After sitting out a year, the Connecticut Huskies are back in the NCAA tournament, earning a No. 7 seed. The Huskies made their way through their first season in the AAC Conference and will not play No. 10 Saint Josephs in the first game of March Madness. Connecticut is coming off a loss to Louisville in the conference championship game, something that will likely be used as motivation as the team is predicted to do well in the tournament.
Saint Joe's is hoping to play upset after winning the Atlantic-10 conference. The Hawks' season looked almost over after the team was blown out by Villanova back in December, but they turned things around, going 20-5 since the 96-68 loss. The team is one a three-game win streak after what can be described as a season-low game against their conference rivals. Saint Joe's is putting together one of the better seasons in school history, winning their first tournament title since 1997. Halil Kanacevic will lead the team after earning conference MVP honors. The forward is averaging 15.3 points per game and 14.3 rebounds.
The Connecticut Huskies will be led by senior Shabazz Napier who would like to end his impressive college career with one last solid tournament run. Napier is using their one-year absence as motivation. The guard was named AAC player of the year after he led the team with 17.4 points per game and 4.9 assists.
The stat to watch in this matchup is the placement of the region. The last time the Huskies played in Buffalo, they won the nationals championship. The team beat Georgia Tech for the title. Now the Huskies return to the same location, hoping for similar results.
The last time Connecticut was in the tournament, they lost in their first game to Iowa State. The team is trying to put that behind them. However, if things go according to plan, they could meet that team in the third round.
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