Men's basketball AP poll: UConn appears to be back after Hawaii skid, Tennessee holds at No. 1

The top of the sport didn’t shift much this past week, but Dan Hurley and UConn look to be back in business entering conference play.

Here’s everything you missed in Week 6 of the college basketball season, and the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.

UConn bounces back

UConn completely fell apart in Hawaii last month. The Huskies lost three straight games to unranked opponents at the Maui Invitational over Thanksgiving, which threw head coach Dan Hurley into a bit of a fit. He even threatened to never play in that type of event ever again after their struggles.

Now, that seems like it’s completely behind them.

The Huskies have won four straight, including a huge 77-71 win over Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Freshman Liam McNeeley dropped 26 points and had eight rebounds in that game, which was by far the best of his career.

That came after wins over Baylor and Texas, too, and pushed them back to 8-3 as Big East play starts this week. As a result, UConn — which nearly fell out of the rankings completely after its Hawaii skid — jumped up seven spots to No. 11 in this week’s poll. Gonzaga, now with three losses, dropped to No. 13.

The top of the poll didn’t change much this week. Tennessee held on to the top spot after Jordan Gainey lifted them past Illinois on Saturday with a wild buzzer-beater on the road. That improved the Volunteers to 10-0 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Auburn rolled over both Richmond and Ohio State to stay at No. 2, and Iowa State handled Iowa on Thursday before rolling over Omaha on Sunday to get to 9-1 and stay at No. 3.

Duke and Cooper Flagg picked up a pair of double-digit wins last week, but they dropped a spot to No. 5. Kentucky fought through a tough rivalry battle with Louisville to grab its third straight win. The Wildcats swapped with Duke to round out the top five. The first major movement came with Marquette, which fell to unranked Dayton on the road on Saturday. It marked the Golden Eagles’ second loss in three games, and dropped them three spots to No. 9. The Flyers entered the poll this week at No. 22.

The toughest part of Hurley’s schedule is now behind him. The Huskies will begin Big East play on Wednesday when they host Xavier before traveling to Butler this weekend. Though conference play won’t be easy by any means, especially with Creighton and Marquette hanging around, this feels like a chance for the Huskies to settle back in. They won’t see either of those programs for at least a month, too, which should help significantly.

Even though it looked like it could be over, UConn’s quest for a third straight national championship is far from buried.

“Maybe the people with the shovels and the dirt, maybe they were too quick to grab the shovel and throw the dirt on us,” Hurley said after beating Texas, via NJ.com. “Maybe, we’ll see.”

Games to watch this week

*Neutral Site Game

Tuesday, Dec. 17

No. 25 Clemson at South Carolina | 7 p.m. ET | SEC Network

Wednesday, Dec. 18

No. 14 Oklahoma at No. 24 Michigan | 9 p.m. ET | ESPN2

Friday, Dec. 20

rNo. 19 Cincinnati at No. 22 Dayton* | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPNU

Saturday, Dec. 21

No. 16 Purdue at No. 2 Auburn | 4:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

AP Top 25

The full Associated Press men’s basketball poll from Dec. 16, 2024.

1. Tennessee (10-0)

2. Auburn (8-1)

3. Iowa State (9-1)

4. Kentucky (10-1)

5. Duke (8-2)

6. Alabama (8-2)

7. Florida (10-0)

8. Kansas (8-2)

9. Marquette (9-2)

10. Oregon (10-1)

11. UConn (8-3)

12. Texas A&M (9-2)

13. Gonzaga (7-3)

14. Oklahoma (10-0)

15. Houston (6-3)

16. Purdue (8-3)

17. Ole Miss (9-1)

18. UCLA (9-1)

19. Cincinnati (8-1)

20. Michigan State (8-2)

21. Memphis (8-2)

22. Dayton (9-2)

23. SDSU (7-2)

24. Michigan (8-2)

25. Clemson (9-2)

Others receiving votes: Mississippi State 158, Arkansas 151, Missouri 120, Baylor 115, Illinois 70, Drake 52, St. John’s 50, Utah State 48, Pittsburgh 28, Maryland 24, West Virginia 19, Wisconsin 18, Georgia 18, Oklahoma State 16, Arizona State 14, Creighton 12, North Carolina 9, Penn State 8, Indiana 7, Texas 3, St. Bonaventure 2