UConn men's, women's basketball make top five in preseason poll

UConn is a basketball school and continues to get the recognition that it deserves. Both the Huskies men's and women's basketball teams made the top five in the respective Associated Press preseason Top 25 polls.

UConn men's basketball

The UConn men are led by Dan Hurley and are coming off back-to-back national championship titles. They defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 75-60 to win the title in 2023 in Glendale, Ariz., despite Boilermakers center Zach Edey putting up 37 points in the losing effort.

The Huskies defeated the San Diego State Aztecs 76-59 to win the title in 2022 in Houston, Texas. The Huskies won the 2022 title as a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskies were ranked No. 3 in this year's preseason poll, and it is actually quite shocking. They lost Stephon Castle, Tristen Newton, Donovan Clingan and Cam Spencer to the NBA. They are seen as weaker with so much turnover, though they added center Tarris Reed Jr. from Michigan and guard Aidan Mahaney from St. Mary's.

Reed Jr. and Mahaney have the potential to be stellar for the Huskies offense and in Hurley's system. They also returned Alex Karaban who scouted the NBA combine, but decided to return for a chance at a three-peat.

Although the Huskies are seen as weaker than last season, they are still going to be a force to be reckoned with and have a legitimate shot at three-peating.

UConn women's basketball

The UConn women are led by Geno Auriemma and are coming off of a Final Four defeat to now-WNBA superstar Caitlyn Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Huskies were missing key players all season in Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme, Amari DeBerry and Aubrey Griffin. They were forced to play with only six rotation players in the Final Four and still only lost by two points, barely missing out on the national title game.

Auriemma is an all-time coach. He is still missing Fudd, who is a nice complement to superstar Paige Bueckers, yet his squad is ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll.

The 11-time national champion coach could be missing a whole roster and the Huskies would still be ranked in the top five, somehow again finding a way to lose five games or less in a season.

The Huskies have gotten the national recognition that they deserve right before the start of the season, although the men lost almost their whole starting roster and the women still won't have their full roster to begin the year.

Hurley and Auriemma are top coaches in each of their respective leagues, though, and will continue to be reasons why their programs get national recognition and rankings throughout the season.