Tristen NewtonWilliams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Connecticut Huskies +500 (best odds)
There’s still a few weeks left before we need to fill out our brackets, during which time opinions could change. But so long as Connecticut is healthy heading into the NCAA tournament, I can promise you right now they will be my pick to win it all.
Granted, my picks in recent years? Not great!
I had Houston over Arizona in the championship of last year’s bracket, and they won a combined two tournament games. The year before that, I had Gonzaga over Arizona in the title game, and they both got bounced in the Sweet 16. (Maybe I should stop picking Arizona, eh?) I did get the Gonzaga-Baylor title game matchup correct in 2021, but who didn’t have that one?
There’s just something about this Connecticut team that makes them feel like the only team that can be trusted at the end of a season that has been total anarchy, though.
Having to play chunks of the season without Stephon Castle and without Donovan Clingan were blessings in disguise, as it gave both Samson Johnson and Solomon Ball a lot of experience that could prove valuable off the bench in March. Those injuries also forced Tristen Newton to figure out how to consistently put this team on his back.
These Huskies go nine deep no problem. They have no clear weakness, unless you want to count “Creighton turning into a three-point inferno on its home court” against them. They’re dominant in the paint. They’re lethal from distance. And if any team in the country is used to playing through a tough whistle, it’s the fightin’ Danny Hurleys.
Lest you think this is the unhinged ranting of a UConn fanboy, just know that I grew up as a Duke fan and used to loathe Connecticut for those 1999 national championship and 2004 Final Four games. But real recognize real, and these Huskies are for real.
They should become the first repeat champions since 2006-07 Florida.
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