Huskies Men Face Oklahoma in West Region
This run just means more for the Connecticut Huskies' men's basketball program.
Selection Sunday placed the Huskies in an eighth seed on the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bracket. The quest for a third consecutive men's national title begins in Raleigh, as they'll face No. 9 Oklahoma in opening play in the West Region on Friday. The 16 squads in the West Region are playing for a bid to go to San Francisco, where that portion of the bracket's champion will be revealed.
As the No. 8 seed, the Huskies (23-10, 14-6 Big East) endure their worst tournament placement since a No. 9 ranking in 2016. This is the first time they've held the No. 8 spot and the first time they'll face the Sooners in postseason play.
Oklahoma (19-12, 6-12 SEC) is coming off its first season in the Southeastern Conference. The Sooners were ranked as high as 12th in the polls after a perfect 12-game start in non-conference play, which included a title run at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Notable wins in that span include triumphs over fellow tournament competitors Arizona, Louisville, and Michigan.
UConn is 1-3 all-time against the Sooners' men's program, the lone win being an 86-59 final in Storrs in January 2004. Oklahoma won the most recent matchup in the following year, the last of four consecutive meetings between 2002 and 2005.
The winner of the UConn-Oklahoma tilt will likely face the top-ranked Florida Gators in the Round of 32. A potential matchup with the Gators would be the third NCAA Tournament meeting between the two sides: Florida took an overtime decision in the 1994 Sweet 16 while the Huskies wrangled the Gators in the Final Four en route to a national championship win in 2014.
UConn is joined by fellow Big East competitor St. John's in the West Region, as the Red Storm is placed in the second spot against No. 15 Omaha after winning conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. View the full schedule below ...
(Time and TV Info TBA)
Date | Game | Location | Time/TV |
|---|---|---|---|
Thursday, 3/20 | (6) Missouri vs. (11) Drake | Wichita, KS | |
Thursday, 3/20 | (3) Texas Tech vs. (14) UNC-Wilmington | Wichita, KS | |
Thursday, 3/20 | (7) Kansas vs (10) Arkansas | Wichita, KS | |
Thursday, 3/20 | (2) St. John's vs. (15) Omaha | Wichita, KS | |
Friday, 3/21 | (1) Florida vs. (16) Norfolk State | Raleigh, NC | |
Friday, 3/21 | (8) UCONN vs. (9) Oklahoma | Raleigh, NC | |
Friday, 3/21 | (5) Memphis vs. (12) Colorado State | Seattle, WA | |
Friday, 3/21 | (4) Maryland vs. (13) Grand Canyon | Seattle, WA |
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
