With another championship on the line, UConn men’s basketball once again fell short, falling to St. John’s 72-52 in the Big East Tournament Championship. To add injury to insult after the Red Storm dominated the Huskies for all 40 minutes, UConn point guard Silas Demary Jr. suffered an ankle injury and had to be carried off in the game’s final minutes.
UConn not only lost another shot at a Big East Championship, but squandered their final shot at a No. 1 seed. After Florida fell to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament earlier Saturday, the Huskies’ had a path to the last No. 1 seed with a win over the Johnnies. That didn’t happen, but UConn likely still should end up as 2-seed, though the loss could push the Huskies out of the East region.
That loss did a number to UConn’s national title odds. Per FanDuel, the Huskies are now +2200 to cut down the nets in Indianapolis in April after starting at +2000 prior to the start of the Big East Tournament. FanDuel also has the Huskies at +470 to reach the Final Four, which are the eighth-best odds amongst all prospective tournament teams. While the loss to the Johnnies was an ego blow to a team looking for its third title in four seasons, FanDuel still views UConn as a legitimate title contender, even if the odds are slightly higher heading into Selection Sunday.
The Huskies will find out their official tournament seed, opponent and region Sunday night as part of Selection Sunday. The Red Storm will represent the conference as the automatic bid, but UConn and Villanova will hear their names called as at-large bids. Aside from those two, Seton Hall could make it a four-big Big East, but the Pirates are right on the bubble heading into Selection Sunday.
The 2026 NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday show will begin at 6:00 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. Full streaming information can be found below. Be sure to check out FanDuel for all college basketball lines and futures ahead of this year’s tournament.