3. UConn Huskies
Last season: 31-8, 13-7 in the Big East
Fresh off a national championship, all eyes will be on Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies heading into the 2023-24 season. The Huskies return five players from last year’s national title squad and add top recruits Stephon Castle, Solomon Ball, Jayden Ross and Jaylin Stewart along with Cam Spencer (Rutgers) out of the portal as they look to compete once again for top position in the Big East.
Tristen Newton, Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan are the leading returners for the Huskies heading into a new year. Clingan proved effective in his freshman debut this past season off the bench, finishing with 6.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg and 1.8 bpg in 2022-23. With a bigger opportunity on the horizon and big NBA Draft aspirations, look for Clingan to battle for Big East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in the starting lineup.
Newton showed he could provide support in a variety of ways in his first year with the UConn Huskies and won a national title in the end. After posting production of 10.1 ppg, 4.7 apg, 4.5 rpg and 1.1 spg across 39 games in 2022-23, he’ll look to do a whole lot more with a bigger backcourt role in his final year of eligibility.
Karaban should provide the frontcourt alongside Clingan heading into his redshirt sophomore season. He made 38 starts across 39 appearances as a redshirt freshman, averaging 9.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 1.7 apg in 2022-23.
Spencer is an addition out of the transfer portal who should work wonders for the UConn offense with his ability to make plays for others and knock down shots on the perimeter. He makes the jump to the Big East after posting 13.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 3.1 apg on 43.4 shooting from deep with Rutgers. He finished fifth in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made with 72 this past season.
Despite going 31-8 on the year, the Huskies still managed to finish in a tie for fourth in the conference standings with Providence, UConn did enough to win a national title. This season, with a veteran guard and upstart freshman guard, they could be good once again and have top seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. UConn checks in at No. 3 in the preseason conference power rankings heading into a new season.