NCAA Tournament Favorite: UConn Is Locked and Loaded for a Repeat

(Photo : . (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)) NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 14: Tristen Newton #2 reacts with Stephon Castle #5 of the Connecticut Huskies in the second half against the Xavier Musketeers during the Quarterfinals of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2024 in New York City. The Huskies won 87-60

As you fill out your brackets for March Madness this week, you may be tempted to look elsewhere from last year's national champions, the UConn Huskies.

That would likely be a mistake, and it might be wise to look to take risks elsewhere in your bracket, as Connecticut has gone wire-to-wire this season as the clear top team in college basketball.

This roster is loaded, as impact transfers Cam Spencer and first-team All-American Tristen Newton have seamlessly replaced some of the losses from last year's title-winning team.

Donovan Clingan dominates down low, and forward Alex Karaban does a lot of everything. Combine that with a deep stable of contributors off the bench and you have the absolute force that this team is.

Head coach Dan Hurley has done a masterful job revitalizing this program since he took over, and there's little debate that the Huskies stand on top of the college basketball world right now regardless of what happens in this tournament.

That being said, while UConn is the prohibitive favorite in the tournament, the Huskies did get a fairly brutal draw in their region.

NCAA Tournament Favorite: Connecticut Huskies

KenPom Ranking: 1
NET Ranking: 2
Season Highlights: Neutral court win vs. UNC, Big East regular season and conference tournament champions

Assuming UConn can get through the Stetson Hatters in the round of 64, a showdown with the winner between Florida Atlantic and Northwestern shouldn't be too much trouble for the Huskies.

FAU is filled to the brim with confidence after last year's run, and Northwestern does have a super star in Boo Buie, but neither team should pose a serious threat to Connecticut.

After that, though, things could potentially get dicey. If Auburn makes it through to the Sweet 16 as the four-seed, that's a very unfortunate draw for any one-seed, let alone a top overall seed in the tournament.

Iowa State is also the two-seed in UConn's region, and the Cyclones are arguably the strongest two in the whole field as well.

If UConn is going to repeat, and I expect them to do so, there could be a couple of very tough games for them just to make it to the Final 4.

At the end of the day, it's very difficult to imagine UConn losing a game. It's possible, but it would require an opponent catching Spencer on an off shooting day and having an on-ball defender who can neutralize Newton.

Both of those things are hard enough, but it would also require having a pristine performance on the offensive end, shooting at a high percentage while also beating out Clingan for crucial second-chance opportunities.

So while it's hard to imagine Connecticut not winning a given game, it's even harder to imagine an opponent getting everything it needs to go right to force them to lose it.