Dan Hurley and UConn basketball are getting ready for their first-round assignment in the 2023 NCAA tournament, with the Connecticut Huskies scheduled to face Rick Pitino's Iona Gaels on Friday at MVP Arena in Albany, New York.  The Huskies fell short of winning the last Big East tourney, as they got victimized by eventual champs Marquette Golden Eagles in the semis, but Hurley still believes in his team's ability to show up in tournaments — including, of course, the Big Dance.

“We've been a good tournament team,” Hurley said of his UConn basketball squad, per  David Borges of CT Insider.”A great tournament team early, and even the Big East Tournament, as poorly as we played offensively, we still had a chance to play for that championship. I think we've proven ourselves to play well in tournaments. We're just excited to be going to Albany.”

The Huskies have every reason to feel good about their chances not only of taking care of business against Iona but also of going deep in March Madness. For one, UConn basketball, given a No. 4 seed on Selection Sunday, is considered the fourth-best team overall entering the tournament by KenPom and fifth-best by Barttovik. The team has an efficient offense and tight defense which are ranked sixth and 18th nationally, respectively, by KenPom.

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Iona, champion of the MAAC, isn't going to just lay down its weapons and allow the Huskies to have their way, but at its best, UConn basketball should be able to come away with a win versus Pitino's squad.