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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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The UConn Huskies followed up what seemed like easy back-to-back wins at Madison Square Garden with a disappointing loss to a physical St. John's team in the Big East Tournament final, 72-52.
Head coach Dan Hurley said after the game that his guys felt "crushed" after the defeat, and that the coaches would evaluate game footage to see what went wrong. Early indications from the coach were that the team shot poorly and couldn't match the Red Storm's intensity at the start of the game.
That loss was damaging to the team for what it meant for UConn in the Big East Tournament and their potential spot in the Big Dance. The team had been hoping to claim the Big East Championship after failing to clinch a share of the regular-season title with St. John's, but that will not happen.
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"Just the ultimate credit to them. They deserved it. We didn't," Hurley said after his team's loss.
"We'll leave it here. We know we play our best basketball in the NCAA Tournament and against non-conference teams. Our group understands that. This is a really physical league, and that was a really physical game. We’re excited to play in the NCAA Tournament, where it isn’t played like that," Hurley said postgame.
Hurley's team still has its mind set on a bigger goal: winning an NCAA Championship. With the loss to St. John's, they will await their fate on Selection Sunday to see who they will place in the March Madness.
There had been some potential for UConn to possibly claim one of the four No. 1 seeds heading into the March Madness tournament, after Florida lost to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament. However, St. John's ended those hopes for UConn.
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So, who will UConn play next for March Madness? As of this writing, Joe Lunardi's Bracketology projections currently show that UConn will be a No. 2 seed in the Midwest, or Chicago region of the NCAA Tournament bracket.
Before Saturday's games, a Fox Sports college basketball bracket projection had UConn in the East Region playing No. 15 Furman.
Bracketologist Lunardi had their opponent, Queens, as the No. 15 seed in the Midwest earlier today. A CBS Sports bracket projection also showed UConn in the Midwest, against Tennessee State, showing how up in the air their region and opponent might be.
Update: 3/15/26 6:06 p.m. EST: UConn is No. 2 seed in the East region and will play Furman on Friday, March 20.
Their final spot in the bracket and opponent depend on the results of other games on Sunday and on the selection committee's final decisions for Sunday night. Either way, UConn will get another chance to fight for a championship, with their game to be announced for Thursday or Friday.
Read more: Three Teams Fighting for Final No. 1 Seed in March Madness
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