Eyeing Which NCAA Tournament Teams Could Cut Down Nets At TD Garden

At the end of next week, the NCAA Tournament will make its way to Boston.

The crazed sports city will host the final two rounds of the East Regional on March 28 and 30 with the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight contests playing out at TD Garden.

Only four out of the East region’s 16 teams will find their way to Boston, as getting the chance to play at the home of the Celtics won’t be an easy task. This side of the bracket will be difficult to navigate as it features three of last year’s four national semifinal teams, including No. 1 overall seed UConn.

Here are four teams that could be cutting down the nets in Boston and making their way to the Final Four:

UConn
UConn enters the NCAA Tournament with massive expectations as the Huskies are the heavy favorite. They also look to become the first team since the 2006-07 Florida Gators to win back-to-back national championships.

The Huskies, who enter the dance with a pristine 31-3 record, certainly have the talent to accomplish that. UConn has five players that average double figures in scoring, led by senior guard Tristen Newton at 15.2 points per game. The Huskies can attack from all over the court with Massachusetts native Alex Karaban shooting 39.5% from 3-point range and 7-foot-2 sophomore Donovan Clingan taking advantage down low.

It isn’t exactly a cakewalk to Boston for UConn, though. After facing 16th-seeded Stetson, the Huskies could face No. 8 Florida Atlantic, which made a run to the Final Four last season.

Auburn
Getting to Boston would be a homecoming for Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. He grew up in Sharon, Mass., and attended Boston College.

It would be a great storyline if Pearl makes his way to Boston and it’s certainly realistic for the fourth-seeded Tigers to make it happen. Auburn is exceptional on both sides of the basketball as the Tigers boast one of the best defenses in the SEC. They also can light it up from beyond the arc with three players knocking down at least 40% of their 3-point attempts. Johni Broome leads them in scoring with 16.2 points per game.

Potentially standing in Auburn and Pearl’s way in the second round is San Diego State, last season’s national runner-up. The No. 5 Aztecs have just as good of a shot to make it to Boston as Auburn. They can lean on Jaedon LeDee, Lamont Butler and their experience from last year’s incredible tournament run. But San Diego State isn’t as deep as they were a season ago and it feels like things are aligning for Pearl and the Tigers to get to Boston.

BYU
The Cougars might not be a traditional Cinderella team as a sixth seed, but upsetting No. 3 Illinois in the second round would create some momentum before heading east.

BYU’s regular-season résumé proves they are capable of putting together a magical NCAA Tournament run. The Cougars have wins over Baylor, Kansas and Iowa State, which is the No. 2 team in the East. They also have a 7-point loss to a No. 1-seeded Houston squad.

The Cougars receive a consistent spark off the bench in Jaxon Robinson, who leads BYU in scoring with 13.8 points per game. BYU also won’t be hesitant from long range as its offense is built from beyond the arc.

Of course, BYU will have to guard against an upset from No. 11 Duquesne before facing the winner of Illinois and No. 14 Morehead State.

Iowa State
The Cyclones opened up plenty of eyes with the way they finished off the Big 12 Tournament by routing Houston in a 28-point win. And that surely has Iowa State eyeing not only Boston, but a potential Final Four berth.

Iowa State plays an aggressive style and features a strong backcourt tandem in Keshon Gilbert and Tamin Lipsey. Gilbert averages a team-best 13.2 points per game while Lipsey is right behind at 12.8 points to go along with 2.8 steals per game.

Iowa State will have to handle business against No. 15 South Dakota State first and possibly a very tricky matchup against No. 10 Drake awaits in the second round before it can start thinking about making a trip to Boston. But there’s no doubt the Cyclones should have national title aspirations.