The University of Connecticut is the newest defending nationwide champion to affix school basketball’s most elite record.
It turns into the eighth Division I program to be the general prime seed within the males’s NCAA Tournament and the primary since Florida in 2006-7 to make back-to-back appearances within the event period. The others have been Oklahoma State University (1945-1946), Kentucky (1948-1949), San Francisco (1955-56), Cincinnati (1961-62), and UCLA (1964-65, 1967-73). , Duke University (1991-92). .
The Huskies will intention to qualify from the East, the place their hardest competitors needs to be Big 12 Tournament champion and No. 2 Iowa State. No. 3 Illinois, his No. 2 crew within the Big Ten. No. 4 Auburn, winner of the SEC event.
It’s a powerful space. But no crew within the nation appears as sturdy as UConn, which is an outrageous championship favourite to repeat.
USA TODAY Sports breaks down the lads’s NCAA Tournament East:
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Best first-round matchup: Washington State vs. Drake
No. 7 Washington State is again within the event for the primary time since 2008, ending because the runner-up within the Pac-12 with a 24-9 report beneath coach Kyle Smith. While Drake had an incredible common season, the Bulldogs earned no less than 25 wins in every of the final 4 years, incomes the No. 10 seed with the Missouri Valley Tournament championship. Drake’s offense is among the highest scoring in program historical past, however it will likely be challenged by a WSU protection that hasn’t scored 80 factors since a Feb. 3 win over Washington.
Breakdown: Eastern area | Midwest area | Southern area | Western area
Eliminated: 6 groups ignored by the event committee
Possible upset within the first spherical: Auburn vs. Yale
No. 12 Alabama-Birmingham is sizzling sufficient to beat No. 5 San Diego State, however the Blazers’ play for a lot of the common season does not bode nicely for his or her possibilities. Instead, let No. 13 Yale discover the new hand and beat No. 4 Auburn, which had one of many cruelest event finishes among the many Power 6 groups. Despite profitable the SEC, the Tigers are behind No. 3 Kentucky, and to make issues worse, they have to cope with both the Huskies or Iowa State to get again to the Final Four beneath coach Bruce Pearl. There is a really excessive risk that this won’t occur.
High and Low: Team Winners and Losers of the Tournament
Sleeper: Florida Atlantic
If for no different motive than the truth that FAU will not lose an NCAA Tournament recreation in New York. (If you are counting all 5 boroughs, that’s.) A yr in the past, the Owls punched their ticket to the Final Four from Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. This time, the No. 8 Owls will play No. 9 Northwestern on the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, earlier than enjoying UConn. FAU struggled at occasions through the common season as a first-year member of the U.S. National Team, however has an skilled roster and depth to compete as soon as once more within the Big Apple come March.
Winner: Connecticut
OK, let’s be actual. It can be an enormous shock if somebody aside from UConn wins the area and advances to the Final Four. (In reality, it is likely to be an enormous shock if anybody however UConn wins all of it.) The Huskies are lengthy, deep, explosive, athletic, and stuffed with the form of confidence you’d anticipate from the defending champions. The Huskies are constructed for intense event play and can profit from the depth they developed whereas battling accidents through the common season.
NCAA Tournament East Schedule
first spherical
Thursday, March twenty first
at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
Brigham Young vs. Duquesne, 12:40 p.m., truTV
Illinois vs. Morehead State, 3:10 p.m., truTV.
Iowa State vs. South Dakota State, 7:35 p.m., truTV
Washington State vs. Drake, 10:05 p.m., truTV
Friday, March twenty second
At the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
Florida Atlantic vs. Northwestern, 12:15, CBS
Connecticut vs. Stetson, 2:45 p.m. CBS
on the Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington.
San Diego State vs. Alabama-Birmingham, 1:45 p.m., TNT
Auburn vs. Yale, 4:15 p.m., TNT
