Will UConn repeat as national champions or will a sleeper knock them off along the way in the NCAA tournament?

BOSTON -- The madness is nearly upon us, with the NCAA Tournament set to take over the lives of basketball fans for the next month. There are countless storylines to sift through as you fill out your bracket, but we won't have an answer on the big one until potentially April 8: Will UConn repeat?

The Huskies are fresh off a Big East regular season crown (their first since 2005) and a Big East Tournament title (their first since 2011) and are now looking to become the first back-to-back champs since Florida completed the feat in 2006 and 2007. 

CBS Sports college hoops analyst Adam Zucker recently joined WBZ-TV's Dan Roche to talk everything tournament, and says UConn has what it takes to win the school's sixth NCAA title.

"If I had to pick one team right now to win it, it would be UConn," said Zucker. "I'm a pretty good victim of recency bias and they're the only team who was in 1-seed consideration to win their conference tournament over the weekend."

Fellow 1-seed Houston did not win its conference tournament, falling to Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday. That victory propelled the Cyclones to a 2-seed in the East bracket, where they could eventually meet UConn. 

Zucker said that Iowa State is a "disruptive" team and one of the "strongest two-seeds" in the tournament. UConn is in a pretty tough bracket despite being the No. 1 overall team in the tournament, with Big Ten champion Illinois the region's 3-seed.

"The good thing is if UConn gets as far to face Iowa or Illinois, they'll only have to face one of them," noted Zucker. "They would have otherwise faced each other. Illinois is super dangerous."

Auburn (4-seed in the East), San Diego State (5-seed), and Florida Atlantic (8-seed) can't be slept on either in UConn's region. 

But the Huskies are pretty loaded, led by star point guard Tristen Newton, sharpshooter Cam Spencer, and 7-foot-2 big man Donovan Clingan. Southborough's Alex Karaban does a bit of everything in the starting five, freshman guard Stephon Castle came on strong at the end of the season, and the Huskies also have Big East Sixth Man of the Year Hassan Diarra to come in and light it up off the bench.

Despite last year's stars Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins, and Andre Jackson Jr. leaving for the NBA, the Huskies have been an absolute force throughout the year.

"They're not even as good on paper as a year ago, and I was asking Jay Wright what I'm missing," said Zucker. "He said it's the culture, the chemistry, and [head coach] Dan Hurley."

While they're playing in a stacked bracket, UConn is starting its tournament in Brooklyn and would get to play in Boston for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8.

"It's going to feel like raucous home games for the UConn Huskies, and there is no denying how much that can mean in the NCAA tournament," said Zucker. "But there is a lot of challenges along the way of trying to win a national championship. It's not easy coasting just because you're a 1-seed. UConn has a target on its back that it didn't have a year ago."

Plenty of people will be picking UConn to go the distance this year, but what about a sleeper? Zucker has one in mind.

"I know it's a blue blood, but I like the way that Kentucky is playing," Zucker said of a potential sleeper. "They didn't get healthy until March, as a fully healthy team. They started scoring 100 points a game if not more down the stretch. They don't play a great set of defense, but neither does Alabama, who I see losing earlier.

"I really like Kentucky and I think Kentucky-Houston would be an amazing regional final because of Houston's defense," said Zucker. 

And if you are looking for a few upset picks for when the tournament tips off Thursday and Friday, Zucker likes the 30-win McNeese Cowboys to pull a 12-5 upset over Gonzaga in the Midwest, and the Samford Bulldogs to give the 4-seeded Kansas Jayhawks a real run for their money in the same bracket. 

"Samford is crazy," said Zucker. "They're fast-paced, top five in scoring, and face a Kansas team that has been really thinned out by injury."