UConn-Villanova Line at Huskies -3.5

Written by:
Dan Shapiro
Published on:
Feb/20/2012
UConn-Villanova Line at Huskies -3.5

Dan Shapiro here in for Carrie Stroup who has the President’s Day holiday off.  I have your UConn-Villanova line with the Huskies at -3.5.  All updated College Basketball game betting odds can be found here at Sportsbook.com. This game goes off February 20, 2012.  You can receive up to $250 in FREE CASH based on your initial deposit. 

Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Connecticut -3.5 & 137.5

Opening Line & Total: Huskies -3 & 137

Connecticut looks to grab an important conference road win to build on an increasingly underwhelming NCAA Tournament resume when it travels to Philadelphia to take on long-time rival Villanova on Monday night.

Usually perennial Big East powerhouses, both ‘Nova and UConn find themselves in unfamiliar territory this season in the bottom half of the conference standings. The Huskies look to bounce back from a 79-64 home loss to Marquette on Saturday—a crucial game in which UConn inexplicably lacked energy and passion. Connecticut has just two road wins all season (2-6 SU, 1-7 ATS), dropping four in a row (SU and ATS), but three of those losses came against teams in the top six of the Big East. Villanova’s struggles are unlikely to improve on Monday, with leading scorer Maalik Wayns (17.8 PPG—3rd in Big East) set to miss his third straight game with an MCL sprain. The Wildcats blew a 20-point lead at home in an eventual 74-70 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday. Villanova has now lost five of its past six games straight up, and hasn’t won ATS in seven consecutive games (0-6-1 ATS). As bad as UConn has been on the road, if the Huskies have any hope of grabbing a bid to the Big Dance, they will find a way to win this one.

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UConn’s perimeter defense was exposed against Marquette, allowing the Golden Eagles to shoot 46% (10-for-22) from three-point range. In their last three losses, the Huskies allowed opponents to drain the deep ball at an alarmingly high rate of 49.2 percent (31-for-63). Despite all of the talent in the lineup, UConn still lacks a strong on-court leader. Leading scorer Jeremy Lamb (17.3 PPG) has regained his scoring touch after a midseason slump, scoring 18+ points in each of his past three games on 53% FG. The Huskies will need freshman center Andre Drummond (10.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG) to stay out of foul trouble in this game, after playing just 24 minutes in the loss to Marquette. Connecticut is 5-1 when Drummond posts a double-double this season.

Villanova has struggled mightily this season, and it doesn’t get more deflating than blowing a 20-point lead at home. Like the Huskies, the Wildcats were also haunted by poor perimeter defense against the Irish—allowing Notre Dame to sink nine of its 12 three-pointers in the second half. The ‘Cats have kept games close without Wayns in the lineup—losing by four points in each game—but there simply isn’t enough consistent secondary scoring to win close games. Villanova will need another strong outing from junior guard Dominic Cheek (12.6 PPG), who scored 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting in the loss to Notre Dame. Freshman forward JayVaughn Pinkston (10.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG) will be the X-factor in this game. After scoring a career-high 28 points against Providence two weeks ago, Pinkston dropped a team-high 24 (7-of-18 FG) against the Irish. UConn really struggled guarding versatile Marquette forward Jae Crowder on Saturday, and if Pinkston can hit shots on the perimeter, it will force the Huskies big men to play out of position.

- Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com

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