UConn opened last season with a 14-game winning streak, made a third straight NCAA Tournament and secured the 2023 national championship before returning to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this season for six straight weeks. Add it up, and the Huskies have won 55 games since the start of last season -- but, somehow, exactly zero contests against ranked opponents on the road. And what makes this confusing fact even stranger is that it's actually been more than a decade since UConn last beat a ranked opponent on the road.
It seems impossible.
But it's true.
So that was the backdrop as the top-ranked Huskies traveled to Omaha for Tuesday's showdown with Creighton. They made the first three baskets of the game but eventually crumbled in front of a capacity crowd at the CHI Health Center and lost 85-66 to extend their streak of losses to ranked opponents on the road to 21. To put just how weird this is into perspective, understand that LSU is 5-7 in the SEC but actually coming off of a win over a ranked opponent on the road. Meanwhile, UConn has won two national titles since the last time it beat a ranked opponent on the road -- specifically No. 17 Memphis inside FedExForum back in January 2014.
"It just felt like today we ran into [Creighton] playing great and us not playing as well as we need to here in Omaha," UConn coach Dan Hurley said minutes after his Huskies' 14-game winning streak was snapped. "We were definitely stunned. We knew this was a dangerous game [against] one of the better teams in the country. But we didn't expect this to happen."
The 19-point loss brings an end to UConn's two-day run at No. 1 in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Purdue has returned to No. 1 on this Wednesday morning based on my belief that the Boilermakers once again simply have the sport's best body of work. Purdue, Houston and UConn are all 9-3 in Quadrant 1 with zero additional losses. But where the Boilermakers separate themselves, in my opinion, is by having seven wins over schools ranked in the top 25 of the NET. UConn only has four. Houston has just three. So with those three teams' loss-columns now equal, the edge should go to the school with the best wins, and Purdue clearly has more great wins than UConn, Houston and everybody else.
What about Creighton?
The Bluejays have been a little up and down but consistently maintained strong computer numbers, never falling lower than 19th in the NET. Now they're on a four-game winning streak highlighted by Q1 wins at Butler and over UConn. As a result, I've moved Creighton from 18th up to No. 9 in the Top 25 And 1, which caused Duke, Dayton, Auburn, Alabama and Illinois to be pushed down one spot each, no fault of their own. Similarly, Utah State and BYU, after notable Tuesday night wins, went from unranked to No. 19 and No. 21, respectively, which caused South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Saint Mary's to be pushed down two spots each, no fault of their own.
Wednesday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Fletcher Loyer was 1 of 7 from the field in Sunday's 73-69 loss at Ohio State. The Boilermakers' next game is Thursday against Rutgers. | 1 | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | UConn missed 13 of the 16 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 85-66 loss at Creighton. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Villanova. UConn missed 13 of the 16 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 85-66 loss at Creighton. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Villanova. | 1 | 37-3 |
| 3 |  | Jamal Shead finished with 26 points and six assists in Monday's 73-65 win over Iowa State. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Baylor. | -- | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | Caleb Love finished with 15 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 105-60 win over Arizona State. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against Washington State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 72-67 The Vols' next game is Saturday against Texas A&M. | -- | 27-9 |
| 6 |  | Tamin Lipsey was 1 of 8 from the field in Monday's 73-65 loss at Houston. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday against West Virginia. | 1 | 29-8 |
| 7 |  | Tyler Kolek was 2 of 11 from the field in Saturday's 81-53 loss at UConn. The Golden Eagles' next game is Wednesday against DePaul. | 1 | 27-10 |
| 8 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 96-81 win over Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday at Virginia. | 1 | 29-8 |
| 9 |  | Steven Ashworth finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 85-66 win over UConn. The Bluejays' next game is Sunday at St. John's. | 9 | 25-10 |
| 10 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds in Saturday's 67-57 win at Oklahoma. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Texas. | -- | 23-11 |
| 11 |  | Baylor missed 15 of the 20 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 78-71 loss at BYU. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Houston. | 5 | 24-11 |
| 12 |  | Jared McCain finished with 35 points and three steals in Saturday's 76-67 win at Florida State. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday at Miami. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 13 |  | DaRon Holmes II finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 78-70 win over Fordham. The Flyers' next game is Wednesday at George Mason. | 1 | 25-8 |
| 14 |  | Auburn shot 30.9% from the field in Saturday's 70-59 loss to Kentucky. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Georgia. | 1 | 27-8 |
| 15 |  | Mark Sears finished with 23 points and four assists in Saturday's 100-75 win over Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday against Florida. | 1 | 25-12 |
| 16 |  | Marcus Domask finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 85-80 win at Maryland. The Illini's next game is Wednesday at Penn State. | 1 | 29-9 |
| 17 |  | Isaiah Stevens finished with 18 points and eight assists in Saturday's 75-55 win over Utah State. The Rams' next game is Wednesday at New Mexico. | -- | 25-11 |
| 18 |  | Myles Rice finished with 14 points and five assists in Saturday's 72-59 win over Stanford. The Cougars' next game is Thursday at Arizona. | 1 | 25-10 |
| 19 |  | Great Osobor finished with 17 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 68-63 win over San Diego State. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday at Fresno State. | NR | 28-7 |
| 20 |  | Micah Parrish was 1 of 7 from the field in Tuesday's 68-63 loss at Utah State. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday at Fresno State. | 4 | 26-11 |
| 21 |  | Aly Khalifa finished with 14 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 78-71 win over Baylor. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Kansas State. | NR | 23-11 |
| 22 |  | South Carolina missed 14 of the 20 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 64-63 loss to LSU. The Gamecocks' next game is Saturday at Ole Miss. | 2 | 26-8 |
| 23 |  | Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 88-82 win at Georgia. The Gators' next game is Wednesday at Alabama. | 2 | 24-12 |
| 24 |  | Adou Thiero finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 70-59 win at Auburn. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday at LSU. | 2 | 23-10 |
| 25 |  | Tyler Wahl finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 74-70 win over Maryland. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday at Indiana. | 2 | 22-14 |
| 26 |  | Mitchell Saxen finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 70-66 win over San Francisco. The Gaels' next game is Saturday against San Diego. | 2 | 26-8 |
