+>[Here's Ways To Watch] UConn vs San Diego State Live Free TV Channel 28 March 2024
What channel is UConn vs. San Diego State game on tonight? (3/28/24): FREE LIVE STREAM, Time, TV for March Madness, Sweet 16. The UConn Huskies face the San Diego State Aztecs in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday, March 28, 2024.
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The Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA men’s March Madness tournament kicks off today – Thursday, March 28 – and what’s better than a rematch of the 2023 national championship?
That’s where No. 1 seed UConn and No. 5 seed San Diego State come in, playing tonight at 7:39 p.m. Eastern from the TD Garden in Boston. The game will be broadcast on TBS/truTV.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: Sweet 16
Who: UConn vs. San Diego State
When: Thursday, March 28, 2024
Where: TD Garden
Time: 7:39 p.m.
TV: TBS
Connecticut romped through the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend in such fashion that coach Dan Hurley is using one word to describe the reigning national champions’ vulnerability.
“We’re bulletproof,” Hurley said after UConn routed Northwestern in the second round. “Again, elite offense, elite defense.”
For UConn, like the rest of the 16 teams left in March Madness, the underlying data reveals plenty beyond those on-court performances. A chalky bracket with four No. 1 seeds still alive features multiple teams fitting the profile of past Final Four teams and title winners in KenPom’s efficiency metrics.
In data to 2001, 15 of 22 national champions ranked inside the top 25 in both offensive and defensive efficiency entering the NCAAs. Four outliers ranked inside the top 10 for offensive efficiency while the other three did so for the defensive side.
And when it comes to Final Four teams, more than half (49 of 88) were top-25 teams on both sides, while 20 of those outliers ranked at least in the top-10 of one category. The other 19 did neither.
That creates three tiers of Sweet 16 teams:
Seven ranking inside the top 25 on both sides: the Huskies, fellow 1-seeds Houston, Purdue and North Carolina; 2-seeds Arizona and Marquette; and 3-seed Creighton.
Seven teams that are top-10 performers at one end: 2-seeds Tennessee and Iowa State; 3-seed Illinois; 4-seeds Duke and Alabama; and 5-seeds Gonzaga and San Diego State.
Two outliers: 6-seed Clemson and 11-seed North Carolina State, part of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s national-best four Sweet 16 teams.
The Huskies’ numbers look just as dominant as their play.
UConn entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 1 by averaging 126.6 points per 100 possessions, trailing only 2018 champion Villanova (127.4) and 2015 runner-up Wisconsin (126.8) for the best of any team’s adjusted offensive efficiency since 2001.
The Huskies also ranked 11th defensively coming into March Madness at 94.4 points allowed per 100 possessions, and now have cracked the top 10 there too when factoring in tournament games.
The closest profile to UConn’s for a still-playing team is Arizona, which ranked eighth in offense (121.1) and 12th in defense (94.5) entering Round 1.
Of the remaining teams in that top tier, Purdue (fourth, 125.0) and Creighton (12th, 120.1) ranked stronger on the offensive side, while Houston (second, 87.2), UNC (sixth, 93.2) and Marquette (19th, 95.6) were better defensively.
Boilermakers coach Matt Painter, whose team has buried the ghost of last year’s Fairleigh Dickinson loss, echoed Lloyd on the value of balance.
No. 1 seed UConn are the defending national champions and aren’t ready to give up the crown now. They’ve shown nothing short of dominance in their first two wins of the tournament, outscoring opponents 166-110 between their wins over No. 16 seed Stetson and No. 9 seed Northwestern.
On the other hand, No. 5 seed San Diego State remember the sting of that championship loss to UConn last year, and weren’t wasting away an opportunity to meet again in the Sweet 16.
San Diego State earned some postseason bragging rights after a successful outing on Sunday. They steamrolled past Yale 85-57 on the road. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 45-21.
San Diego State's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Jaedon LeDee, who almost dropped a double-double on 26 points and nine rebounds, and Darrion Trammell, who scored 18 points along with five rebounds and three steals. The contest was LeDee's sixth in a row with at least 22.4 points.
Meanwhile, UConn waltzed into their matchup on Sunday with eight straight wins... but they left with nine. They strolled past the Wildcats with points to spare, taking the game 75-58.
UConn's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Donovan Clingan, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Tristen Newton, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and ten assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Cam Spencer, who scored 11 points along with three steals.