UConn vs. Furman: NCAA Tournament Predictions & Preview

The 2026 NCAA Tournament is officially here! The March Madness Bracket is set, and first-round NCAA Tournament matchups are in place. It’s time to make your picks and predictions for the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament! We’re here to help as we’ll have picks and predictions for each of the first round 2026 NCAA Tournament games. Here are our NCAA Tournament predictions and preview for UConn vs. Furman.

2026 NCAA Tournament Predictions & Preview: UConn vs. Furman

Here are the odds for this opening-round matchup of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Let’s dive into our preview and predictions for this NCAA Tournament matchup.

UConn 2026 NCAA Tournament Preview

Dan Hurley’s team regrouped well after its second-round exit last March. The Huskies went 27-4 in the regular season and reclaimed the Big East summit with a 17-3 conference record. Their 72-40 dismantling of St. John’s was the first time UConn held a Big East opponent to 20% shooting or worse in more than 30 seasons, and it said everything about UConn's ceiling.

Alex Karaban is the senior heartbeat of this team. He moved into the top 10 in program history in career scoring during the regular-season finale and scored 23 points on senior day to will his team to a comeback win over Seton Hall. Tarris Reed Jr. is as dominant a rebounder as there is in college basketball, anchoring an interior defense that ranks top 10 nationally in opponent two-point shooting and block percentage. Solo Ball has done well in his second full season as a starter, averaging 13.5 points per game, and freshman Braylon Mullins has given UConn a perimeter weapon to go with Silas Demary Jr., who owns a top-15 assist rate nationally. The Huskies rank top 10 in assists per game and assist-to-field goal percentage. Nothing goes to waste.

There are holes to poke, as losses to Creighton and Marquette were confusing red flags for the tournament. The Huskies do a lot of things really well, but it's hard to say they do anything the best. Basket Under Review released a “Kemba Factor” ranking for potential takeover players in March, and UConn’s highest-rated player was Demary at No. 43. When the going gets tough, it's hard to see anyone as a go-to bucket-getter. Karaban can knock down a shot anywhere off a screen but can't really create, and the Huskies could do better at taking care of the ball, ranking outside the top 150 in turnover rate.

But this is still a team of deeply connected upperclassmen that defends at a top-25 level and shares the ball at an elite rate. Looking at non-con only, the Huskies rank fourth in the nation, with wins over Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and a healthy BYU. There's a chance this team was sleepwalking through a down Big East this year and is ready to take it to another level come tourney time. The question for Dan Hurley's squad is not the floor, but the ceiling.

Furman 2026 NCAA Tournament Preview

Bob Richey’s team got here as a 6-seed in the SoCon tournament, and Furman is healthier now than it’s been all season. This isn’t the same undersized Furman squad from years past. The Paladins are one of the tallest teams in the country, and that added size has been a real difference-maker on both ends. Freshman point guard Alex Wilkins is the engine. He’s a long downhill slasher who creates open looks for a loaded group of shooters. Cooper Bowser’s right-handed hook in the post was nearly unguardable in conference play. Asa Thomas can sling it from deep. Charles Johnston rebounds at an elite clip while adding to the scoring down low, along with 6-7 Ben Vander Wal.

The big weakness is handling defensive pressure. Furman played in the SoCon, which is among the least physically aggressive leagues in the country, and the Paladins tend to turn it over in bunches when teams speed them up. Furman went 3-7 against top-200 opponents, failing to beat anyone in the top 150. Comparisons will be made to the 2023 team that upset Virginia, but that offense was significantly better. Any opponent capable of pressuring Furman’s ballhandlers and disrupting its spacing has a clear path forward.

More NCAA Tournament Predictions & Previews

#1 Duke vs. #16 Siena
#8 Ohio State vs. #9 TCU
#5 St. John’s vs. #12 Northern Iowa
#4 Kansas vs. #13 Cal Baptist
#6 Louisville vs. #11 South Florida
#3 Michigan State vs. #14 North Dakota State
#7 UCLA vs. #10 UCF
#2 UConn vs. #15 Furman

#1 Arizona vs. #16 LIU
#8 Villanova vs. #9 Utah State
#5 Wisconsin vs. #12 High Point
#4 Arkansas vs. #13 Hawai’i
#11 Texas vs. North Carolina State
#3 Gonzaga vs. #14 Kennesaw State
#7 Miami (FL) vs. #10 Missouri
#2 Purdue vs. #15 Queens

#16 UMBC vs. Howard
#8 Georgia vs. #9 Saint Louis
#5 Texas Tech vs. #12 Akron
#4 Alabama vs. #13 Hofstra
#11 Miami OH vs. SMU
#3 Virginia vs. #14 Wright State
#7 Kentucky vs. #10 Santa Clara
#2 Iowa State vs. #15 Tennessee State

#16 Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh
#8 Clemson vs. #9 Iowa
#5 Vanderbilt vs. #12 McNeese
#4 Nebraska vs. #13 Troy
#6 North Carolina vs. #11 VCU
#3 Illinois vs. #14 Penn
#7 Saint Mary’s vs. #10 Texas A&M
#2 Houston vs. #15 Idaho

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