Hurley uses underwear analogy to explain transfer portal
BOSTON — A day after the Uconn men’s basketball program learned it would be the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the transfer portal opened.
“I think we could wait until we get to maybe the conclusion of the season. That would be nice,” coach Dan Hurley said, echoing popular — and logical — sentiment.
Uconn has had success working the portal over the last two offseasons, acquiring pieces that fit perfectly into the puzzle, focused on winning and willing to buy in.
Two years ago, the Huskies brought in Tristen Newton (now an All-american), Hassan Diarra (Big East Sixth Man of the Year), and Joey Calcaterra and Nahiem Alleyne — a pair of reserves who played important roles on the national championship team. This year it was Cam Spencer, who they got late after targeting former Towson guard Nick Timberlake, who chose Kansas. Spencer has been one of the most important players on this year’s team, both on the court and to its culture off of it.
Uconn didn’t get involved early in the transfer portal last season, hoping the right pieces would wait for its main focus, the NCAA Tournament, to be over. But waiting puts the program at a disadvantage.
“It almost feels like in a way right now teams that are really, really successful and having great seasons, it’s almost becoming pro sports, where it feels like we’re going to have the last pick in the draft,” Hurley said. “A lot of the players will have made decisions because we’re not recruiting. We may be listed by some players on some lists of having shown interest, but I know that I don’t have interest right now because I’m just — all you can focus on, I think with the way that we function as a program, is on our team and coaching the season, and then we’ll make personnel moves once we’re done coaching this group.”
to appreciate it.”
From the Huskies’ biggest challengers to favorites on the other side of the bracket, here are the biggest storylines to watch entering the Portland regional:
Elite Eight could feature Bueckers vs. Juju Watkins:
All five players that earned first-team AP All-american honors are still playing in March Madness, but the Portland 3 region could have the only meeting between superstars before the Final Four. USC, anchored by freshman phenom Juju Watkins, is the 1-seed in Uconn’s bracket and would be the Huskies’ Elite Eight matchup if chalk holds in the Sweet 16. The Trojans face 5-seed Baylor on Saturday (5:30 p.m., ESPN).
Watkins and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo became the first freshmen since Bueckers to make the first team, and Watkins is also the first rookie named a Naismith Player of the Year finalist since the Uconn star in 2021. Watkins led USC to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1994, averaging 26.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. She broke national records for most points scored and most 30-point games by a freshman, plus nearly every freshman program record on USC’S books.
Watkins has a height advantage on Bueckers and averages 1.7 blocks per game on the defensive end, but the Huskies guard is no stranger to handling bigger assignments. Her efficiency is what separates her from Watkins, shooting 54% from the field and 43.7% on 3-pointers to the freshman’s 40.7% and 33%.
Baylor, Duke chasing history under new leadership:
The last time Duke appeared in the Sweet 16 was also against Uconn in 2018, and the Huskies routed the Blue Devils 72-59 behind Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson. Duke was once one of the most prolific programs in women’s basketball, with five straight Elite Eight appearances from 2001-2006 under Gail Goestenkors, and four from 2009-2013 under Joanne Mccallie. But coach Kara Lawson inherited an floundering program in 2020, and the team opted not to compete her first year amid COVID-19 pandemic. In her third full season, Lawson has led the Blue Devils to back-to-back March Madness berths for the first time since 2017-18.
Baylor is back in the national conversation too, returning to its first Sweet 16 since legendary coach Kim Mulkey left for LSU in 2021-22. The Bears made the Sweet 16 for 12 consecutive seasons and won a national championship in 2021 under Mulkey, but they were eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in each of coach Nicki Collen’s first two seasons. Baylor will be a significant underdog to top-seeded USC but has already exceeded expectations after upsetting 4-seed Virginia Tech in the Round of 32.
Vic Schaefer looks to make first Final Four run at Texas:
The 1-seed opposite the Huskies is the Portland 4 bracket is Texas, and Uconn has a history with Vic Schaefer-led teams in the NCAA Tournament. Schaefer led Mississippi State to a 66-64 upset in the 2017 Final Four that snapped the Huskies’ historic 111-game winning streak and ended hopes of a fifth consecutive national championship. Schaefer’s Bulldogs returned to the national championship game in 2018, finishing runners-up to Notre Dame.
Schaefer left Mississippi State after eight years to accept the job at Texas in 2020-21, but he has yet to get past the Elite Eight with the Longhorns. The team reached the final weekend before the Final Four in each of his first two years but lost to the eventual national champion both times — Stanford in 2021, South Carolina in 2022. Led by star freshman Madison Booker, the Longhorns aim to bounce back after in 2024 getting upset in the second round last season.
What’s going on in Albany 2?:
The winner of Uconn’s Portland 3 bracket will get a Final Four matchup with the champion out of Albany 2, dubbed one of the hardest regions ever entering the tournament. Albany 2 is headlined by 1-seed Iowa and Caitlin Clark, but the Hawkeyes were pushed by West Virginia in the Round of 32. They’ll face a tricky 5-seed Colorado squad that holds regular-season wins over 3-seed LSU, 2-seed Stanford and USC. The Buffaloes upset 4-seed Kansas State in the second round to reach their second consecutive Sweet 16.
Arguably the best game of the weekend is between 2-seed UCLA and LSU in Albany 2. It’s the only matchup in the Sweet 16 between two teams ranked in the top 10 entering the NCAA Tournament, and the Tigers are currently third in national championship odds despite their underdog seeding. UCLA and LSU each brought in high-impact transfer in 2023-24 — Lauren Betts for the Bruins, Aneesah Morrow and Hailey van Lith for the Tigers — and boast two of the most talented rosters in the country.