Three keys for UConn to beat UCLA, advance to Sweet 16

It’s a battle of blue bloods in Philadelphia on Sunday night, as the 2-seed UConn men’s basketball team takes on Mick Cronin and the 7-seed UCLA Bruins for a spot in the Sweet 16. UConn survived 15-seed Furman’s best punch Friday night for an 82-71 win to make it to the second round, while UCLA fought off a late comeback from 10-seed UCF to hold on for a 75-71 win. Now, the two historic programs with 17 men’s basketball titles between them will square off at 8:45 p.m. ET on TNT for the right to take on 3-seed Michigan State next weekend in the Sweet 16 in Washington, D.C.

FanDuel has UConn as a 4.5-point favorite over the Bruins on Sunday night, with the Huskies odds to win outright at -194. The over/under for the game is set at 136.5, down from the opening odds at 137.5. If history is to say anything about matchups between Cronin’s teams against UConn dating back to his Cincinnati days, Sunday night figures to be a physical affair where points could be at a premium. For more NCAA tournament odds and futures, be sure to check out FanDuel.

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A win for the Huskies would give them three Sweet 16 appearances in the last four seasons and be the 20th Sweet 16 in program history. In order for UConn to get there, here are three keys for the Huskies to take down the Bruins.

Get Healthy

UConn was without starting point guard Silas Demary Jr. and sixth man Jaylin Stewart for the win over the Paladins. While Stewart has missed the last seven games with a knee injury, Demary Jr. injured his ankle in the Big East Tournament Championship against St. John’s and missed his first game of the season Friday night.

Both players were sorely missed in the First Round, as Dan Hurley and the Huskies had to go a little deeper into the bench than usual to try and compensate for having two key players unavailable. While Malachi Smith and Alec Millender stepped up to help UConn get the win, Demary Jr.’s scoring ability and defensive skills were sorely missed. The same can be said…

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Publish date : 2026-03-21 23:05:00

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