The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
NO. 16 STETSON VS. NO. 1 UCONN
When: Friday, 2:45 p.m.
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Records: Stetson 22-12, UConn 31-3
TV: CBS
Radio: UConn Sports Network, WAVZ-New Haven (1300 AM), WGCH- Greenwich (1490 AM), WATR-Waterbury (1320 AM), WICH-Norwich (1310 AM, 94.5 FM), WILI-Willimantic (1400 AM, 95.3 FM), Fox Sports 97.9 FM Hartford, SiriusXM-983, SXM App 973
KEEP AND EYE ON
New faces: The UConn men’s basketball team has done a lot over the years, played a lot of opponents.
One opponent the Huskies have never faced is Stetson. The small, private university located off Florida’s I-4 corridor, near Orlando, is better known for its baseball alumni. Heck, UConn product George Springer has faced Stetson alum Jacob deGrom more often than the basketball teams have met.
That changes on Friday, when top-seeded UConn begins its national title defense against the 16th-seeded Hatters, who are playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The Huskies are
65-32 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with five championships on their resume.
Stetson swept through the
Atlantic Sun Championship Tournament last week, topping Austin Peay in the title game after notching its first 20-win season since 1974-75. The Hatters are currently 22-12, which is more wins than deGrom or fellow multiple Cy Young-winning, Stetson product Corey Kluber ever won in a season.
The Hatters are led by highscoring guard Jalen Blackmon, whom Dan Hurley called “one of the better guards we’ll play against this year.” Blackmon’s 21.5 points per game leads four Stetson players who average double figures, and he shoots 38.9-percent from 3. Fellow guard Alec Ogelsby is a 40.7percent 3-point shooter, while 6-foot-11 center Aubin Gatereste averages 11.8 points and a teambest 7.6 rebounds.