Defense the Story in Albany

The Story: The No. 4-seed UConn men won’t have an easy first-round game as Rick Pitino-led No. 13 seed Iona defends like its life depends on it.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Huskies remain one of the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament yet are only -8.5 against Iona. That doesn’t mean the Huskies are going to lose, but the No. 13 seeds appear to be some excellent teams that are on big winning streaks. Iona, of course, has won 14 straight and has not lost since late January.

SIZING UP THE OPPOSITION: Let’s take a closer look at the three possible opponents for the Huskies in Albany in Iona, No. 5 Saint Mary’s and No. 12 VCU.

No. 13 Iona (27-7)

• Conference: MAAC (First place)
• Rankings: AP — unranked | NET — 58 | KenPom — 73
• Last 10 games: 10-0
• Record vs. Quad 1-2: 0-3
• Scoring offense: 43rd (76.6 ppg)
• Scoring defense: 35th (65 ppg)
• Marquee victory: Defeated Saint Louis 84-62 on Dec. 4.
• Top players: G Walter Clayton Jr. (16.9 ppg), G Daniss Jenkins (15.7 ppg), F Nelly Junior Joseph (15.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg)

Summary: This is the second time in three years Pitino has the Gaels in the NCAA Tournament. The Hall of Fame coach looks primed to head to St. John’s the moment the season ends, but this is also a conference that produced Saint Peter’s, which went to the Elite Eight a year ago.

• The Gaels, an Irish bird no less, play like a Pitino team always has. They have balanced scoring and like to go up tempo with Clayton and Jenkins but also are an excellent defensive team. Iona lost by 23 to Quinnipiac in late January and has not lost since.

• Iona has only one top-100 win — a victory over Saint Louis, ranked No. 96 in KenPom.

• Iona is officially 0-15 all time in the NCAA Tournament, though it had a win in 1980 that was later vacated.

No. 5 Saint Mary’s (26-7)

• Conference: WCC (Second place)
• Rankings: AP — 19 | NET — 8 | KenPom — 11
• Last 10 games: 7-3
• Record vs. Quad 1-2: 9-5
• Scoring offense: 171 (71 ppg)
• Scoring defense: 4 (60 ppg)
• Marquee victory: Defeated Gonzaga 78-70 in OT on Feb. 6
• Top players: G Aidan Mahaney (14.6 ppg), G Logan Johnson (14.7 ppg)

Summary: Saint Mary’s is one of the top defensive teams in the country and KenPom has it as the No. 1 team in the country in adjusted defense.

• It has Quad 1 wins over Gonzaga and San Diego State and played Houston tough. It won’t be afraid to face a ranked team from a power conference as it is Gonzaga’s only competition in the WCC.

• Things haven’t gone great lately for the Gaels, who fell to No. 19 in the final AP poll. They were 1-2 against Gonzaga this year and were blown out by 26 points in the WCC title game.

• The Gaels are the second Gaels in the region, which is just weird. Johnson is the leading scorer and the top assist man and shooter at the point.

• No. 12 seeds are 55-99 all time against No. 5 seeds, making it one of the best places to look for an upset by a double-digit seed. UConn was a victim of the No. 5 vs. No. 12 upset a year ago when it lost to New Mexico State.

No. 12 VCU (27-7)

• Conference: A-10 (First place)
• Rankings: AP — unranked | NET — 53 | KenPom — 59
• Last 10 games: 9-1
• Record vs. Quad 1-2: 5-4
• Scoring offense: 160th (71.9 ppg)
• Scoring defense: 20th (62.9 ppg)
• Marquee victory: Beat Pittsburgh 71-67 on Nov. 17
• Top player: G Ace Baldwin Jr. (12.7 ppg)

Summary: This is a game that only a coach could love. These are two of the better defenses in the nation statistically and this has all the earmarks of a rough-and-tumble affair that will be played into the 50s.

• VCU is going to be a popular pick to win as it enters red hot and is one of the top automatic qualifiers.

• The A-10 has fallen on some kind of bad run the last couple of years as the conference champion was the only team to make the NCAA Tournament.

— John Silver

Who’s Coming to Storrs?

The Story: It’s no surprise that the UConn women are heavily favored to advance past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament and reach the Sweet 16.

• The No. 2 seed Huskies (29-5) are 27.5-point favorites over No. 15 Vermont in their first-round matchup Saturday (3 p.m., ABC) at Gampel Pavilion, and they would have another sizeable point advantage over No. 7 seed Baylor or No. 10 seed Alabama in the second round Monday.

SIZING UP THE OPPOSITION: Let’s take a closer look at the three opponents coming to Storrs this weekend and how they match up against the Huskies.

No. 15 Vermont (25-6)

• Conference: America East (First place)
• Rankings: AP — unranked | NET — 143 | RPI — 94
• Last 10 games: 10-0
• Record vs. Top 25: 0-1
• Scoring offense: 234th (62.4 ppg)
• Scoring defense: Ninth (53.4 ppg)
• Marquee victory: Beat Albany, 38-36, in conference final
• Top players: G Emma Utterback, F Anna Olson

Summary: This is the Catamounts’ first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2010, and they are riding a 17-game win streak dating to Jan. 1.

• Vermont plays stifling defense that’s ranked ninth in the nation and held Albany to only 36 points in the America East tournament final. It will try to get physical and aggressive against the turnover-prone Huskies. But in the end, UConn has far too much firepower.

• The Catamounts’ only game against a top-25 opponent came in their season opener — a 37-point loss at Indiana.

No. 7 Baylor (19-12)

• Conference: Big 12 (Sixth place)
• Rankings: AP — unranked | NET — 32 | RPI — 48
• Last 10 games: 4-6
• Record vs. Top 25: 5-6
• Scoring offense: 54th (72.3 ppg)
• Scoring defense: 124th (62.4 ppg)
• Marquee victory: Beat Texas 63-54 on the road
• Top player: G Sarah Andrews

Summary: These aren’t the same Bears who were recently national title contenders under former coach Kim Mulkey, but they went 4-0 on the road against top 25 teams this season, with those wins coming against Texas, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Kansas. If anything, they won’t be intimidated playing the Huskies in Storrs. Nevertheless, Baylor hit a rough patch down the stretch, losing six of its past nine games. Andrews is an all-Big 12 guard, and her backcourt mate, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, was named the Freshman of the Year.

No. 10 Alabama (20-10)

• Conference: SEC (Sixth place)
• Rankings: AP — unranked | NET — 29 | RPI — 31
• Last 10 games: 5-5
• Record vs. Top 25: 0-3
• Scoring offense: 87th (69.9 ppg)
• Scoring defense: 66th (59.8 ppg)
• Marquee victory: Beat Ole Miss 63-58 on the road
• Top player: G Brittany Davis

Summary: The Crimson Tide ended the season with four consecutive losses, and they got knocked out of the SEC tournament by Kentucky, which won only two SEC regular-season games. One of Alabama’s most impressive games, however, was a 13-point loss to No. 1 South Carolina in which the Tide pulled within four points of the Gamecocks in the third quarter. Still, Alabama has lost 41 straight games against top-five opponents.

— Dave Kull

Morning Reads

• It’s always nice to get a homecoming game in the NCAA Tournament. This time, it is Albany native Andre Jackson who gets to play in front of a familiar crowd. (Hartford Courant)

Top photo: Tristen Newton passes the ball during the Huskies’ game against Marquette at the XL Center. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)