Connecticut Huskies Final Four Betting Preview

Written by Steve Janus

final-four-preview-uconn-040109 For Connecticut, it is the program’s third Final Four appearance, all coming within the past decade, with the previous two appearances leading to eventual national titles. The Huskies are here after a 82-75 win and cover (the spread was 5.5 points) against the Missouri Tigers last Saturday in the regional championship game.

The Huskies have managed to cover the spread in all four of their tournament gaes so far. They scored the third biggest blowout in NCAA tournament history with a 103-47 thrashing of Chattanooga. UConn continued their excellent play against Texas A&M as well as Purdue, winning and covering the spread in those games as well.

During the Huskies’ regular season they were a force to be reckoned with. Connecticut put together winning streaks of both 11 and 13 games during the course of the year. In the Big East Tournament, they were knocked out in their first game (after a first round bye) in that historiacal six overtime game against Syracuse where the Huskies were outlasted by a final score of 127-117.

Connecticut has the ability to overwhelm their opponents with size and strength, and they have a good chance to do that against Michigan State this Saturday. A.J. Price has had the most success offensively for the Huskies this season, averaging 14.7 points per game, but he is by no means their only threat to score. UConn has two other starters that average over 13 points per game in Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien.

Against Missouri in the regional championship game, Price scored 18 points and was eventually named the West Region’s most outstanding player. UConn’s All-American center, Kemba Walker elevated his game, tying his career-high in scoring with 23 points in the regional final. The Huskies also got help from Stanely Robinson who chipped in 13 points against the Tigers, the 5th game in a row that he’s chalked up double digits.

The Huskies Advance If: They continue to rely on their defense as their biggest strength. As long as Thabeet stays out of foul trouble, this is an intimidating defense for any team in the nation to deal with, especially at the level they are playing at right now. They shouldn’t need as many points against the Spartants this Saturday, but will have to take advantage of every opening the stingy Michigan State defense gives them. The Huskies play Michigan State on Saturday, April 4th in Michigan at 6:07 PM EST.

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