UConn basketball stumbled an opportunity to reclaim the Big East title Saturday. St. John's obliterated the Huskies 72-52 behind a stifling defense that forced 16 turnovers and bottled the three. The conference championship game became enough of a nightmare for Dan Hurley and company.
But a new nightmare could await the Huskies before the bracket gets unveiled.
The good news for UConn? The Huskies will see their name called on Selection Sunday ahead of March Madness.
But the bad news? The 20-point loss to the Red Storm could drop UConn to a lower seed after projections of locking in a No. 2 spot. Which in turn presents these nightmare scenarios.
UConn could head to loaded regional featuring ACC powers
Fortunately for UConn, two early projections still have the Huskies landing a two seed.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi plugs them in the Philadelphia regional against No. 15 seed Queens University. But that only places them in a fierce gauntlet featuring Atlantic Coast Conference teams.
Miami emerges as a potential second round foe per Lunardi. The Hurricanes surged late and are led by Jai Lucas, who knows all about going on Final Four runs from his time at Duke.
Speaking of the Blue Devils, they're in the same projected bracket at UConn. Duke is heading toward locking up one of the top seeds and signs indicate the east regional.
Even if UConn survives and advances to the Sweet 16, North Carolina presents a possible matchup there. And the Tar Heels likely will have potential top NBA Draft pick Caleb Wilson ready to go there.
The East is shaping up as the toughest regional featuring three of the better ACC teams. UConn must hope it avoids a limited lineup of challengers there and instead hope for this placement.
Best regional for UConn
Even CBS Sports bracketology has the Big East runner up heading East as a No. 2 with Duke, Kansas, Michigan State and Kentucky comprising the picks there.
Perhaps it might be best for UConn to avoid the east and instead hope for the Midwest, though.
UConn could earn a second round contest against mid-major powers Saint Mary's and Saint Louis here (CBS has both as the No. 7 versus No. 10 matchup). Then they could compete versus either a Louisville or Vanderbilt team that struggled to advance in their own conference tournaments.
Michigan looks like one of the few No. 1's UConn would want to face. The Wolverines shoot the three at an inconsistent rate on multiple occasions plus became notorious for losing the basketball. The Duke loss before the Big Ten tourney exemplified both flaws.
But again, the fate rests in the hands of the selection committee. Signs point to UConn falling into a stacked regional that's capable of preventing a Final Four return.
