After taking care of business with a decisive win over Norfolk State in the Round of 64 the Gators now know who they’ll face next:
The defending back to back National Champions–the UConn Huskies.
While most games between the 8 and 9-seeds are considered to be coinflip games, ever since UConn was matched up with Oklahoma in round one people expected the Huskies to come away victorious. The Sooners were able to keep the game close but the Huskies led for most of the game and stretched their lead to a couple of possessions late, ultimately winning a low scoring 67-59 affair.
Coming off National Championships in 2023 and 2024, accomplishing the feat for the first time since the Gators did it, expectations were high for UConn once again. Despite graduating multiple players the Huskies were picked 3rd in the preseason AP Poll, a testament to the program’s momentum and optimism regarding their recruiting and portal classes.
Early in the season, you could tell this wasn’t going to be another powerhouse UConn team. Going to the famed Maui Invitational the Huskies were expected to win the event–but instead they went 0-3, dropping games to Memphis, Colorado, and Dayton. At the time those losses weren’t considered terrible, but those teams went on to finish the season 55th, 79th, and 74th in KenPom. Those kinds of losses aren’t something that will sink an NCAA Tournament resume–but it sounded the alarm that UConn was going to struggle with decent teams.
In a down Big East year the Huskies were able to still finish third, but their season never really seemed to get in any rhythm. They lost six regular season games, including a loss to lowly Seton Hall who was one of the worst high-major teams in the country this season ranking 203rd in KenPom. In the Big East Tournament, it was a rather quick exit at the hands of Creighton in their second game.
Overall this season has been far from a disaster for UConn, but they have shown it is a distinctly new era from the group that won back to back Championships. Only one starter remains from last year’s team–forward Alex Karaban. Karaban is a savvy offensive player averaging 14.4 points per game, but he’s more of a catch and shoot player–not someone who is going to drive play with the ball in his hands.
Also returning are bench pieces from last year’s team Solo Ball and Hassan Diarra–both players who have had to take a significant step up in their roles. Ball has been one of the great stories of the UConn season, going from a freshman who didn’t play all that much last season to the leading scorer averaging 14.6 points a game while shooting a remarkable 42% from three on 225 attempts. As a reference point, Walter Clayton is shooting 38% from three on 266 attempts–so you can tell just what kind of shooter Ball is. A 6’3” off-guard, Ball is someone who is constantly moving as the Huskies run him off countless screens trying to free him up for open shots. Florida recently saw their off-ball screening defense tested by Tennessee and a lot of those same concepts will be tested by UConn, especially when it comes to Solo Ball.
Hassan Diarra is a pure point guard, distributing from the top of the key as actions are happening around him. Diarra has an excellent understanding of time and space and will time his movements perfectly to deliver passes on time and on target–and there is a reason why he is averaging 5.8 assists per game.
Both Solo Ball and Hassan Diarra have played massive roles for this UConn team, but that wasn’t the plan going into the season. UConn’s top portal acquisition, Aiden Mahaney from Saint Mary’s, was expected to take a ton of those minutes and a lot of the shots–but the move has completely blown up in their faces. Before UConn had even played the first game of the season Dan Hurley took to the media to say that Mahaney wasn’t playing to the standard he expected, and right from the opening tip of the first game you could tell that the marriage wasn’t working. One of the top targets in the portal this offseason (even Florida had huge interest) Mahaney had high expectations for this season and simply put–he’s now a bit of an afterthought. Averaging just 12.5 minutes a game you will still see Mahaney get on the court, but at 4.5 points and 1.3 assists per game he isn’t all that impactful. Florida will have to be prepared for his ability to get hot from behind the arc, but he’s not going to be anywhere near the top of the scouting report.
Another portal acquisition that hasn’t worked out great is center Tarris Reed who came to the Huskies from Michigan. While it hasn’t been a home run, Reed is still a solid starting center who averages 9.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. At 6’10” and 260 pounds he’s an absolute load to handle on the inside and he will provide some of the bulk required to battle a frontcourt like Florida’s.
Adding some offensive juice this season is freshman Liam McNeeley, a five-star recruit from Texas that the Gators recruited before he ended up choosing UConn. A skilled 6’7” forward, McKneely brings a dynamic presence to the Huskies at all three levels as he scores in a variety of ways. Though there is sometimes the inconsistency in McKneeley’s game that comes with him being a freshman he brings a lot of scoring touch and energy, and the Huskies are definitely at their best when he is playing good basketball.
During the two Championship seasons, UConn was known for their cerebral offense that saw them running some of the most complex offenses in college basketball that left defenses dizzy. Despite the talent being down this year, UConn is still scoring at a high level and is 14th in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency. While Florida’s defense has been rock solid this year they have struggled with teams that run a lot of sets, something that was even noticeable against Norfolk State who was able to catch the Gators sleeping with some off-ball screening actions. No one in the country is going to run as much action as UConn off the ball, and if the Gators don’t come with a high level of focus they could find themselves having issues.
Since the offense has been humming for UConn this year, you can probably guess what has been the struggle for them this year and what has led to the disappointing season–the defense. Currently 77th in the country in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric, UConn has struggled to keep offensive players in front of them due to a lack of size and athleticism on the perimeter and mobility on the interior. Florida will have a large athleticism advantage in this matchup, and they will likely try to use it to really speed the game up. The Gators thrive in fast paced environments, whereas there are few teams in the country that play as slowly as UConn on both sides of the ball.
One thing the Huskies have done tremendously is rebound the ball, and that will be tested against the Gators. UConn is 24th in the country in offensive rebounding and 67th in the country in defensive rebounding, and that will be an interesting counter to Florida who is 6th in offensive rebounding and 141st in defensive rebounding.
Ultimately, this is a game of extremely contrasting styles and roster builds. UConn wants to play extremely methodically and run all kinds of set plays, whereas the Gators want to play fast and freely.
Styles make fights, and this is going to be a tremendous matchup.
This game will take place on Sunday, March 23rd, and it will tip at 12:10 ET.