UW Men’s Basketball Enters AP Poll at #20

Last season the Huskies snuck into the preseason AP Poll at #25 and immediately dropped out after losing at Auburn. This year they were the de facto 26th team and instead jump up following a thrilling comeback victory over a ranked Baylor team. Washington now finds itself ranked #20 in the AP Poll.

The Huskies were one of two teams, both Pac-12 schools, that newly entered the rankings after the first week of the season as Colorado debuted at #25 following a win over Arizona State in China. Oregon and Arizona each moved up a spot or two respectively which gives the conference four teams in the top-25. The Pac-12 was undefeated against non-conference competition in the first week of the season with the sole loss coming from the aforementioned bizarre “non-league” game between Colorado and Arizona State. Washington’s opponent in the first game of the year, Baylor, dropped 8 spots following the loss but remain in the rankings at #24.

The Huskies also appear in the rankings of several other sources. Andy Katz of the NCAA has Washington ranked 14th overall in his Power 36. Jeff Borzello of ESPN also has the Dawgs at #14 in his power rankings which only include 16 total teams. Gary Parrish at CBS updates his top 25 and 1 daily and as of Monday morning the Huskies have climbed to 24th after Parrish admitted on his podcast that they were likely the last team to miss the cut in his preseason rankings.

Washington returns to action tomorrow night in the home opener against Mount St. Mary’s and face another tough test on Saturday when they play a neutral site game against Tennessee in Toronto.