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Thursday, November 2
Preseason Top 25: No. 14 Connecticut

14. CONNECTICUT	LAST YEAR: 25-10	'99-00 RANK: NR
Why No. 14?: The Huskies lost Khalid El-Amin, Kevin Freeman and Jake Voskuhl, but are still one of the most feared teams in the East. Connecticut has one of the sleeper scorers in shooting guard Albert Mouring and a stud of a point in freshman Taliek Brown. The signing of Caron Butler assured the Huskies that they would have a scorer inside, something that they missed a year ago. The Huskies leaned too heavily on El-Amin last season and it cost the Huskies an NCAA Tournament victory when El-Amin was hurt in the Tennessee second-round loss. The Huskies should have even more options inside if Ajou Deng lives up to his potential. Deng should have less pressure on him with Butler on the court. The strength is in place with Edmund Saunders, Johnnie Selvie and Souleymane Wane. The Huskies have the depth to compete with Notre Dame, Seton Hall, St. John's and Georgetown atop the Big East. But the Huskies will end up being a team feared more in March than in November. Will Climb If: The Huskies get through a brutal stretch of games. The Huskies play Dayton in the first round of the Maui Invitational and could end up facing Maryland, Illinois or Arizona. The Huskies get another chance for power rating points against Arizona in a regularly scheduled game, as well as a road game at Texas. On the court, if Butler can be consistent inside then the Huskies will have the balance they lacked last season. Will Fall If: Deng and Wane wilt and the Huskies lose their potential for productive depth in the post. If the Huskies can't hang with their tough schedule early in the year, they may lose confidence once they get into a tough stretch with four of five road games -- at Providence, at Texas, at Miami, and at St. John's, around a game against Villanova. All five games are winnable, but the Huskies can't afford to wilt in early January and expect to hang with Seton Hall. Bilas Breakdown \| HTV's Take \| Team Page

"Your read on UConn is absolutely correct. The Huskies are the Beast of the East and will continue to dominate the Big East. Tough competition from ND, Seton Hall and Georgetown will provide some competition for them, but the Huskies will still finish in the top three in the Big East and make a ton of noise in March. Deng will have a huge year!"
Scott, Connecticut

"The Huskies proved last year that they were nothing without Rip Hamilton. Then they lost the next best players. They will be lucky to win more than two non-conference games and in conference they are middle of the road at best."
John Gollan, Richardson, Texas

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