Game Day Notes: The title defense begins today!

Good afternoon Husky fans. UConn men’s basketball is just a couple of hours away from tipping off in its NCAA Tournament debut. They face the 16-seeded Stetson Hatters today at 2:45 p.m. and with a win they’ll meet the winner of FAU vs. Northwestern, which is being played right now, on Sunday.

Donnie Jones, the head coach on the opposing sideline today, has defeated UConn as an underdog in his past as the coach of UCF back in 2012. But that was many eras ago. This UConn team is focused for the challenge and refuses to be complacent despite last year’s success.

It makes sense. After all, Donovan Clingan was a bench player last year. Alex Karaban was a role player. Tristen Newton was the third option offensively. They’ve all grown into new roles, but they have no reason to be confident based on 2023. Dan Hurley has even emphasized that their accomplishments of this season “don’t mean jack” once it’s win or go home.

We’ve already seen some big upsets in this young tournament, with 3-seed Kentucky going down and 4-seed Kansas nearly falling, along with three 6-seeds. Purdue last year became the second 1-seed to lose to a 16-seed. In a season where it set many program and league records, UConn is looking to avoid making the wrong kind of history as it begins its title defense.

Stetson Preview

TV: CBS, 2:45 p.m.

Radio: UConn Sports Network

Odds: UConn -26.5, over/under 145.5 (Odds via DraftKings)

Location: Barclays Center — Brooklyn, New York

KenPom Predicted Score: UConn 86, Stetson 63 (98 percent win probability)

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