UConn was, on the last day of 2022, 14-0 and getting one-third of the first-place votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Now here we are, just 16 days into 2023, and UConn is 15-4 and trending the wrong direction.
The latest loss came Sunday.
That's when St. John's went on the road, scored 85 points, held UConn to 74 and recorded the Red Storm's first victory at the XL Center since 1988. So congrats to St. John's. Awesome stuff. But the headline is that UConn is somehow 1-4 in its past five games after winning each of its first 13 by double-digits.
"We looked weak and unprepared," UConn coach Dan Hurley said about his program's latest defeat, an 11-point loss at home to a St. John's team that started 1-5 in the Big East.
That's the worst of these four losses.
Should UConn fans be concerned? To some degree, sure, because this loss was undeniably different. The first three losses were at Xavier, at Providence and at Marquette, which is to say, the first three losses were road losses to nationally ranked teams. Lots of schools, even some really good ones, would go winless at Xavier, at Providence and at Marquette. So it was easy to downplay those results. But when those results are backed by a double-digit loss at home to unranked St. John's, well, everything is in question.
That said, it's worth noting that UConn is still 4-3 in Q1 and 3-0 in Q2 — or 7-3 in the first two quadrants with one additional loss (barely) falling in Q3. It's a resume that's been damaged but is strong enough to keep the Huskies in the top 15 of Monday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1, where Kelvin Sampson's Houston Cougars remain No. 1 for the 14th consecutive morning.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Marcus Sasser finished with 31 points and four assists in Wednesday's 83-77 win over USF. The Cougars' next game is Tuesday at Tulane. | -- | 32-5 |
| 2 |  | Fletcher Loyer finished with 27 points and three assists in Friday's 73-55 win over Nebraska. The Boilermakers' next game is Monday at Michigan State. | -- | 34-5 |
| 3 |  | Gradey Dick finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 62-60 win over Iowa State. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday at Kansas State. | -- | 23-11 |
| 4 |  | Brandon Miller finished with 31 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 106-66 win over LSU. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday at Vanderbilt. | -- | 25-12 |
| 5 |  | Drew Timme finished with 18 points and two assists in Saturday's 115-75 win over Portland. The Zags' next game is Thursday against Loyola Marymount. | -- | 27-8 |
| 6 |  | Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday's 68-54 win over Colorado. The Bruins' next game is Thursday at Arizona State. | -- | 16-17 |
| 7 |  | Souley Boum finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Sunday's 80-76 win over Marquette. The Musketeers' next game is Wednesday at DePaul. | 1 | 16-18 |
| 8 |  | Marcus Carr finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 72-70 win over Texas Tech. The Longhorns' next game is Tuesday at Iowa State. | 1 | 21-13 |
| 9 |  | Emanuel Miller finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 82-68 win over Kansas State. The Horned Frogs' next game is Wednesday at West Virginia. | 1 | 21-13 |
| 10 |  | Kansas State missed 15 of the 21 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 82-68 loss at TCU. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Kansas. | 1 | 19-15 |
| 11 |  | Tennessee missed 18 of the 21 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 63-56 loss to Kentucky. The Vols' next game is Tuesday at Mississippi State. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 12 |  | Iowa State's Caleb Grill missed seven of the eight shots he attempted in Saturday's 62-60 loss at Kansas. The Cyclones' next game is Tuesday against Texas. | 1 | 29-8 |
| 13 |  | Armaan Franklin finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 67-58 win at Florida State. The Cavaliers' next game is Wednesday against Virginia Tech. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 14 |  | Arizona allowed the Ducks to shoot 53.1% from the field in Saturday's 87-68 loss at Oregon. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against USC. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 15 |  | UConn allowed St. John's to shoot 51.7% from the field in Sunday's 85-74 loss to the Red Storm. The Huskies' next game is Wednesday at Seton Hall. | 8 | 37-3 |
| 16 |  | Marquette missed 18 of the 24 3-pointers it attempted in Sunday's 80-76 loss at Xavier. The Golden Eagles' next game is Wednesday against Providence. | -- | 27-10 |
| 17 |  | LJ Cryer finished 16 points and two assists in Saturday's 74-58 win over Oklahoma State. The Bears' next game is Tuesday at Texas Tech. | -- | 24-11 |
| 18 |  | Terquavian Smith finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 83-81 overtime win over Miami. The Wolfpacks' next game is Tuesday at Georgia Tech. | -- | 26-15 |
| 19 |  | Miami finished with 17 turnovers and five assists in Saturday's 83-81 overtime loss at NC State. The Hurricanes' next game is Monday against Syracuse. | -- | 15-17 |
| 20 |  | Providence missed 15 of the 19 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 73-67 loss at Creighton. The Friars' next game is Wednesday at Marquette. | -- | 21-14 |
| 21 |  | Johnell Davis finished with 16 points and three steals in Saturday's 66-62 win over Florida Atlantic. The Owls' next game is Monday at Western Kentucky. | -- | 25-9 |
| 22 |  | Jaylin Williams finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 69-63 win over Mississippi State. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at LSU. | -- | 27-8 |
| 23 |  | Dain Danja finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Friday's 75-66 win over Michigan State. The Spartans' next game is Monday against Purdue. | -- | 29-9 |
| 24 |  | Aidan Mahaney finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 78-61 win at San Francisco. The Gaels' next game is Thursday at Pepperdine. | -- | 26-8 |
| 25 |  | PJ Hall finished with 26 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 72-64 win over Duke. The Tigers' next game is Tuesday at Wake Forest. | -- | 24-12 |
| 26 |  | Duke missed 17 of the 20 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 72-64 loss at Clemson. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Miami. | -- | 27-9 |
