided. Khamenia, Hines and Mullins are all underclassmen. Ross is likely entering a starting role and set to play more minutes than he ever has before. And while Landrew and County have impressive pedigrees, can the freshmen be relied upon to be consistent contributors all season? For it to all work, it will require Hurley, one of the best coaches in the country, to live up to his reputation and try and lead the Huskies to a fourth Final Four in the last five seasons.