After the Huskies upset No. 24 Maryland 75-69 and sent them tumbling out of the coaches poll, they lost to No. 15 Illinois 81-77, who rose five spots after their win in Seattle and a blowout win over No. 17 Oregon, who dropped eight spots.
That was just the start of a gauntlet in Big Ten play that, after the latest edition of the coaches poll was released, now includes five straight ranked opponents. It starts with road matchups at No. 14 Michigan State and No. 24 Michigan, before a quick trip home to face No. 19 Purdue, then down to Oregon, and finally returning to Alaska Airlines Arena to face No. 21 UCLA.
According to the coaches poll, that will be seven straight matchups with ranked teams.
“I don’t think this program ever has,” Sprinkle said when asked if his players have ever seen such a tough stretch. “That’s why we got into the Big Ten, it’s a tremendous basketball league. Wait until you watch on TV the environment we play in on Thursday [at Michigan State].”
Here’s what the complete poll looks like.
| Ranking | Team | Record | Points | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tennessee | 14-0 | 765 (21) | – |
| 2 | Auburn | 13-1 | 749 (10) | – |
| 3 | Iowa State | 12-1 | 711 | – |
| 4 | Duke | 12-2 | 670 | – |
| 5 | Alabama | 12-2 | 651 | +1 |
| 6 | Marquette | 13-2 | 581 | +2 |
| 7 | Kentucky | 12-2 | 560 | +4 |
| 8 | Florida | 13-1 | 529 | -3 |
| 9 | Texas A&M | 12-2 | 488 | +3 |
| 10 | UConn | 12-3 | 461 | +3 |
| 11 | Houston | 10-3 | 454 | +3 |
| 12 | Kansas | 10-3 | 438 | -5 |
| 13 | Mississippi State | 13-1 | 372 | +3 |
| 14 | Michigan State | 12-2 | 350 | +1 |
| 15 | Illinois | 11-3 | 300 | +5 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 13-1 | 287 | -6 |
| 17 | Oregon | 13-2 | 284 | -8 |
| 18 | Gonzaga | 12-4 | 246 | +1 |
| 19 | Purdue | 11-4 | 228 | +3 |
| 20 | Memphis | 12-3 | 192 | +5 |
| 21 | UCLA | 11-3 | 147 | -3 |
| 22 | Ole Miss | 12-2 | 119 | +1 |
| 23 | West Virginia | 11-2 | 110 | +14 |
| 24 | Michigan | 11-3 | 98 | +5 |
| 25 | Utah State | 14-1 | 73 | +5 |