Connecticut guard Tristen Newton, left, drives to the basket against DePaul guard Elijah Fisher during a game on Feb. 14.
(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)
Connecticut is attempting to become the first team to win consecutive titles since Florida 17 years ago. The tournament’s top seed is missing two stars from last year’s championship but they return the one mandatory piece for a Final Four contender — a veteran point guard. He is Tristen Newton, and he should be able to navigate the Huskies out of potential Auburn trouble in the Sweet 16 and lead them on a seemingly inevitable journey to Glendale, Ariz., and State Farm Stadium for the Final.
Hold up…
The Huskies will lose in the Elite Eight to the quietly elite Iowa State. The second-seeded Cyclones are devoid of superstars, but they have a bunch of solid players who ranked second in the country in defense and who just won the tournament championship of easily the toughest conference in the country, the Big 12. They beat Houston twice, they beat Kansas, and they will beat Connecticut.
First Round
Connecticut def. Stetson — Friday, 11:45 a.m.| CBS
Northwestern def. Florida Atlantic — Friday, 9:15 a.m. | CBS
Alabama Birmingham def. San Diego State — Friday, 10:45 a.m. | TNT
Auburn def. Yale — Friday, 1:15 p.m. | TNT
Brigham Young def. Duquesne — Thursday, 9:40 a.m. | TruTV
Illinois def. Morehead State — Thursday, 9:15 a.m. | TruTV
Washington State def. Drake — Thursday, 7:05 p.m. | TruTV
Iowa State def. South Dakota State — Thursday, 4:35 p.m. | TruTV
Second Round
Connecticut def. Northwestern
Auburn def. Alabama Birmingham
Brigham Young def. Illinois
Iowa State def. Washington State
Sweet 16
Connecticut def. Auburn
Iowa State def. Brigham Young
Elite Eight
Iowa State def. Connecticut
