UConn is the giant in the East Region, though path to Final Four is rough
The top-overall seed in the men’s NCAA Tournament is looking to become the eighth program in Division I and first since Florida in 2006-7 to go back-to-back in the tournament era. The others are Oklahoma State (1945-46), Kentucky (1948-49), San Francisco (1955-56), Cincinnati (1961-62), UCLA (1964-65, 1967-73) and Duke (1991-92).
The Huskies will try to do so coming out of the East Region, where the stiffest competition should come from No. 2 Iowa State, the Big 12 tournament champion; No. 3 Illinois, the second-place team from the Big Ten; and No. 4 Auburn, winners of the SEC tournament.
It’s a strong region. But no team in the country has looked as strong as UConn, the prohibitive favorites to repeat.
USA TODAY Sports breaks down the men’s NCAA Tournament East Region:
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Best first-round matchup: Washington State vs. Drake
No. 7 Washington State is back in the tournament for the first since 2008 after going 24-9 and finishing second in the Pac-12 under coach Kyle Smith. Drake had another outstanding regular season — the Bulldogs have won at least 25 games in each of the past four years — but won the Missouri Valley tournament championship to land the No. 10 seed. Drake’s offense is one of the highest-scoring in program history but will be challenged by a WSU defense that hasn’t given up 80 points since a win against Washington on Feb. 3.
BREAKDOWNS:East Region | Midwest Region | South Region | West Region
Potential upset in first round: Auburn vs. Yale
No. 12 Alabama-Birmingham is hot enough to take down No. 5 San Diego State, though the Blazers’ play for the vast majority of the regular season doesn’t speak too well to their chances. Let’s go instead with No. 13 Yale finding a hot hand and taking down No. 4 Auburn, which had one of the cruelest tournament landing spots of any Power Six team. The Tigers were placed behind No. 3 Kentucky despite winning the SEC, for one, and worse yet will very likely have to tussle with one of the Huskies and Iowa State to get back to the Final Four behind coach Bruce Pearl.
HIGHS AND LOWS: Winners and losers among the teams in the tournament
The sleeper: Florida Atlantic
If for no other reason than the fact that FAU doesn’t lose NCAA Tournament games in New York. (If we’re counting all five boroughs, that is.) A year ago, the Owls punched their ticket to the Final Four out of Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. This time, the No. 8 Owls will get started at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center against No. 9 Northwestern before — gulp — taking on UConn. FAU struggled at times during the regular season as first-year members of the American but have the experienced roster and depth of production to make another March run in the Big Apple.
The winner: Connecticut
OK, so let’s get real: Anyone other than UConn winning the region and going to the Final Four would be a big surprise. (Anyone other than UConn winning the whole thing might be a big surprise, actually.) The Huskies are long, deep, explosive, dripping with athleticism and loaded with the sort of confidence you’d expect from the defending champs. The Huskies are built to handle the intensity of tournament play and will benefit from the depth developed while battling some injuries during the regular season.
NCAA Tournament East Region schedule
First round
Thursday, March 21
At CHI Health Center, Omaha, Neb.
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 22
At Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Florida Atlantic vs. Northwestern, 12:15, CBS
Connecticut vs. Stetson, 2:45 p.m. CBS
At Spokane Arena, Spokane, Wash.
San Diego State vs. Alabama-Birmingham, 1:45 p.m., TNT
Auburn vs. Yale, 4:15 p.m., TNT