How to watch and everything you need to know ahead of UConn vs. Iona in NCAA Tournament

ALBANY – The UConn men’s basketball team walked out to the court at MVP Arena where the Huskies will meet Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino and Iona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 4:30 p.m.

The players, relaxed and joking around, walked past the cheerleaders, the Husky mascot and the band and had a relaxed open shootaround in front of fans.

When the buzzer sounded and time was up the team gathered on the March Madness logo at center court and posed for pictures. Walking off the court, Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson, Joey Calcaterra and others stayed to take pictures and sign autographs for kids. Jackson met with some of his family.

“We’re really trying to enjoy the moment we’re in right now, we’ve worked hard for this moment,” forward Alex Karaban said. “Coach made it clear it’s hard to make it to March Madness, so we’ve got to enjoy it and take it all in – and when it’s game time, just show up and be ready to play.”

Hurley’s cardboard national championship trophy sat on an easel courtside representing the end goal. But first, UConn has to get past the pressing Gaels.

“Coach has been talking about respecting our opponent every time we step on the court, so not to take them lightly,” Karaban said. “We know they’re a great team from scouting them. They won the MAAC, so we know we’ll be in for a test. We’ve just got to go out there and play our style of basketball. We’re going to be excited about playing in March Madness, so that should get us going.”

Iona enters the game having won 14 straight to finish its season. The Gaels are known for their full-court press defense and have two guards that can score in Walter Clayton Jr. and Daniss Jenkins, as well as a 6-foot-9 forward averaging a near double-double in Nelly Junior Joseph.

UConn, one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the nation, presents a glaring problem for Pitino’s squad, despite the fact that the Gaels have a 7-footer at the forward position in freshman Osborn Shema.

“We’re trying to rebound as good as they do,” Jenkins said. “[UConn] rebounds very well. We try to do that part. As far as some of the other things, we’re kind of similar. We like to shoot threes. They will play fast with you, they will pressure you – so some of those things are similar to our style of play.”

The Huskies are nine-point favorites on Friday, but Hurley won’t let it stiffen his guys up.

“[Hurley] has done a great job of just keeping our head level, not getting too high, not getting too low,” Hawkins said. “I think that’s the perfect approach you gotta take in this type of tournament.”

A familiar face: Taliek Brown, the captain of UConn’s 2004 national championship team who returned to Storrs and served as the men’s basketball program’s director of player development for the last three seasons, is in his first year as an assistant coach on Pitino’s staff.

“Taliek,” Hurley said, “I should’ve took everything from him and had him shred it in front of me.”

Brown was a McDonald’s All-American before becoming a four-year point guard for Jim Calhoun. He is the only player in UConn history to have scored over 1,000 points (1,039) while dishing more than 700 assists (722) over his career.

“I mean, he knows who they are,” Jenkins said. “He knows what they’re about. He’s just trying to tell us some of the key things they pride themselves on so we can take that away from them. Preparing us very good for the scout because he knows this team very well.”

Another March moment? Nahiem Alleyne made a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left to send his No. 10-seeded Virginia Tech team to overtime against Florida in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The Hokies lost that game and were sent home. The following year, in 2022, Alleyne and the Hokies were knocked out of the first round again, this time by Texas.

“It’s my third trip around and I’m very blessed to be in this position again, just gonna go out there and have fun again and just win a game, I mean I haven’t won a (tournament) game yet,” Alleyne said. “The depth [this year] is a big key. I feel like we have a lot of good guys that can come off the bench and really contribute like me, Joey [Calcaterra], Haas [Diarra], Donovan [Clingan] – I feel like we can bring the energy up.”

What to know

Site: MVP Arena, Albany

Time: 4:30 p.m.

Series: UConn leads, 4-1

Last meeting: Dec. 4, 2019 – UConn 80, Iona 62 at Gampel Pavilion

Last Iona win: Dec. 29, 1984 – Iona 55, UConn 54 at the Hartford Civic Center

TV: TBS, Spero Dedes, Debbie Antonelli and AJ Ross

Radio: UConn Sports Network on 97.9 ESPN, Mike Crispino and Wayne Norman