The 16-seed Stetson Hatters will face the 1-seed UConn Huskies in the East Region of the 2024 NCAA Tournament in the Round of 64 on Friday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:45 PM ET, and the game will be held in Brooklyn, New York, at the Barclays Center and airing on CBS.

The Stetson Hatters will be making their 1^st NCAA Tournament appearance in school history after being one of only 45 teams in college basketball to never make an NCAA Tournament appearance before this season. 

Stetson earned their bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament by winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament with a 94-91 win against the Austin Peay Governors in the championship game, which was also their 5^th win in their last six games and their 3^rd win in a row after defeating the Queens Royals by a score of 83-71 in the Quarterfinals and the Jacksonville Dolphins by a score of 88-87 in the Semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The Hatters finished the regular season with an overall record of 22-12 and had a conference record of 11-5, which tied the Lipscomb Bisons for 2^nd place in the conference. 

The Stetson Hatters will have a tough time in their first NCAA Tournament game in school history on Friday. They will be facing the #1 overall seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the UConn Huskies.

The UConn Huskies were the only team with one seed in the NCAA Tournament to win their conference tournament, earning the Huskies the #1 overall seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. 

The Huskies won the 2023 NCAA Tournament last season and are in prime position to repeat as they are one of the hottest teams in college basketball and are riding a seven-game winning streak, which includes winning three games in the Big East Conference Tournament with wins over the Xavier Musketeers in the Quarterfinals by a score of 87-60, the St. John’s Red Storm by a score of 95-90 in the Semifinals, and the Marquette Golden Eagles in the championship game by a score of 73-57. During their winning streak, UConn has been dominant as they have won by an average margin of 19 points per game over their last seven games and have been shooting the ball well and playing great defensively as they are averaging 81.86 points per game while allowing an average of 64.14 points per game during their winning streak. 

The UConn Huskies will look to win their 8^th game in a row when they face the Stetson Hatters in the Round of 64 on Friday afternoon.

BookMaker lists the UConn Huskies as 26.5-point favorites against the Stetson Hatters in the Round of 64 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon. Stetson is playing in its first NCAA Tournament in school history, while this will be UConn’s fourth consecutive NCAA Appearance and 37^th overall. These teams have never played each other before Friday’s matchup in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

UConn is one of the hottest teams in college basketball and is the odds-on favorite to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament at +359. It is making its 4^th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 37^th overall, while Stetson has never played in the NCAA Tournament before this season. I look for the experience and talent level of the Huskies to be too much for the Hatters to overcome, and I expect UConn to look dominant in this matchup, which is why I am buying the .5 point and laying the points with the UConn Huskies when they play the Stetson Hatters in the Round of 64 on Friday afternoon.