2021 NCAA TOURNAMENT Which UConn will show up vs. Maryland?

As blunt as he is intense, Connecticut coach Dan Hurley admitted he has no idea what to expect from his team Saturday night.

Not a single Huskies player has been in the NCAA Tournament before. Not one has even participated in a postseason game, other than a conference tournament.

“I think right now this is a mystery, as to who we are going into this tournament,” Hurley said as seventh-seeded UConn prepared to meet No. 10 Maryland in an East Region opening-round game in its first NCAA Tournament in five years. “Which is kind of exciting. I think we’re a hard team to predict. Are we a one-anddone? Or can we make a run?”

It’s not just the experience factor, either. At times, the Huskies (15-7) have looked capable of making a big March run. On other occasions, they have appeared not quite ready for prime time.

They went 0-for-4 against the Big East’s two best teams, Villanova and Creighton. Against the top five teams in the conference, they were 1-6. Of course, it should be noted star guard James Bouknight missed three of the losses. UConn was 11-3 when the Brooklyn native was available, and those losses came by a combined 13 points.

Furthermore, had point guard R.J. Cole not suffered a concussion in the Big East Tournament semifinal loss to Creighton, the result there might have been different. Cole was cleared Friday morning to play after going through a full non-contact practice Thursday.

All eyes will be on Bouknight, a projected lottery pick. He didn’t have a great Big East Tournament, averaging 12 points in two games while going just 8-for-25 from the field. He will likely see a lot of Maryland guard Darryl Morsell, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

“He’s a very good defender, he plays physical and he likes to talk a lot,” Bouknight said. “It’s mostly going to be keeping my head. It’s going to be a long night, just understand that. It’s going to be a tough battle and there’s not going to be anything easy.”

No matter what happens against Maryland, Hurley is thrilled with the trajectory of his program. Prior to the season, he set goals: Finish in the top four of the Big East, receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and show growth from Year 2 to Year 3. All three were accomplished even though his best player was out for five weeks and multiple COVID-19 pauses disrupted his team. And Hurley has a top-10 recruiting class coming in.

“We took a big step,” Hurley said.