College basketball rankings: UConn's seeding in NCAA Tournament could be hurt by weak Big East schedule
The Huskies are 22-1 but only have five wins vs. Quadrant 1 opponents so far this season
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
On Tuesday's episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast that we did on CBS Sports Network, Matt Norlander and I settled into a conversation about UConn and its body of work to date.
Simply put, I'm higher on it than he is.
To be clear, we both think the Huskies would be a No. 1 seed if the NCAA Tournament started today. But whereas I would have them as the second-highest No. 1 seed, Norlander said he'd have them lower, in part because UConn's 22-1 record only features five Quadrant 1 victories.
Michigan has eight.
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And if somebody wants to use those facts to argue against the Huskies, fine. The CBS Sports Bracketology model has UConn as a No. 2 seed, but needless to say, this is all subjective.) But it should also be pointed out that none of this is UConn's fault as much as it's a commentary on the Big East.
The Huskies are 5-1 in Q1 games.
But did you realize they had four way back on Dec. 9 thanks to a non-league strength of schedule that rated top 25 nationally? And did you realize they haven't played a single game against a currently ranked team since then?
That's UConn's problem -- the underwhelming BIg East.
St. John's is the only Big East team besides UConn currently ranked, there are no other Big East teams in the top 30 of the NET, and more than half of the conference is ranked outside of the top 75. Consequently, UConn has had just one Q1 opportunity so far in league play -- last month's game at Seton Hall.
The Huskies defeated the Pirates 69-64.
UConn is projected to have just four more games vs. Q1 opponents before next month's Big East Tournament
Bottom line, UConn is 22-1, undefeated when not missing two starters, and a clear contender to win a national championship for what would be the third time in a four-year span. So I've decided to respect those things rather than get caught up on how the Big East barely provides Q1 chances for the Huskies, and that's why UConn remains No. 2 in Wednesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings following Tuesday night's 92-60 victory over Xavier that extended their winning streak to 18 games.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Brayden Burries finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 87-74 win at Arizona State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Oklahoma State. | -- | 22-0 |
| 2 |  | Silas Demary Jr. finished with 17 points and eight assists in Tuesday's 92-60 win over Xavier. The Huskies' next game is Friday at St. John's. | -- | 22-1 |
| 3 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 67-49 win over Boston College. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at North Carolina. | -- | 21-1 |
| 4 |  | Yaxel Lendeborg finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 83-71 win at Michigan State. The Wolverines' next game is Thursday against Penn State. | -- | 20-1 |
| 5 |  | Graham Ike finished with 30 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 73-65 win over Gonzaga. The Zags' next game is Wednesday at Portland. | -- | 22-1 |
| 6 |  | Joshua Jefferson finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's 95-61 win at Kansas State. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday against Baylor. | -- | 20-2 |
| 7 |  | Keaton Wagler finished with 28 points and five assists in Sunday's 78-69 win at Nebraska. The Illini's next game is Wednesday against Northwestern. | -- | 19-3 |
| 8 |  | Milos Uzan finished with 16 points and five assists in Saturday's 76-54 win over Cincinnati. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday against UCF. | -- | 19-2 |
| 9 |  | Rienk Mast missed eight of the 10 shots he attempted in Sunday's 78-69 loss to Nebraska. The Cornhuskers' next game is Saturday at Rutgers. | -- | 20-2 |
| 10 |  | Jaxon Kohler missed nine of the 13 shots he attempted in Friday's 83-71 loss to Michigan. The Spartans' next game is Wednesday at Minnesota. | -- | 19-3 |
| 11 |  | Darryn Peterson finished with 19 points and two steals in Monday's 64-61 win at Texas Tech. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Utah. | -- | 17-5 |
| 12 |  | Tyler Tanner finished with 24 points and three assists in Saturday's 71-68 win over Ole Miss. The Commodores' next game is Saturday against Oklahoma. | -- | 19-3 |
| 13 |  | Fletcher Loyer finished with 29 points and three assists in Sunday's 93-63 win at Maryland. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Oregon. | -- | 18-4 |
| 14 |  | Alex Condon finished with 25 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 100-77 win over Alabama. The Gators' next game is Saturday at Texas A&M. | -- | 16-6 |
| 15 |  | Sam Lewis finished with 15 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 67-47 win over Pitt. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday against Syracuse. | -- | 19-3 |
| 16 |  | Kennard Davis missed five of the six shots he attempted in Saturday's 90-82 loss at Kansas. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday at Oklahoma State. | -- | 17-4 |
| 17 |  | Donovan Atwell missed nine of the 13 shots he attempted in Monday's 64-61 loss to Kansas. The Red Raiders' next game is Sunday at West Virginia. | -- | 16-6 |
| 18 |  | Darius Acuff Jr. missed 12 of the 20 shots he attempted in Saturday's 85-77 loss to Kentucky. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday at Mississippi State. | -- | 16-6 |
| 19 |  | Nick Davidson finished with 12 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 63-52 win over Pitt. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at Stanford. | -- | 18-4 |
| 20 |  | Trey Green finished with 23 points and five rebounds in Friday's 102-71 win over Dayton. The Billikens' next game is Tuesday at Davidson. | -- | 22-1 |
| 21 |  | Khani Rooths finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 88-74 win over SMU. The Cardinals' next game is Wednesday against Notre Dame. | -- | 15-6 |
| 22 |  | Zuby Ejiofor finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's 68-56 win at DePaul. The Red Storm's next game is Friday against UConn. | -- | 17-5 |
| 23 |  | Luke Skaljac finished with 19 points and five steals in Tuesday's 73-71 win at Buffalo. The RedHawks' next game is Saturday at Marshall. | -- | 23-0 |
| 24 |  | Rashaun Agee finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday's 92-77 win at Georgia. The Aggies' next game is Wednesday at Alabama. | -- | 17-4 |
| 25 |  | Caleb Wilson finished with 22 points and nine rebounds in Monday's 87-77 win over Syracuse. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against Duke. | -- | 18-4 |
| 26 |  | Nate Ament finished with 28 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 84-66 win over Ole Miss. The Vols' next game is Saturday at Kentucky. | -- | 16-6 |
