NCAA Basketball Betting – Huskies vs Pirates
The No. 9 Connecticut Huskies will look to push their current win streak to eight when they tip off against a Pirates team that will be looking to improve 2-1 in Big East play after a big win over West Virginia the last time out.
Date/Time: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Venue: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Broadcast: SNY
Spread: OFF
Over/Under: OFF
The St. Johns Red Storm where no match for the Huskies even with the help of playing at a neutral site, and were hammered by UConn 83-69 on New Year’s Eve.
Shabazz Napier led the Huskies against the Red Storm with 17 points and had a career high shooting 100 percent from three-point range with an 83 percent field goal total. While Andre Drummond recorded his third career double-double and led the team in rebounding for the sixth time in 13 games this season.
Connecticut is currently in first spot in the Big East after stating 12-1 for the sixth time
in school history, with a 2-0 conference record.
The Huskies are playing well, and once again came away ahead in shooting and defensive rebounding, shooting a big 60 percent while pulling down 26 defensive boards compared to only 16 for St. John’s. A highlight for Connecticut was its 56 percent three-point shooting, which significantly out-produced its 38 percent season average.
Meanwhile, the Pirates were off ringing in the New Year by beating the West Virginia Mountaineers, and by halftime had built up a healthy 38-22 lead en route to a 67-48 win.
The Pirates are playing amazing at home, but the Mountaineers had been playing well and had won 4 out of their last 5. So, to say that the Huskies will have their work cut out for them in this one is an understatement. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Seton Hall created separation between them and WVU in assists and turnover margin. They spread the ball around with ease, and its 16 assists along with making the most of 17 giveaways from the Mountaineers, made the difference in this one. Not to mention Hall’s s 8 blocked shots. This far and away beat its season average of 3.4.
Fuquan Edwin put up the most points against the Mountaineers with 19, as Jordan Theodore contributed eight assists.
The Pirates are now 12-2 and are sitting in 6th in the Big East.
The Pirates have not beaten the Huskies since a 65-63 win March 3, 2001. They fell 61-59 at home in the last meeting Feb. 5 despite leading by as many as 14 points and by 10 with eight minutes remaining.
Two key matchups that could determine the winner in this one.
How Theodore stacks up in his point guard matchup with Napier, and two, can Drummond slow down the Pirates’ Herb Pope, fourth in the Big East with an 18.6 scoring average and second with 10.9 rebounds per game.The senior forward, however, has struggled in his last four contests, so look for UConn to pull out the win here.
Free Pick: UConn
