Welcome to the Road to Phoenix, formerly the Road to March. For the next month and change, I will be previewing as many teams as possible in an attempt to help your bracket survive past the first weekend. First up, the UConn Huskies.
From: Peter K. Afriyie (AP Photo)
Season Outlook
Last year, Danny Hurley and the Huskies dominated March en route to a national championship. On the heels of a title, there were major questions surrounding the UConn roster. Jordan Hawkins, Adama Sanogo, and Andre Jackson, arguably their three best players, all left for the NBA. Naheim Alleyne transferred to St. John's. They looked to have very little spacing around their two remaining stars: Tristen Newton and Donovan Clingan. Thankfully they hauled in Top-10 recruit Stephon Castle to slot in at SG. Castle has had ups and downs as a freshman in the Big East, which is no shocker.
But the big news of the offseason came from late portal add Cam Spencer. Spencer came over from Rutgers and has given the Huskies an absolute DOG. Spencer gives the team spacing, and has quickly become one of the most feared shooters in the country. The Senior guard is shooting nearly 45% from deep on 6 attempts per game.
Moving onto the schedule, the Huskies have been on a war path. They dismantled Texas. They comfortably handled North Carolina. UConn disbanded Gonzaga. They already swept St. John's. Their only two losses have come on the road, to Kansas in the Phog and a likely-tournament team in Seton Hall. In their last three games, they have an average margin of victory of 21.6 points. This Huskies team is ridiculous.
From: Jessica Hill (AP Photo)
Strengths
Their main strength comes on the offensive side of the ball. They currently boast the third best offense in terms of Adjusted Efficiency (KenPom). They are led by Senior point guard Tristen Newton. Newton came alive in the tournament last year, and has carried that momentum into this year. Newton does it all for Danny Hurley, averaging 16 points, 6 assists, 7 rebounds, and a steal a game. The captain is the clear leader of the team.
I already mentioned both Castle and Spencer, but I would be remised to not mention Cling Kong, Donovan Clingan. He has struggled with injuries, but when on the court, he's a dominant big. The Sophomore big man averages 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks a game. The Huskies have another Sophomore struggling with injuries, Alex Karaban. When healthy, Karaban contributes 14 points per game on elite efficiency.
All of these offensive bursts stem from one of the best offensive minds in the sport, Danny Hurley. Hurley has a ridiculous amount of sets that he can mesh together, and it creates a world of problems for defenses. He is also a fantastic leader, constantly pushing his team to play hard, and "kick their ass in basketball". Hurley runs the most intricate and beautiful offense in college basketball, and is a firecracker on the sideline for 48 minutes straight.
Weaknesses
While the Huskies defense is still Top-15 at KenPom, they allow stretches where they cannot get a stop. It seems as though they play with their food from time to time. In both St. John's games, they were down at half, and needed a dominant second half to win. They got careless at Seton Hall and lost. UConn can struggle to lock in for a stretch of time before they get it going. This was not a problem in last year's tournament. Maybe they just tend to sleepwalk through games in the regular season. Maybe it'll show up in the tournament. If it does, they could be looking at an early exit.
From: NCAA
Tournament Outlook
Barring something disastrous in the final stretch of the season, Connecticut will secure a 1-seed in the tournament. This should comfortably put them in the second weekend. In Joe Lunardi's most recent bracketology, their first tough matchup would pit them against either Kentucky or Iowa State. I would pretty easily pick the Huskies in both of those matchups, putting them into the Elite 8. The floor for this UConn team is the Sweet 16, but there is clear upside at being the first back-to-back national champion since Florida. The Connecticut Huskies are one of the most dominant teams in the country, and you should be confident in your brackets if they wind up as your champion.
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