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ESPN has continued with the lack of love for head coach DanHurley’s UConnmen’s basketball team.
The first bracketology predictions for the men’s NCAATournament from ESPN came out five weeks ago, and the network issued its nextway-too-early bracket projections on Tuesday.
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Again, bracketologistJoe Lunardi put the Huskies on the No. 3 seed line, giving the No. 1 seedsto Duke, Florida, Illinois and Arizona. Duke is listed as the No. 1 seed.
Anchoring the No. 2 lines are Michigan State, Texas,defending champion Michigan and Louisville.
Lunardi didn’t detail his reasons for thislower-than-expected projection, but we can surmise some reasons why.
1. The Huskies finished the regular season and conferencetournament schedule in 2025-26 with a 29-5 record, 17-3 in the Big East. Theyadded a 5-1 record in the tournament, the loss coming to Michigan in the NCAAtitle game.
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They were a No. 2 seed.
If you called last season’s nonconference schedule hard, theupcoming one is herculean. After a rematch with Michigan in the second game ofthe season, the Huskies face the gauntlet of Arizona, Duke and Illinois insuccessive games – two of the three outside Connecticut.
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And three of the four projected No. 1 seeds.
2. The retooled roster. AlexKaraban, the winner of two NCAA championships and the leader of the teamthe past two seasons, is off to the NBA. So is Tarris Reed Jr., who led theHuskies last season with 14.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Anotherchampionship winner, Solo Ball, will miss the season as he recovers from wristsurgery.
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3. Inexperience. It’s also a young roster, with fiveseniors, one junior, six sophomores and three freshmen – and few players whohave been through the rigors of a long run in the NCAA Tournament. That wouldbe seniors Silas Demary Jr. and Jayden Ross, along with sophomore BraylonMullins. Nik Khamenia, a transfer from Duke, was on the Blue Devils team thatwas knocked out of the tournament by Mullins’…
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Publish date : 2026-08-19 03:59:00
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