The UConn basketball program is the No. 1 overall seed in this year's NCAA Tournament. The Huskies are the reigning national champions, and Dan Hurley's team has arguably been the best team in college basketball all season long. One big question entering the tournament is whether or not UConn can repeat.

The UConn basketball team has a decent road to the Final Four. With that being said, here are a few bold predictions for the Huskies heading into the NCAA Tournament.

UConn wins first two games in pair of blowouts

The Huskies begin with a game against 16-seed Stetson and then face the winner of Florida Atlantic and Northwestern. They are a 26.5-point favorite over Stetson, which is no surprise. Sure, there could be another Fairleigh Dickinson-type upset in this year's Big Dance, but it won't be UConn.

After that, UConn faces the Owls or the Wildcats, but either way, the Huskies are too talented for either team. Dusty May's Florida Atlantic team made the Final Four a year ago and nearly faced UConn in the national title game, although Lamont Butler's heroics sent San Diego State to the final.

This year, the Owls have taken a step back and have lost three of their last eight entering March Madness. Northwestern is another interesting team, but they have lost three of the last four entering the tournament. Whichever team wins in that 8-9 game won't have a good shot against UConn, and the Huskies beat Stetson by 20-plus and FAU or Northwestern by 10 or more.

Cam Spencer or Tristen Newton are named Most Outstanding Player 

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The recent national champions have all had a player named Most Outstanding Player. Last year, it was UConn's Adama Sanogo, with Kansas' Adama Sanogo and Baylor star Jared Butler the year prior. It is a common occurrence to see the national champion have a player named Most Outstanding, and this year will likely be one of these UConn basketball stars of they do repeat.

If that happens, it will be either Cam Spencer or Tristen Newton, two stars who have led UConn the entire season. Newton is averaging 15 PPG and Spencer is right behind with 14.7 PPG, but both players have been an essential part of the success of UConn.

UConn also had Alex Karaban (14.2 PPG), Donovan Clingan (12.4 PPG), and Stephon Castle (11.2 PPG) averaging double digits in scoring, so there is a lot of firepower on this squad. But, time and time again we have seen guards catch fire and go on a hot streak during March Madness, and maybe Spencer or Newton can be that guy for this year's UConn team.

The UConn guard duos are in store for a massive March Madness run. Can either one of them channel Kemba Walker's magical run?

UConn repeats as national champions 

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
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Here it is: UConn wins the Big Dance, again. The last team to do so was the Florida Gators, led by head coach Billy Donovan, in 2006 and 2007. It is a rare occurrence, but the UConn basketball team has all the tools in store to get it done again this season.

UConn's stats jump off the page in essentially every way as they rank in the top 50 in a ton of major categories:

  • Points per game: 27th
  • Points scored: 48th
  • Field goal %: 14th
  • 3-point %: 40th
  • Rebounds: 47th
  • Assists: 6th
  • Turnovers: 21st
  • Assist-turnover ratio: 1st
  • Blocked shots: 10th

That is a recipe for success, and UConn has just three losses all year long. Two of those came against top-25 teams Creighton and Kansas, so Dan Hurley has his team playing incredibly well ahead of the Big Dance. The other loss came against Seton Hall, and the Huskies enter with seven straight wins. They recently had high odds of winning the Big Dance altogether, and those shouldn't have wavered much after they won the Big East tournament title by defeating Marquette in the final by 16 points.

UConn's path to the Final Four this season will include the winner of Florida Atlantic and Northwestern, then potentially San Diego State or Auburn barring a major upset in the early rounds. At the bottom part of the region, they could face any one of Iowa State, Illinois, or another upset program. All in all, UConn has all the makings to repeat as national champions and become the first team to do so in nearly 20 years.

UConn's quest for a repeat begins on Thursday and the second round game will be on Saturday with the Sweet 16 round the following week.