NCAA Final Four Predictions: Huskies Favored for Repeat

The Road to the Final Four is officially set, and the defending national champion UConn Huskies are the resounding favorite to cut down the nets again according to ESPN’s team of experts.

In a poll of 73 analysts, writers and commentators, a whopping 83% have Dan Hurley’s squad winning the East Region and advancing to the national semifinals in Glendale, Arizona. That’s even higher than the 53.6% of brackets submitted on ESPN’s Tournament Challenge that have UConn emerging from the East.

The experts are far less decisive on the other three regions however. In the South, #1 seed Houston and #3 Kentucky are deadlocked with 28 votes each to make the Final Four. In the Midwest, 35 experts like #2 Tennessee’s chances better than #1 overall seed Purdue, which received 24 votes. And in the West, defending champion North Carolina (35 votes) narrowly edged out #2 seed Arizona (24) as the projected regional winner.

When it comes to capturing the national title though, the Huskies stand alone. 42 of the 73 ESPN panelists (57.5%) think UConn will become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2006-07. North Carolina (8 votes) is the only other team to receive more than 7 picks to cut down the nets.

“UConn just has too much veteran experience, talent and coaching for anyone to stop them,” said longtime broadcaster Dick Vitale, one of the many experts riding the Huskies. “They’re a defensive machine and have multiple guys who can take over a game scoring. I just don’t see anyone being able to slow them down four straight games.”

Of course, ESPN’s expert picks mean little once the madness actually starts. Upsets are inevitable and Cinderella teams always emerge to bust brackets every year. But for now at least, the ESPN consensus is clear - all roads go through the Huskies if you want to be the last team standing in 2024.