Copyright Hartford Courant
The UConn men’s basketball team came in at No. 3 in the first AP Top 25 poll of the regular season after handling business in its first two games. Ranked No. 4 in the preseason, the Huskies received three first place votes after starting their season with a 79-55 win over New Haven and following that up with a historic, 110-47, blowout of UMass Lowell. Still without freshmen Braylon Mullins and Jacob Furphy (ankles), UConn showed its potential in Game Two on Friday as senior center Tarris Reed Jr. returned from a hamstring injury. Reed’s performance, in only 17 minutes, was good enough to earn a spot on the first Big East Honor Roll list of the season as he recorded his 11th-career double-double with 20 points (9-for-12), 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. Houston, with 18 first place votes, leap-frogged Purdue, 36 first place votes, for the No. 1 spot after the Boilermakers struggled in a 10-point win over Oakland on Friday. Duke and Arizona, who the Huskies will host at Gampel Pavilion on Nov. 19, rounded out the top five. UConn will meet No. 7 BYU in Boston on Saturday for its first of five ranked matchups in nonconference play, hosting No. 5 Arizona four days later. The nonconference schedule also includes games against No. 10 Florida, No. 14 Illinois and No. 25 Kansas. After falling to new-No. 8 Alabama at Madison Square Garden, St. John’s dropped eight spots to No. 13, remaining the second-highest ranked team in the Big East. Creighton opened its season with a 92-76 win over South Dakota and held its spot at No. 23. AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll: Week 1
