The first AP Top 25 ballot of the regular season always comes with a little debate baked in. How much should preseason exhibitions matter when the games don’t count and teams are still hiding parts of the playbook?
For Michigan State, the answer was: enough to matter.
The Spartans opened the year ranked No. 2 on the ballot, but after watching them lose at home to UConn and then drop another game at Marquette a few days later, there was no way to keep them ahead of the Huskies, Duke, Virginia or Illinois. Michigan State did bounce back with lopsided regular-season wins over Toledo and Quinnipiac, both by 30-plus points, but that wasn’t enough to undo the earlier damage.
Tennessee got a similar treatment. The Vols were left off the preseason ballot, and their exhibition losses to Xavier by 16 and Duke by 39 made that omission feel a little more justified. A 31-point season-opening win over Wofford didn’t move the needle enough to change that yet.
The reshuffling also brought in Memphis, Kansas, Creighton and Texas Tech while Ohio State, Purdue, Arkansas and VCU dropped out.
At the top, Florida still held firm at No. 1 after getting a solid test from Miami in its opener. Virginia checked in after a 3-0 start that included a 19-point rout of Arkansas. UConn climbed after its impressive showing against Michigan in Boston, and the Huskies also have Youssouf Singare set for what should be a nice ovation on Monday night in Storrs.
Duke remained in the mix, with Thanksgiving Eve circled as the next big date. Illinois stayed high as well, though the Illini are hoping David Mircovic and Jake Davis are healthy by Dec.
- Michigan State, meanwhile, now turns to its showdown with Duke in the “Champions” Classic on Tuesday night.
USC’s offensive punch stood out, even if the defense still looks optional. Gonzaga’s season-opening win over Purdue doesn’t look quite as impressive as it first did. UCLA got a season-opening win over Arizona in Las Vegas, which presumably made Mick Cronin happy.
Louisville’s Sunday matchup at Memphis suddenly has the feel of an old-school Metro Conference or AAC battle. BYU’s Rob Wright is the only 2024 Montverde Academy starter not in the NBA, though he’s probably making nearly as much money. Vanderbilt’s Tuesday meeting with Memphis also landed on the radar as a key early-season game.
TCU remains a hill worth dying on until proven otherwise. Arizona got Bryce James into the scoring column. Texas isn’t as high on the Longhorns as plenty of others are, but they’re in the mix for now.
Houston has Joseph Tugler anchoring things as a defensive menace. Alabama got 15 points from Bloomfield’s London Jemison in its season-opening win over Sam Houston State.
St. John’s saw Keyshawn Hall nearly score his age with 26 points in an opening win over Monmouth.
Nebraska impressed by dismantling Providence at Mohegan Sun on Saturday. Marquette has a chance to ride the Brewers’ championship vibes in Suds City.
Michigan got a look at the real, healthy Silas Demary Jr. on Friday night. Texas Tech has now won 48 straight non-conference home games.
And Memphis? The Tigers’ wins over Iowa State and VCU made for their biggest week since 2024 in Maui. Remember that?
Kansas also got a mention, with Trey Kaufman-Renn doing everything he can to earn a shot at avenging the 2024 title-game loss to UConn.
In Other News...
UConn Just Got Another Early Reminder The Polls Need Convincing
UConns latest AP Top 25 placement offered a familiar kind of early-season reminder: even after beating Michigan 85-77 in a rematch of last years national championship game, the Huskies are still sitting at No. 4. The top of the poll remains crowded with Florida, Duke and Illinois ahead of them, which means Dan Hurleys team is already in the position of having to keep proving that its early work belongs right there with the nations best.
There will be chances to do exactly that later in the nonconference schedule, including meetings with Duke and Illinois that should give UConn a direct chance to reshape the conversation. For now, the Huskies can at least point to the start they have made, along with some individual recognition for Colben Landrew and Braylon Mullins, who earned Big East weekly honors for their play in the first two games of the season. [Read more 🡒]
UConns Fast Start Has Fans Eyeing A Bigger Early Climb
UConn stayed put at No. 4 in the first AP Top 25 poll of the season after opening with a 2-0 start that already offered a little bit of everything. The Huskies handled Gardner-Webb and then backed it up with a win over No. 16 Michigan, a useful early reminder that last seasons standard is still the one this group is chasing.
Freshman Colben Landrew gave the weekend even more of a lift by earning Big East Freshman of the Week honors, another sign that UConn is getting contributions beyond the usual headline names. The schedule does not ease up for long, either, with Wagner, Ohio State, Arizona and Duke all looming as the Huskies try to turn a promising start into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Braylon Mullins Just Added A Dangerous New Element To UConn
Braylon Mullins wasted no time showing why he could matter for UConn this season, turning in one of the more eye-catching early performances in the opening week. In a game that already carried extra weight because of the national championship rematch with Michigan, the freshman gave the Huskies another layer offensively and looked comfortable handling a bigger role than many first-year players get this early.
What stood out most was how he got to the line and kept the pressure on the defense, a useful sign for a UConn team still sorting out how its scoring will come together. Early-season bursts can be misleading, of course, but Mullins has already given the Huskies a glimpse of a dangerous new element, and the next step is seeing whether that kind of impact holds once opponents start game-planning for him. [Read more 🡒]