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Upset Picks, Cinderella Advice and Bold Predictions
Need bracket advice? Five SI writers give their insight on upset-minded questions around the Big Dance.
www.si.com
In response to "Which 7 seed or lower is the best bet to make the Final Four?" 3 of the 5 SI writers picked UConn.
Geary: No. 7 UConn. The East Region was the toughest to figure out in my bracket, and if it descends into chaos, the underseeded Huskies could take advantage. They need to first get past Maryland before they can dream about taking down No. 2 Alabama, but if the Huskies can find enough offense, their defense looks fairly well-equipped against the Tide (UConn’s D both at the rim and on the perimeter—the two places Alabama almost exclusively shoots—is solid). If they can pull off that upset, the Final Four looks a lot more realistic.
Woo: UConn. Based on how the brackets shook out, I don't think it's likely we’ll see that type of run this year, but the Huskies play extremely hard and are not going to be outworked or caught by surprise. James Bouknight has not looked like himself of late, but he's had a week of rest and should be locked in. UConn sits in the messiest region of the bracket, and if it can edge past Maryland and upset Alabama (yes, this is glossing over a lot of adversity), I have no idea who it’ll see next, but the potential for Texas and Michigan to go down early does create a sliver of possibility if you squint a little. A healthy Bouknight changes the equation.
Sweeney: UConn. With a healthy James Bouknight, the Huskies are strongly underseeded relative to their talent level. In the 14 games that Bouknight has played in this season, UConn is 11–3. Without him? Just 4–4. What's more, since Bouknight's return from midseason elbow surgery in mid-February, the Huskies have been the fourth-best team in the country, per T-Rank. Add in the fact that this region features the most vulnerable No. 1 seed (Michigan), and it's easy to find a path back to the Final Four for Dan Hurley's club.