NCAA Tournament – Hawks vs Huskies Pick
The Huskies did not win the AAC tournament but they have to be pleased with the fact that they were not embarrassed by Louisville again. [ad-4468020]
East Region
2014 NCAA Tournament Free Picks
#7 Connecticut Huskies (26-8) vs. #10St. Joe’s Hawks (24-9)
Thursday March 20
First Niagara Center – Buffalo, NY
6:55PM
Moneyline: Connecticut -200, St. Joes +170
Spread: Connecticut -4.5
Total: 130
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Connecticut
They beat Memphis and Cincinnati to reach the final and have to be pleased to see those teams are in the same region.
That Louisville debacle aside this team has proven it can beat top teams – it handed Florida one of its two losses on the season.
The Huskies will go only as far as Shabazz Napier will take them. I know common wisdom says they need more from their bigs, and that is true, but this team can not survive a night off by Napier who is their leading scorer, rebounder and distributor.
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He is the focal point of every defensive game plan yet he usually manages to make a difference. Best of all he is awesome in crunch time.
UConn is neither limping nor streaking into the tournament. The East Region has a number of AAC teams and that is good for this bunch, especially since Louisville is in another bracket.
This game will probably be a bit of a struggle but they can get the job done late with Napier leading the way and their guards being sharp at the foul line.
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St. Joe’s
The Hawks were surprise winners of the A10. I think most were expecting a showdown between Saint Louis and VCU instead the Hawks took down HAVOC and the Rams. The reality is that UConn is probably a better match for them stylistically.
In a slower paced game they can get into their stuff and take advantage of their strong production inside where the Huskies are surprisingly light.
It should be a nice battle between Hawks leading scored Langston Galloway and Napier but I think this game will turn on the inside play for St. Joe’s. Ronald Roberts and Halil Kanacevic are quality inside players who score in double figures and average better than 7.5 rebounds per game.
Both were key contributors in their recent win against VCU and will put pressure on the UConn frontcourt to perform.
The Hawks are a very good underdog play in this one. They certainly have the talent to beat the Huskies and are one of those teams that is probably playing its best basketball right now.
They just might be able to catch the Huskies off guard.
If they are going to win they better get after them early.
Spread prediction: Connecticut -4.5
Total prediction: Over
Score prediction: Connecticut 74 – St. Joe’s 67
