March Madness is upon us. Here is some game information for the 2023 NCAA Tournament opening round matchup between the No. 4-seeded UConn Huskies (25-8) of the Big East and the MAAC Tournament champion, No. 13-seeded Iona Gaels (27-7).
UConn: Four things to know about Iona’s first round opponent, the UConn Huskies
March Madness: Iona learns its NCAA Tournament path in Selection Sunday
Rumors: Latest from Rick Pitino and the college basketball coaching job rumors
How to watch and stream
Game time: Friday, March 17, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. ET
TV: TBS
Live Stream:NCAA March Madness Live | Watch TBS
Betting odds
Spread: UConn, -9.5
Moneyline: Iona (+340), UConn (-475)
Total points: O/U: 143.5 (-110)
All-time series
UConn leads the all-time series, 4-1. The Huskies have won the last four meetings, including the latest on Dec. 4, 2019, when the Huskies won at home, 80-62.
Team rankings
AP Poll: UConn (#10) | Iona (Not ranked)
Coaches’ Poll: UConn (#12) | Iona (Not ranked)
NCAA NET Rankings: UConn (#8) | Iona (#58)
KenPom: UConn (#4) | Iona (#74)
Sagarin: UConn (#6) | Iona (#79)
Projected starting lineups
No. 4 seed UConn Huskies
- #2 Tristen Newton (6-5, 190), Sr., G — 10.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.2 spg
- #11 Alex Karaban (6-8, 210) Fr., F — 9.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 47.9 FG%, 40.8 3FG%
- #21 Adama Sanogo (6-9, 245) Jr., F — 16.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 59.4 FG%
- #24 Jordan Hawkins (6-5, 195) So., G — 16.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 40.5 FG%, 36.8 3FG%
- #44 Andre Jackson Jr. (6-6, 210) Jr., G/F — 6.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.0 spg
No. 13 seed Iona Gaels
- #0 Berrick JeanLouis (6-4, 200) Sr., G — 7.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.1 bpg
- #1 Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195) So., G — 16.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.9 spg
- #5 Daniss Jenkins (6-3, 175) Jr., G — 15.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.3 spg
- #13 Nelly Junior Joseph (6-9, 240) Jr., F — 15.1 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 1.2 spg, 1.5 bpg
- #55 Osborn Shema (7-0, 220) Sr., F — 7.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg
Last five NCAA Tournament appearances
UConn:
- 2012: Lost in first round to Iowa State as 9-seed, 77-64
- 2014: Won national championship as 7-seed, defeating Kentucky in the final, 60-54
- 2016: Lost in second round to Kansas as 9-seed, 73-61
- 2021: Lost in first round to Maryland as 7-seed, 63-54
- 2022: Lost in first round to New Mexico State as 5-seed, 70-63
Iona:
- 2016: Lost in first round to Iowa State as 13-seed, 94-81
- 2017: Lost in first round to Oregon as 14-seed, 93-77
- 2018: Lost in first round to Duke as 15-seed, 89-67
- 2019: Lost in first round to North Carolina as 16-seed, 88-73
- 2021: Lost in first round to Alabama as 15-seed, 68-55
The No. 4 vs. No. 13 seed NCAA Tournament matchup history
March Madness is known for its upsets and underdogs. The odds are certainly stacked against Iona, but can it pull off the upset?
Since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 1985, No. 14 seeds are a combined 22-126 (14.8%) against No. 3 seeds.
The last 14-seed to win was Abilene Christian in 2021, when it upended Texas. Before that, Stephen F. Austin shocked West Virginia in 2016. A year earlier, in 2015, UAB and Georgia State both triumphed as 14-seeds, marking the second time in history that multiple No. 14 seeds upset third-seeded teams in the same NCAA Tournament.
Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.
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