As we roll into February, UConn men’s basketball is quietly stacking wins at a historic pace. The Huskies are riding a 17-game winning streak-third-longest in the nation behind only unbeaten Arizona and Miami (Ohio)-yet somehow, they’re flying under the radar in the national conversation.
Despite the streak, UConn slipped behind Michigan in the latest AP Poll and has actually lost some ground in KenPom’s efficiency metrics since the streak began. That’s raised a few eyebrows, especially considering the résumé the Huskies have built.
CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein put it plainly on his “Inside College Basketball Now” podcast: “UConn has the quietest 17-game winning streak, maybe in the history of college basketball.” And he’s not wrong.
The Huskies’ only loss came early in the season to Arizona-and that was without two key contributors, Braylon Mullins and Tarris Reed. Since then, UConn’s done serious work, taking down Florida and Illinois at Madison Square Garden, grabbing a road win at Kansas, and beating BYU in Boston.
Those aren’t just solid wins-they’re the kind of victories that usually launch a team into the national spotlight.
And yet, here we are.
The Huskies looked like a lock for the Final Four after that non-conference slate, and for good reason. They beat four teams currently in the Top 15 of the NCAA’s NET Rankings, and they did it away from home. That’s the kind of statement that usually makes selection committees and voters sit up and take notice.
But once Big East play started, things got a little murkier. Between January 7 and January 24, UConn played six games, four of which were decided by a single possession or went to overtime.
Ball security issues and lapses on the defensive glass started to show up more consistently. For a team with national title aspirations, those cracks-however small-got magnified.
Even so, the Huskies have found ways to win. Their late-game execution has been clutch, none more so than their comeback at Providence, where they erased an 11-point deficit in the final 3:12 and pulled out an overtime win.
That kind of grit doesn’t show up in the analytics, but it’s the stuff that defines championship-caliber teams. With that win, UConn became just the fifth team in Big East history to start conference play 11-0.
Head coach Dan Hurley isn’t blind to the skepticism. Last week, he joked about the scrutiny surrounding his 20-1 team, saying he’s never seen so much "consternation" over a record that impressive. It’s a fair point-there aren’t many programs in the country that could go 21-1 and still feel like they have something to prove.
That brings us to this week, which could be pivotal for UConn’s NCAA Tournament seeding. They host Xavier on Tuesday before heading back to Madison Square Garden for a Top 25 showdown with St.
John’s. Rothstein didn’t mince words about the stakes: “There’s a home game against Xavier on Tuesday, which you have to have.
Because if you’re the Huskies and you’re vying for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Big East has more potholes than any other conference if you’re one of the best teams in the sport.”
Translation: there’s no margin for error. The Big East might not have the top-to-bottom depth of some other power conferences, but it’s got enough landmines to trip up any contender. If UConn wants to stay on the No. 1 seed line, they’ve got to keep stacking wins-and doing it convincingly.
For now, the Huskies are winning. Quietly.
Efficiently. And maybe, just maybe, building toward something special.