Selection Sunday is here, officially launching the highly anticipated March Madness for the basketball community. 68 college teams from around the US were placed in the brackets. For many fans, the eyes were on the UConn Huskies. After all, for coach Dan Hurley, who has now taken seven teams to the NCAA Tournament, where he holds a 14-4 record in his 15 seasons as a collegiate head coach, expectations were high on him to help the Huskies record their first ever NCAA three-peat. Now, as the coach and his squad have been made aware of their first opponents of the season, the former is not willing to take things lightly.

It was earlier announced today that UConn’s men’s basketball team will be heading to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season as the 8th seed. This means that the Connecticut-based college franchise will face the 9-seed Oklahoma (20-13) first. The first matchup is scheduled on Friday, March 21. This gives Dan Hurley enough time to prep his team for the matchup.

In his recent remarks covered by the Hartford Courant, Hurley was heard saying “Porter Moser is a great tournament coach, he’s proved that in his career. Winning (the Battle 4 Atlantis) in the Bahamas was huge, they had an incredible conference really, a lot of huge wins, and then that league is just a total monster”. The coach reportedly was holding a manilla folder labeled “Oklahoma” while making his remarks. Despite the tension that would be enveloping him, Hurley highlighted his anticipation for the upcoming game by calling it “a fun matchup”.

Selection Sunday marked a good improvement from last year. Five Big East teams got in this year after only three teams earned bids into the 2024 tournament. The list also includes St John’s, which earned a No. 2 seed in the West Region. Hurley had previously spoken about the danger the team can pose to his squad. He cited the prowess of Kadary Richmond and RJ Luis Jr. and how they are dangerous entities to tackle on the paint. A St John’s matchup is closer to the Huskies than one with the Xavier Musketeers men’s basketball team. However, Hurley was currently more focused on the latter. The UConn coach made it a point to discuss them during his concluding remarks to the journalist from Hartford Courant.

“If you’ve watched Xavier play, they’ve been playing at a high level for a long time. Since getting (Zach) Freemantle back and healthy, they’ve clearly been a tournament team,” said Hurley. “And it was just good to see us get the number we deserved this year.”

The UConn Huskies currently hold a 1-3 all-time win record against the Oklahoma Sooners’ men’s program. The lone win by Connecticut was an 86-59 final, in Storrs, back on January 2004. The last of four consecutive meetings between the teams took place back in 2002 and 2005. The Huskies have now reportedly recorded a 23-10 win record in the regular season and 14-6 in the Big East. Therefore, they have been positioned at their worst tournament placement since they were placed No. 9 back in 2016. Set to face the Sooners in postseason play, anything can happen in the coming days. Whatever happens, however, coach Dan Hurley is prepared for it. As it turns out, so is the team captain.

Alex Karaban follows the same path as Dan Hurley by taking Oklahoma seriously: “Excited to get out there”

Alex Karaban is one player Dan Hurley will depend on during the upcoming game. He is one of the most senior players on the squad, having played 109 season games throughout 3 seasons. In the process, he has averaged 12.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. As highlighted by USA Today, guard play is essential to tournament success. Huskies already have a leading scorer in Solo Ball, and two bigs in Liam McNeeley and Alex Karaban. Therefore, the matchup against the Oklahoma Sooners will determine whether the Huskies can hold their own in pursuing the 3-peat. Even if they have gotten a big opponent right from the start, it is a challenge the team captain is willing to take.

“They’re super well coached and it’s gonna be a battle for sure,” said Karaban. Despite this, he added, “I think our potential is through the roof as a team and I think we have so much talent offensively and when we put it together defensively, too, I think we can be really good. We’ve shown flashes of it as a team, we’ve beaten some big-time teams and I really think that we can get there. Anything happens in March, too, so I’m just excited to get out there and see what we can do as a team.”

With the brackets set and the first tip-off looming, UConn’s quest for a three-peat begins against a formidable Oklahoma squad. Every possession, every play, holds the weight of March Madness dreams, and for Dan Hurley’s Huskies, the journey to history starts now.

The UConn Huskies or the Oklahoma Sooners? Who will you be placing your bets on? Let us know in the comments section below.