The Holiday Week is now behind us, and top-ranked Kansas has emerged from the tournament unscathed. However, UConn, and more specifically head coach Dan Hurley, was not so lucky.
Here’s everything you missed from Week 4 of the college basketball season, and the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.
UConn, Dan Hurley spiral in Hawaii
UConn completely fell apart in Hawaii last week.
It got so bad that Hurley never wants to play in such a tournament again.
“I’m not doing another 3-game [multi-team event] again,” Hurley said Sunday. “Going forward, we will only play home-and-home or single-game events in large arenas. I don’t think I’ll ever do a three-game MTE again unless I’m not coaching here… [There’s] There’s no chance I’ll ever do that again.”
Dan Hurley reflects on Maui:
“I’m not doing another three-game MTE. Going forward, we’ll only be playing home-and-homes or single-game events… I don’t think I’ll ever do a three-game MTE again. There’s no Chances are I’ll do that again someday pic.twitter.com/PAogpBHNi6
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) December 1, 2024
While that’s almost certainly an overreaction after a bad week, it’s easy to understand why Hurley feels that way after the Maui Invitational. The reigning back-to-back national champions lost three straight games to unranked opponents at the Lahaina Civic Center.
First, they fell to Memphis in overtime in the opening round. Hurley also criticized the referee after the game, blaming the loss on “s****y calls” despite being called for a critical late technical foul as part of a seven-point swing in overtime. Colorado handed the Huskies another loss the next day, then Dayton defeated them by 18 points on Wednesday to wrap up the event. UConn star Alex Karaban was also taken to the hospital with a head injury during that game after his head hit the ground in the final minutes of the game.
While UConn rebounded Saturday with a 54-point throttling against Maryland-Eastern Shore, the damage was already done. UConn, which started the week ranked No. 2 in the country, fell 23 spots to No. 25 in this week’s poll.
UConn’s fall completely reset the top five in the national rankings. Kansas remained strong at No. 1 as it remains undefeated at 7-0, but Auburn jumped to take the Huskies’ spot right behind the Jayhawks. The Tigers defeated Iowa State on a game-winning bucket in Hawaii before defeating North Carolina and Memphis to win the tournament title and remain undefeated.
Tennessee jumped to No. 3, and Kentucky and Marquette then rounded out the top five. Memphis participated in the poll for the first time after the title game in Hawaii. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 this week.
There is no doubt that Hurley has a good team. The Huskies should also be able to make a decent run in March, when they will look to defend their national title. But how the team, and Hurley in particular, will bounce back from this skid in the very near future could determine the season. They will host No. 15 Baylor in the Big 12-Big East Battle on Wednesday before traveling to Texas and taking on No. 7 Gonzaga in New York next week.
If Hurley can’t turn things around quickly, dreams of a three-peat in Storrs will be over before conference play can even get underway.
Games to watch this week
*Neutral site game
Wednesday December 4
No. 15 Baylor at No. 25 UConn | 6:30 PM ET | FS1
No. 10 Alabama at No. 20 North Carolina | 7:15 PM ET | ESPN
No. 5 Marquette at No. 6 Iowa State | 8:00 PM ET | ESPN+
No. 1 Kansas in Creighton | 8:30 PM ET | FS1
No. 2 Auburn at No. 9 Duke | 9:15 PM ET | ESPN
Saturday December 7
No. 11 Wisconsin at No. 5 Marquette | 1:30 PM ET | Fox
No. 4 Kentucky at No. 7 Gonzaga | 10:00 PM ET | ESPN2*
AP Top 25
The complete December 2, 2024 Associated Press men’s basketball poll.
1. Kansas (7-0)
2. Chestnut brown (7-0)
3. Tennessee (7-0)
4. Kentucky (7-0)
5. Marquette (8-0)
6. Iowa State (5-1)
7. Gonzaga (7-1)
8.Purdue (7-1)
9. Duke (5-2)
10. Alabama (6-2)
11. Wisconsin (8-0)
12. Oregon (8-0)
13. Florida (8-0)
14. Cincinnati (6-0)
15. Baylor (5-2)
16. Memphis (6-1)
17. Houston (4-3)
18. Pittsburgh (7-1)
19. Illinois (6-1)
20. North Carolina (4-3)
21.Oklahoma (7-0)
22. Texas A&M (6-2)
23. Ole Miss (6-1)
24. San Diego State (4-2)
25. UConn (5-3)
Others receiving votes: Michigan State 108, Arkansas 104, Texas 97, Michigan 95, Arizona St 89, Indiana 72, Drake 58, Xavier 33, Utah State 28, Louisville 27, West Virginia 26, Clemson 25, BYU 24, Dayton 24, Texas Tech 22, Nebraska 22, Mississippi State 20, Ohio State 19, Maryland 13, UCLA 13, Creighton 12, Saint Mary’s 11, Georgia 10, St. John’s 7, Loyola Chicago 4, Florida St. 3, DePaul 3, UC Irvine 2, Columbia 2
