After finishing second in both the Big East regular season standings the Big East Conference Tournament, the University of Connecticut men's basketball team earned the No. 2 seed in the East Region for the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskies will open play on Friday night just after 10 p.m. ET in Philadelphia against No. 15 Furman.

UConn is looking to win its third national championship in the last four years, and if it's going to do it? It will have to go through some of the most historic programs and coaches to ever grace the men's game.

Per ESPN Insights:

Duke, UConn, Kansas, UCLA and Michigan State are ALL in the East Region in the men's bracket

Those 5 schools have combined for 496 tournament wins and 28 national championships (excluding vacated wins/titles)

And that doesn't even include the work done by Rick Pitino and St. John's, who beat Connecticut twice this season, including in the Big East title game.

On this note, let's take a look at the five powerhouse coaches in the region, excluding Dan Hurley and UConn.

Now in his fourth season at his alma mater, Scheyer has gone 121-24 thus far. He's made the NCAA Tournament all four seasons and advanced to the Final Four a season ago. 

His Blue Devils are the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and he may boast the tournament's best player in forward Cam Boozer. They'll take on No. 16 Siena, who is helmed by former Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara.

One of biggest stars in the sport, Izzo has been at MSU since 1995-96. In that time, he's gone 762-309 (.711). He's a four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, a national coach of the year (AP 1997-98) and a national champion (2000).

He's been to the Final Four eight times. His Spartans are the No. 3 seed and will play North Dakota State.

Self has been at Kansas since 2003-04 after successful stops at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois. With the Jayhawks, he's gone 647-166 (.796). A six-time Big-12 Coach of the Year, he's also a two-time National Coach of the Year (AP). He won the national championship with Kansas in both 2008 and 2022.

His Jayhawks are 23-10 and the No. 4 seed. They'll take on Cal Baptist.

While historically UCLA is one of the proudest programs in the sport, this Bruins team checks in as the No. 7 seed after a 23-11 campaign. Cronin's team isn't as good as the others above, but he's been here before, reaching the NCAA Tournament 15 times. He's also been to the Final Four.

His Bruins will battle South Florida.

Pitino is not without controversy in his career, but it's undeniable how much he wins. Whether at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, Iona or St. John's, all he's done is win. With a lifetime record of 913-317 (.742), he's been to the NCAA Tournament 24 times in almost 40 years of coaching. He's been to seven Final Fours and won championships with Kentucky (1996) and Louisville (2013).

This year's Red Storm team went 28-6 and earned the No. 5 seed. They will play Northern Iowa.

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