CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein might sleep in May, but ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi doesn’t, apparently.
In the midst of a busy offseason that’s seen the UConn men’s basketball program bring in a pair of highly-coveted transfers, a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans, and return Alex Karaban for his final season, Lunardi tabbed the Huskies as a No. 1 seed in his latest bracketology projection.
The projection was updated on Tuesday as players made NBA Draft and transfer portal decisions, and recruits committed to schools for next season.
On Monday, Rothstein reported that Georgia transfer guard Silas Demary Jr. has officially withdrawn his name from the NBA Draft and will be in Storrs next season. Demary, who averaged 13.5 points and 3.1 assists for Georgia last season, is expected to be UConn’s starting point guard.
Lunardi pointed out that this time last year, UConn was attempting to make history by trying to become the first school to win three straight national titles since UCLA won seven straight from 1967-73. But their chance at history isn’t over yet– no program has won three of four titles since those same Bruins did that from 1972-75.
“There’s no reason UConn shouldn’t be considered a very legitimate contender for the 2026 crown, especially with the return of Alex Karaban, which boosts the Huskies to the first line of our latest bracket projection as the final No. 1 seed,” Lunardi wrote.
Lunardi predicts UConn to end up in the West Region, with first and second-round games in Philadelphia and the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight set for San Jose. He chose national runner-up Houston as the No. 1 overall seed, and tabbed Purdue and Duke as the other No. 1 seeds.
He also predicted that UConn and St. John’s would battle for Big East supremacy, and potentially for a No. 1 seed come March.
The projections are validating for Huskies fans, who were hoping to see UConn near the top of the national rankings in the preseason.
Lunardi also projected Yale to reach the NCAA Tournament as a No. 12 seed.
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