NO. 3 UCONN VS. NO. 14 JACKSON STATE

Location: Gampel Pavilion

Tip: 1:06 p.m. (Ch. 8)

Records: Jackson State 26-6, UConn 29-5.

Last game: Jackson State beat Alcorn State in the SWAC tournament championship game, 68-44, March 16; UConn beat Georgetown in the Big East tournament championship game, 78-42, March 11.

Probable starters: Jackson State, 6-1 G Ti’lan Boler (11.7 ppg), 6-1 G Miya Crump (11.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg), 6-6 P Angel Jackson (9.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 3.0 bpg), 5-8 G Keshuna Luckett (6.8 ppg, 3.7 apg), 5-10 G Zakiya Mahoney (5.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg).

UConn, 6-3 F Aaliyah Edwards (17.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.1 apg), 5-9 G KK Arnold (9.0 ppg, 3.2 apg, 2.3 spg), 6-0 G Paige Bueckers (21.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.1 spg), 5-11 G Nika Muhl (7.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.4 apg, 1.1 spg), 5-10 G Ashlynn Shade (11.0 ppg, 1.5 apg).

Noteworthy: UConn coach Geno Auriemma said that some people subscribe to the notion of ... it doesn’t matter what seed you are; just be happy you’re in the NCAA tournament. “This is the reason you want to be a No. 1 seed,” Auriemma was saying Friday afternoon. “So you don’t get this matchup in the first round . ... You’re trying to avoid this game in the first round because they’re good.” Jackson State, under head coach Tomekia Reed, is making its third NCAA tournament appearance in six seasons after defeating Alcorn State 68-44 for the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament championship. Andriana Avent scored 17 points to be named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for the Tigers. Six-foot-six Angel Jackson (six blocked shots during the tournament championship game) was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year during the regular season and Ti’lan Boler and Miya Crump were first team All-SWAC all-stars. Jackson State’s losses were all out of conference, including five straight against the likes of No. 15 Kansas State, No. 12 Oregon State, Mississippi State, Miami and No. 4 Texas. Auriemma calls this matchup “complicated.” “So you’re going to run into situations where you’re going to have to deal with something that’s not your strength and obviously size is not our strength. So that does pose a problem immediately. There are things you’re going to come across. Their depth. They rebound the ball hard. They get out in transition. They just ... they’re undefeated in their league for a reason. This is complicated (Saturday), this is complicated.” ... UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards, who missed the Big East tournament semifinals and championship game with a broken nose, will return to the court with a facemask. Still, the Huskies have just eight healthy players, with six sidelined for the season with injuries. Jackson State used 13 players in the SWAC tournament final, nine for 13 minutes or more . ... Gampel Pavilion is sold out, the first time a first-round NCAA tournament game in Storrs has been sold out since 2002 . ... The Huskies have won 29 straight first-round NCAA tournament games . ... In Reed’s tenure at Jackson State, Ameshya Williams-Holliday became the first Tigers player to be selected in the WNBA Draft in 2022, chosen as the 25th overall pick by the Indiana Fever. Williams-Hollliday was the first player chosen from an HBCU (historically Black colleges and universities) in 20 years and became only the sixth player drafted from an HBCU.