College basketball rankings: UConn leaps BYU in Top 25 And 1 as Huskies topple Cougars in showdown
UConn held off BYU in their Hall of Fame Series clash in Boston on Saturday
By
Gary Parrish
•
2 min read
UConn began a five-game stretch this weekend in which four of the matchups are against currently ranked schools. Dan Hurley will know plenty about his team when it's done, I'd assume. Either way, things got off to a nice start Saturday when the Huskies led BYU by as many as 20 points and held on for an 86-84 victory in the Hall of Fame Series at Boston's TD Garden.
Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 21 points. So did Alex Karaban. So did Silas Demary. Those three players are all averaging at least 13.0 points per contest for a UConn team that's 4-0 and up to No. 3 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Purdue remains No. 1 for the eighth consecutive day.
BYU is now No. 4 in the Top 25 And 1.
"I thought we looked like an awesome team for 25 minutes -- [but] obviously the last 15 minutes we just kind of hung on and weren't very good against pressure," Hurley said of his Huskies, who were up 59-39 with 14:47 remaining before BYU outscored them 45-27 the rest of the way. "But I credit BYU. Those guys showed some real fight today. They could have walked out of here, lost by 20 easily. But those guys dug their heels in and showed that [BYU's Kevin Young] is a heckuva coach -- and they've got a real culture and a real chance to compete for championships."
BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa led all scorers with 25 points. The 6-foot-8 wing is averaging 20.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists through four games while shooting 57.4% from the field and 40.0% from 3-point range.
"That's as high a level of shot-making as you're going to see in college basketball," Hurley said of Dybantsa's performance. "He had the whole bag going."
Next up for UConn is Wednesday's game with Arizona. Then comes next Sunday's buy game with Bryant that'll be followed by showdowns with Illinois (Nov. 28) and Kansas (Dec. 2). Arizona is No. 5 in the Top 25 And 1. Illinois is No. 13. Kansas is No. 22. So, over an 18-day span, UConn will play four teams ranked in the Top 25 And 1 and get a look at some of the best freshmen in the sport. In addition to Dybantsa, the Huskies should see Arizona freshman Koa Peat (16.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg), Illinois freshman David Mirkovic (18.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg) and Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson (21.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg), the last of whom, it should be noted, has missed KU's past two contests with what's been described as minor injuries.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
1
Connecticut
1
BYU
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Braden Smith finished with 29 points and seven rebounds in Thursday's 87-80 win over Alabama. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday against Akron. | -- | 4-0 |
| 2 |  | Emanuel Sharp finished with 19 points and four assists in Wednesday's 78-45 win over Oakland. The Cougars' next game is Sunday against Auburn. | -- | 4-0 |
| 3 |  | Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 21 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 86-84 win over BYU. The Huskies' next game is Wednesday against Arizona. | 1 | 4-0 |
| 4 |  | Mihailo Boskovic was 2-of-8 from the field in Saturday's 86-84 loss to UConn. The Cougars' next game is Friday against Wisconsin. | 1 | 3-1 |
| 5 |  | Anthony Dell'Orso finished with 20 points and three assists in Friday's 69-65 win over UCLA. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday at UConn. | -- | 4-0 |
| 6 |  | Thomas Haugh finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 78-76 win over Florida State. The Gators' next game is Sunday against Miami. | -- | 3-1 |
| 7 |  | Yaxel Lendeborg finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 67-63 in over TCU. The Wolverines' next game is Wednesday against Middle Tennessee. | -- | 3-0 |
| 8 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 35 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 100-62 win over Indiana State. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday against Kansas. | -- | 4-0 |
| 9 |  | Ryan Conwell finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 106-81 win over Ohio. The Cardinals' next game is Friday against Cincinnati. | -- | 4-0 |
| 10 |  | Latrell Wrightsell was 2-of-9 from the field in Thursday's 87-80 loss to Purdue. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday against Illinois. | -- | 2-1 |
| 11 |  | Bryce Hopkins finished with 15 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 93-60 win over William & Mary. The Red Storm's next game is Thursday against Bucknell. | -- | 2-1 |
| 12 |  | David Mirkovic finished with 27 points and 21 rebounds in Friday's 84-65 win over Colgate. The Illini's next game is Wednesday against Alabama. | -- | 4-0 |
| 13 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 25 points and six assists in Monday's 96-80 win over Mississippi State. The Cyclones' next game is Monday against Stonehill. | -- | 4-0 |
| 14 |  | Graham Ike finished with 20 points and nine rebounds in Friday's 77-65 win over Arizona State. The Zags' next game is Monday at Southern Utah. | -- | 5-0 |
| 15 |  | Christian Anderson finished with 18 points and seven assists in Friday's 80-63 win over Milwaukee. The Red Raiders' next game is Thursday against Wake Forest. | -- | 3-1 |
| 16 |  | Skyy Clark was 3 of 11 from the field on Friday's 69-65 loss to Arizona. The Bruins' next game is Tuesday against Sacramento State. | -- | 3-1 |
| 17 |  | Mouhamed Dioubate finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in Friday's 99-53 win over Eastern Illinois. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Michigan State. | -- | 3-2 |
| 18 |  | Carson Cooper finished with 17 points and four steals in Thursday's 79-60 win over San Jose State. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday against Kentucky. | -- | 4-0 |
| 19 |  | Jackson Shelstad finished with 22 points and eight assists in Wednesday's 83-69 win over South Dakota State. The Ducks' next game is Monday against Oregon State. | -- | 4-0 |
| 20 |  | Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 20 points and five assists in Friday's 79-75 in over Samford. The Razorbacks' next game is Tuesday against Winthrop. | -- | 4-1 |
| 21 |  | Caleb Wilson finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds in Friday's 97-53 win over North Carolina Central. The Tar Heels' next game is Tuesday against Navy. | -- | 5-0 |
| 22 |  | Flory Bidunga finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 76-57 win over Princeton. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday against Duke. | -- | 3-1 |
| 23 |  | Nate Ament finished with 19 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 99-66 win over North Florida. The Vols' next game is Monday against Rice. | -- | 4-0 |
| 24 |  | Elijah Freeman finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 93-62 win over Wofford. The Tigers' next game is Sunday against Houston. | -- | 3-1 |
| 25 |  | Nolan Winter finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 86-55 win over Ball State. The Badgers' next game is Monday against SIUE. | -- | 4-0 |
| 26 |  | AJ Storr finished with 14 points and two steals in Friday's 82-60 win over Cal State Bakersfield. The Rebels' next game is Tuesday against Austin Peay. | -- | 5-0 |
