The 5-3 UConn men's basketball team, fresh off an eighth-place finish out of eight at the 2024 Maui Invitational, remain ranked in the AP Poll, released Monday afternoon, and even UConn fans cannot believe it.

The Huskies' five wins have all come against teams rated 310 or worse in KenPom, and their three losses in Maui all came to teams who were unranked at the time. The Memphis Tigers, who defeated UConn in the quarterfinals, check in this week at No. 16.

No Escalators, the popular UConn fan duo on X, summed it up with a tongue-in-cheek response based on the Huskies' success over the worst teams in the country.

“UConn checks in at 25 in the AP poll. STILL RANKED,” they wrote. “A victory for those with a discerning eye for evaluating blowouts over sub-330 KenPom teams.”

HurleyMania, cohost of the popular UConn fan Spaces on X after games, couldn't believe it either.

“Cannot believe the men are still ranked,” he wrote. “Lmfao.”

UConn grad Chris LaPorte raised the point that even though some still debate whether UConn is a blue blood — despite back-to-back national championships and more overall titles than Duke and Indiana — this should settle the issue.

“The clearest sign that UConn is now a Blue Blood™ is that we can lose three games before Thanksgiving and still be ranked in the first poll of December,” he said.

Field of 68's Jeff Goodman said the part that most fans were probably thinking but didn't want to put out into the world.

“It’s absolutely ludicrous that UConn is still ranked right now,” he said.

UConn basketball will have a chance to prove it's worthy of a spot in the Top 25

Connecticut Huskies forward Alex Karaban (11) dribbles the ball chased by Texas A&M Commerce guard Tay Mosher (5) during the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.
Mark Smith-Imagn Images

While UConn has beat up on the bad teams, the 2023 and 2024 champs will face pretty much nothing but good teams the rest of the season. That starts on Wednesday when the Baylor Bears come to Gampel Pavilion for the Big East-Big 12 Battle. Baylor has also underachieved so far, though not as loudly. The Bears were blown out by Gonzaga to open the season and lost by double-digits to Tennessee, while only beating St. John's on a last-second shot in double overtime.

Despite their struggles, the Huskies and Bears have had two of the best offenses in the sport so far, ranking 6th and 8th respectively in offensive efficiency, per KenPom. UConn's achilles heel has come on defense where it ranks 83rd in the nation after struggling to get stops in key moments in Maui.

While UConn should be slight favorites over Baylor, that may depend on Alex Karaban's availability. The junior suffered what the team called a mild concussion in Maui and sat out of their game Saturday against Maryland Eastern Shore. The team has not announced whether he will suit up on Wednesday.

After the Baylor game, UConn hits the road to play at Texas before stopping by their home-away-from-home of Madison Square Garden for a showdown with Gonzaga. The Huskies enter Big East play after that.