Fans Go Nuts As Top Overall UConn Handed Incredibly Tough Bracket

The defending national champion UConn Huskies have been excellent all year. So good, in fact, that they earned the top-overall seed in the NCAA Tournament as the brackets were revealed on Sunday evening.

What did that top-overall seed earn them? The toughest region in recent memory, if advanced stats are to be believed. And, UConn fans and college hoops observers were quick to point it out on social media.

First off, here’s a look at the East Region, where the Huskies sit at the top.

Even on a first glance, this doesn’t make any sense. UConn was the top overall seed, and Iowa State was thought to be the team in consideration for the final number-one seed alongside North Carolina. So, UConn gets the team many had as the fifth-overall seed as the two-seed in their region. That seems pretty illogical.

It gets worse the more you dig. the KenPom rankings are one of the most respected set of rankings for college basketball teams. It’s been shown to be a really good predictor of tournament success and accounts for a bunch of factors.

The selection committee supposedly uses KenPom in its decisions. If so, how did they end up with three of the top five teams and four of the top ten in the same region?

Plus, three of the four Final Four teams from a year ago are also in this region (UConn, Florida Atlantic, and San Diego State).

C’mon committee. You’ve got to do a better job than that! Yes, UConn does get to play all of its games before the Final Four in the friendly confines of Brooklyn and Boston. But, that’s just about the only break they got, as this will be a brutal bracket.

If there’s any team in the country equipped to handle such a tough draw, it’s Dan Hurley’s squad. But, UConn will certainly have to earn it if they make their second-straight Final Four and win another national championship.