UConn’s Azzi Fudd is attempting to win back-to-back championships for the Huskies.
Blue Devil freshman forward, Cameron Boozer, may be the top pick in this year’s NBA draft.
Gamecocks senior guard Ta’Niya Latson averages 14 points pr game.
Miami of Ohio Wing, Eian Elmer drives past an Ohio U defender. The Redhawks are 31-1
The madness is back, and college basketball is about to explode with chaos and heart-stopping drama.
The women of the University of Connecticut and the men of Duke University are the top overall seeds in their respective categories of collegiate roundball competition. The Lady Huskies of Connecticut, the defending Division I national champions, enter this postseason with a perfect 34-0 record and a 50-game unbeaten streak.
They are led by Sarah Strong, the daughter of former Harvard All-American Allyson Feaster, and Azzi Fudd, the Most Outstanding Player of last year’s Final 4. Connecticut Coach Geno Auriemma, on the quest for his 13th NCAA national title, calls this one of his best teams:
“This team doesn’t think about being undefeated. My players just enjoy playing together. After all these years, I am finally starting to enjoy ‘March Madness.’ If we win another national title, great. If not, I will still have enjoyed this season. But make no mistake, we are going for it all.”
The women of UCLA, along with the Lady Longhorns of Texas and the Gamecocks of South Carolina, are the other three number-one seeds. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, whose 2022 undefeated team holds the distinction of beating an Auriemma-coached team in a national championship game, relishes the challenge of NCAA postseason basketball:
“If you are any kind of player, you live for this kind of competition on the national stage. When I recruit players, I look for the ones that I think will be at their best when the chips are all on the line.”
There will be the proverbial upsets, but consensus holds UConn, the number one seed for a record 23rd time (surpassing their previous tie with Tennessee), is likely to hang another national championship banner in Gampel Arena. UCLA and Texas could reach the Final 4 without leaving their home states.
Three other local teams made the tournament, who will all play in the West regional: The 11th-seeded Rhode Island Rams, who are 28-4, will tangle with the Crimson Tide of Alabama in Louisville, Kentucky. Joining them are the 27-7 Vermont Catamounts, seeded 14th, playing against the hometown Louisville Cardinals, the thirrd seed. And finally, the Holy Cross Crusaders will travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to face the ninth-ranked Michigan Wolverines, who are seeded second.
In the men’s competition, the Duke Blue Devils are the overall number one seed. The Arizona Wildcats, Michigan Wolverines, and Florida Gators — defending national champions — also captured number one seeds. The SEC (Southeastern Conference) placed 10 teams in this year’s tournament. Next are the Big 10 with nine, the Big 12 with eight, and the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) with eight.
In 2026, the men’s field is more widely open than the women’s. All four top seeds have had strong seasons. Duke and Arizona have been solid throughout the year. However Michigan (Big 10) and Florida (Southeastern Conference) failed to win their respective conference postseason tournaments. The Gators lost in the early stage of their postseason tournament. Yet both teams still earned a number one seed.
Brigham Young University star AJ Dybantsa led all freshman scorers with a 25.2 scoring average. The former St. Sebastian High School star is expected to be one of the top three selections in the upcoming NBA draft. Duke freshman Cameron Boozer, son of former Blue Devil and NBA star Carlos Boozer, is the favorite to win college basketball player of the year. Boozer and Dybantsa highlight a freshman class expected to place seven in the upcoming NBA draft. The Brigham Young star’s team will be the number six seed in the West Region.
Closer to home, an interesting dynamic played out in the Ivy League tournament. The University of Pennsylvania advanced to the NCAA postseason after stunning wins over Harvard and Yale in the league’s postseason competition. Forward T. J. Fowler turned in a record-breaking performance: 44 points and 14 rebounds against Yale in the championship game. His team trailed by four with one minute left. He hit a three-point shot to cut the Yale lead to one point.
After two Yale free throws, Fowler took an inbound pass with 6.1 seconds left and made a game-tying, three-pointer from 30 feet, sending the game into overtime.
He kept up his heroics in the extra frame, scoring key points and grabbing key rebounds. This led his team to an 88-84 victory and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Penn Coach Fran Dunphy, who played his collegiate ball at Penn, described Fowler’s record-breaking game:
“One of the greatest games I have ever witnessed as a player or coach. You get lost in the game while everything is happening, but when it is over, and you get a moment to think about what you saw, it’s remarkable. I am so proud of T. J. and this entire team for how tough they played this entire season and these two playoff games (the other being a 2-point overtime win over Harvard),” said Dunphy. He becomes one of the few coaches in NCAA history to lead his teams to 17 NCAA Playoff berths. Tournament runner-up, Yale, accepted a bid to the National Invitation Tournament.
One other note of interest: The University of Miami (Ohio) won 31 straight games, including an undefeated 30-0 regular season.
They lost to the University of Massachusetts Amherst (87-83) in postseason conference play. Despite this, the Redhawks qualified for the NCAA playoffs. They will face Southern Methodist University in a play-in game for the 11th seed in the Midwest Region.
