Sports Illustrated’s Men’s College Basketball Preseason Top 25: No. 2 Uconn

Through Oct. 31, Sports Illustrated will count down its preseason assemblage hoops Top 25 pinch overviews of each team. Here are nan afloat rankings truthful far.

From its illness successful Maui to immoderate uncharacteristic stumbles successful Big East play, UConn didn’t scope nan impossibly precocious modular group for itself aft back-to-back nationalist championships. And yet contempt each that, nan Huskies were someway very overmuch successful it until nan extremity against eventual champion Florida. Doing that pinch a squad that had clear limitations and sewage hampered further by injuries should person Huskies fans excited astir getting backmost to nan apical of nan athletics this twelvemonth pinch a reloaded roster. 

UConn kept nan nucleus of past year’s squad successful spot and supplemented to capable nan holes. Solo Ball is backmost aft emerging arsenic 1 of nan nation’s champion shooters past season, making 99 threes astatine a 41% clip. He tin beryllium spacey astatine times connected nan protect end, but he’s a game-changing violative subordinate pinch room to grow. Tarris Reed was a valuable portal pickup a twelvemonth agone from Michigan and by nan extremity of past play was intelligibly UConn’s champion big. On a per-minute ground past season, he was incredibly productive and could beryllium 1 of nan apical centers successful nan athletics this play and station regular double-doubles. Alex Karaban struggled astatine times past play pinch nan weight of being a star, but tin autumn backmost into being nan elite domiciled subordinate that helped UConn triumph 2 championships. And retaining Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross was sneaky important, particularly pinch really analyzable UConn’s strategy tin beryllium connected some ends of nan floor. 

Key Reserves: PG Malachi Smith, W Jaylin Stewart, C Eric Reibe

Key Additions 

The clearest flaw successful UConn’s 2024–25 look was its constituent defender play. Saint Mary’s transportation Aidan Mahaney ne'er proved he could beryllium a tablesetter successful Hurley’s system, and seasoned Hassan Diarra conscionable didn’t supply capable violative firepower while dealing pinch nagging injuries. Hurley and his unit were fierce this outpouring successful solving that problem and landed 1 of nan astir proven portal PGs successful Georgia transportation Silas Demary, who willed nan Bulldogs to nan NCAA tourney pinch a beardown decorativeness past season. His size and nan unsocial gait he plays pinch will punctual immoderate fans of Tristen Newton, though Demary’s a spot much of a score-first subordinate than Newton. He should thief defensively excessively fixed his positional size and physicality. Malachi Smith could besides facet successful astatine nan constituent aft transferring successful from Dayton. He’s a dependable backup action who takes attraction of nan shot and leads. 

Silas Demary (left) should springiness UConn a constituent defender tin of some scoring and mounting nan array for others. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Having Ball, Karaban and Demary connected nan level already meant UConn was going to beryllium 1 of nan champion three-point shooting teams successful nan country. Freshman Braylon Mullins is nan icing connected nan cake. He was nan champion off-movement shooter successful his precocious schoolhouse class, tailor-made to play successful Hurley’s discourtesy that runs beautiful screening actions for shooters. An ankle wounded suffered successful believe will person him sidelined until December, but erstwhile healthy, Mullins gives this discourtesy yet different elite weapon. The magnitude of unit that quartet of shooters will put connected nan defense (all pinch a bruiser successful Reed down low) will beryllium immense. And until Mullins returns, UConn tin play bigger pinch Stewart aliases get added ballhandling connected nan level pinch Smith. 

Fellow apical freshman Eric Reibe’s effect mightiness get felt much down nan statement than successful Year 1, but he’s a sanction to cognize moving forward. Highly skilled 7-footers don’t turn connected trees, and he should person a way to immoderate rotation minutes down Reed arsenic a freshman. 

UConn’s defense was unsmooth past season, finishing No. 75 nationally per KenPom. Fouling excessively overmuch was nan biggest flaw, sending teams to nan statement astatine 1 of nan highest rates nationally. That was peculiarly a problem successful its frontcourt, pinch Reed fouling 5.5 times per 40 minutes. UConn built elite defenses successful 2023 and ‘24 but had outstanding personnel, pinch Andre Jackson flying astir connected nan first title squad and Donovan Clingan dominating astatine nan rim connected some squads. Getting backmost into nan apical 10ish nationally connected that extremity of nan level is nan easiest way to nan Huskies being superior title contenders again, but that’s a large jump particularly fixed really overmuch continuity they person from a unit perspective. 

The Bottom Line

UConn has 1 of nan astir talented lineups successful nan country, pinch an statement to beryllium made that nan Huskies’ starting group features top-20 players astatine each position successful nan sport. As agelong arsenic Demary takes to nan Huskies discourtesy quickly, they should beryllium perfectly lethal connected that extremity of nan floor. There are much concerns defensively, but if Hurley tin find immoderate answers astatine that extremity UConn could extremity up celebrating different title adjacent April.

More College Basketball connected Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s caller assemblage sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, beneath aliases connected Apple and Spotify. Watch nan show connected SI’s YouTube channel.