The Connecticut Huskies may have flubbed their chance of earning an NCAA Tournament 1-seed.
On Saturday, Associated Press No. 4 UConn (27-4, 17-3 in Big East) fell on the road in a stunner at the Marquette Golden Eagles (12-19, 7-13), 68-62, in its regular-season finale.
The Huskies shot a season-low 35.6 percent, including 12.5 percent from beyond the arc, which was also a season-worst. They also committed a season-high 16 turnovers, and head coach Dan Hurley was ejected. The alarming loss has put the team’s status as a projected 1-seed in jeopardy entering the Big East tournament.
UConn trending down after upset loss to Marquette
Connecticut entered Saturday as a No. 1 seed in the upcoming March Madness, according to bracket predictions from CBS Sports, ESPN and Fox Sports. It moved up to the 1-line with the Iowa State Cyclones (25-6, 12-6 in Big 12), ranked fourth overall by the selection committee in a February bracket projection, stumbling to a 4-4 record over their last eight games.
But Saturday’s loss gives the Huskies undoubtedly the two worst among teams in the running for a No. 1 seed. Marquette entered the day No. 97 in the NCAA’s Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings. Connecticut also lost at home on Feb. 18 to the Creighton Bluejays (15-16, 9-11 in Big East), No. 81 in NET.
The Duke Blue Devils (28-2, 16-1 in ACC), Michigan Wolverines (28-2, 18-1 in Big Ten) and Arizona Wildcats (28-2, 15-2 in Big 12) are essentially locks for three of the four top seeds. Because of its second ugly loss, Connecticut may have fallen behind the defending national champion Florida Gators (24-6, 15-2 in SEC), arguably the country’s hottest team, depending on what they do at the Kentucky Wildcats (19-11, 10-7 in SEC) later Saturday.
The Huskies, who lost a chance to claim a share of the Big East regular-season title, may need a dominant run through the upcoming conference tournament to reassert themselves as a worthy No. 1 seed.
Connecticut has a lot of ground to make up for, but not much runway to do it. Saturday’s loss might be too much for it to overcome.