Arguably the best sporting event of the year is just a few days away as March Madness will get started on Tuesday night with the First Four, and then the first round will get started on Thursday. Conference tournaments are wrapping up on Saturday and Sunday, and after the conclusion of the final game, the selection show will take place and we will have a March Madness bracket. It's the most wonderful time of the year.

There is so much to love about March Madness, and the first week of the tournament is one of the best stretches in all of sports. Basketball begins at noon and there are countless good games all day and into the night. College basketball fans will be setting up multiple TVs to be able to take in as much March Madness action at once as humanly possible.

The upsets are always special as well. It seems like every season there is at least one underdog team that captures America's heart and makes a surprise deep run in March Madness. For example, #16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson took down #1 seed Purdue last year and ended up putting up a good fight in the second round too. They lost to Florida Atlantic, however. Then, #9 said Florida Atlantic turned into the cinderella team as they marched all the way to the Final Four. Upsets are one of the best parts of college basketball, and something about March Madness brings them out. We will likely have a cinderella team to root for in the next week.

Another great part of March Madness are the historic performances put on by individual players. Every so often we will see a player completely take over a game and put their team on their back, and they sometimes carry their squad all the way to a national title. It's always fun to watch. When it gets to the later stages of the tournament, everyone knows that player is getting the ball, and still, no one can stop him. Those kind of take overs are always extremely fun to watch in March Madness, and one of the best examples is Kemba Walker and his historic performances for UConn.

In 2011, Kemba Walker went on one of the most insane runs that we have ever seen in college basketball. It started before March Madness officially got going with the NCAA Tournament as he also led the Huskies to a Big East title that season, and his insane run began then. UConn rattled off 11 straight elimination game wins to go all the way to the national title game, and they won it. Walker put the team on his back, and it was incredible to watch.

Now, UConn is going back to the tournament and they are looking to defend their national title that they won a year ago. The Huskies are going to be a one seed in March Madness, and they have all the tools to win another championship. Let's go out on a limb and assume that UConn is going to win their first game against whatever #16 seed they play, but let's take a look at what eight, four and two seeds that the Huskies should be wanting to avoid in their region.

Mar 14, 2024; New York City, NY, USA; Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley shouts to his defense in the second half of the NCAA Big East Conference Tournament second round game between the Connecticut Huskies and the Xavier Musketeers at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Xavier was eliminated from the tournament by a 87-60 loss to UConn.
© Sam Greene-USA TODAY Sports

Nightmare eight seed: Nebraska

Nebraska basketball is playing in the Big Ten semis later today, and no matter what happens with the rest of their run, they should end up near the eight line in March Madness. UConn basketball should be hoping that they don't get a round of 32 battle against the Cornhuskers. The Huskies are obviously the better team and would likely win, but Nebraska can be a tricky matchup. They have shown this year that when they (specifically Keisei Tominaga) get hot, they can be extremely difficult to beat. Just ask Purdue.

Back in January, the top ranked Boilermakers hit the road to take on Nebraska basketball, and it didn't go well. Tominaga and the Cornhuskers were scorching hot, and they ended up blowing Purdue out. They shot 60% from three as they finished 14-23 and Tominaga himself was 5/9 from deep. Nebraska won 88-72.

Nebraska is capable of taking down the best teams in the country when they get hot like this. It doesn't happen every game, but when it does, they are a very difficult matchup for anyone.

Nightmare four seed: Alabama

The one time that UConn looked greatly outmatched this season was their road loss against Creighton. The Bluejays were scorching hot all day long, and the Huskies simply couldn't keep up. UConn lost 85-66. Creighton finished the game shooting 50% from three as they were 14-28.

Alabama basketball routinely has crazy shooting games like that. They have scored over 100 points multiple times this season and they are incredibly difficult to keep up with when they are shooting the basketball well. They play fast, and they can score a lot of points in a hurry.

The good news for UConn about a potential matchup with Alabama basketball is that the Crimson Tide often allow a lot of points as well. Still, the recipe is certainly there for Alabama to give the Huskies fits.

Nightmare two seed: Iowa State

Iowa State basketball is a team that not enough people are talking about, but they will probably end up being a two seed. The Cyclones can make a lot of noise in March Madness, and a potential Elite Eight game between them and UConn basketball would be a lot of fun to watch. If you're a fan of the Huskies, however, you should be hoping to see Marquette, Arizona or Tennessee as the two seed in your bracket.

Iowa State has been terrific this season and they have done it in the best conference in the country: the Big 12. The Cyclones are as battle-tested as it gets as they have been playing some of the best teams in the country all year long. They are more than capable of making a run to the Final Four, and they are better than a lot of other projected three seeds. Iowa State basketball is going to be an interesting team to watch in March Madness, and they could give UConn a great fight.