The UConn men’s basketball team is on the way to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2014.
The team got on a bus Tuesday morning and started the journey to Las Vegas, where the Huskies will take on Arkansas Thursday night.
UConn’s journey to the Sweet Sixteen comes after defeating Iona, 87 to 63, then defeating St. Mary’s, 70 to 55.
Legendary former coach Jim Calhoun was with the team to send them off to Albany, N.Y. and he was with the team again to send them off to the Sweet Sixteen.
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UConn fans are thrilled as they watch the team advance in the tournament.
“Every game is exciting. Every day is exciting,” Matt Cherien, a UConn junior, said.
“There’s a lot of spirit around here. It’s definitely like a focus on my mind of figuring out where they are going to go next,” Matt Lathe, a UConn junior, said.
The men and the women’s teams have both advanced to the Sweet Sixteen this year.
“You see every year of the women going to the Final Four and stuff like that and then to see the men moving onto the Sweet 16 as well, both teams having so much success, it’s awesome to watch,” Cherien said.
Cherien watched in person as the women’s team defeated Baylor and advanced.
“Awesome to be at a game like that last night where the crowd is electric and the team at the end of the day is moving on and we can’t wait to see how far both teams go,” he said.
Verontte Legon, a UConn freshman, is watching her teams both advance during her first year on campus and said it’s exciting as she roots on the Huskies.
“It’s pretty exciting because I come from a small school and they didn’t really have school spirit and this has school spirit,” she said.
The men’s game starts at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.
The UConn women will play Ohio State in the regional semifinals in Seattle on Saturday.
