Posted
on 01/26/2007 10:030 AM
By: CappersPicks.com College Basketball Handicapping
Staff
CBB - Connecticut at Indiana (1:00 PM ET - CBS)
Sportsbook.com: Connecticut
showed some heart for the first time in couple
of seasons in defeating Marquette and coming
from 12-points down with six minutes left at
Cincinnati to win. The next challenge for the
Huskies is to play well and win in the role
of a road underdog, a role they are 1-11 ATS
in over the last two seasons. That trend will
be put to the test at Indiana in an early afternoon
non-conference showdown.
If Hasheem Thabeet and Jerome Dyson can
keep playing as well as they have, the Connecticut
Huskies (13-6, 5-10 ATS) will have a shot.
Indiana (18-1, 9-7 ATS) has been for more
consistent than UConn and the defensive principles
coach Kelvin Sampson has put in place are
starting to pay dividends.
Early in the season the Hoosiers were not
cohesive and gave up too many easy buckets.
As the players learned to play together,
the defense has improved. Indiana is 13-5
ATS versus very good teams outscoring their
opponents by 8 or more points a game.
Key trend: Connecticut is an abysmal 4-12
ATS when playing against a team with a winning
record after 15 or more games over the last
two years.
This intra-sectional
clash figures to be a real treat for late
January. Two teams representing two major
conferences with great history. The Hoosiers
are led by one of the nation’s most
potent 1-2 combos in freshman Eric Gordon
and senior DJ White.
Gordon has
more than lived up to his advance billing
coming to play for Coach Sampson. He scored
25 points in his first Big Ten game vs.
Iowa. That is the most points by a first
year Hoosier in his first Big Ten game,
breaking Steve Alford’s mark
of 24 points.
Gordon is the
leading scorer in the Big Ten at 23.5 points
per game. He gets to the foul line often
and is efficient, hitting 99 of 115 for
an 86% mark. He’s also
making 43% of his three point tries.
White is tallying
16.7 points per game with 10.9 rebounds
per outing and registers two blocks per
contest. He’s had eight
double doubles in his last nine efforts.
The 6’9” senior from Alabama
is a force in the paint on both ends of the
court.
Indiana is
coming of a big win over rival Illinois
62-58. Gordon, who had originally planned
on playing for Bruce Weber and the Illini,
led the Hoosiers with 17 points. Indiana’s
only loss this year was to Xavier, 80-65.
Jim Calhoun’s Huskies are a bit of
a sleeper team in the Big East this year
without the usual high expectations. They’ve
lost four games already but to quality competition
like Notre Dame (73-67), Georgetown (72-69),
Gonzaga (85-82), and Memphis (81-70).
UConn has some
balance with five players in double figures.
The backcourt of Jerome Dyson a 6’4” sophomore and AJ
Price, a 6’2” junior lead the
scoring both averaging around 14 points per
game.
Dyson had nine
steals vs. St John’s.
He does have more turnovers than assists
and that’s not a source of happiness
for Calhoun. Price adds 6.4 assists per outing.
Jeff Adrien
is a 6’7” post player
with an NFL tight end physique he brings
9.0 rebounds into the Huskies’ equation.
Hasheem Thabeet
at 7’3” is an
enigma for the Huskies as they await him
fulfilling his potential. At times he’s
a menace on the court witness his 10 blocks
vs. Notre Dame.
He’s
only a sophomore and already is in the
record books with Emeka Okafor and Donyell
Marshall in the shot blocking department.
Prediction
Indiana 75, UConn 68
This one will be worth watching. The home
crowd at Bloomington will give the Hoosiers
an edge. Gordon and White are playing on
another level. Thabeet will be a defensive
weapon.
Again Indiana will have the two best players
in action this night. Calhoun vs. Sampson
will be an intriguing coaching matchup. You
could see these two teams playing again in
the tournament in March.
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