The No.9-seeded Connecticut Huskies play the No.8-seeded Colorado Buffaloes in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. The game starts at 1:30 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 17 and will air on TNT.
The Buffaloes are expecting better results after their 82-78 loss to Arizona in the 2 of the Pac-12 tournament. George King was the team’s leading scorer with 22 points. The Huskies, meanwhile, are coming off a 72-58 win over Memphis in the 4 of the American Athletic Conference tournament. Daniel Hamilton had a big game, registering 12 points and 11 rebounds to claim his 11th double-double of the season.
Hamilton has been on a tear over the last five games for the Huskies, averaging 17.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.4 three-pointers.
The Buffaloes enter the game with records of 22-11 Straight Up (SU) and 19-11 Against The Spread (ATS). The Buffaloes are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throw percentage, shooting a stellar .738 from the free throw line. The rebounding edge goes to the Buffaloes in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 42.4 boards per game. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, the Buffaloes prevent teams from making three-pointers, ranking 27th in the nation with 206 total three-pointers allowed (6.0 per game).
As for their opponent, the Huskies have 24-10 SU and 16-14-1 ATS records. The Huskies convert their free throws at a high percentage, leading the nation at .787. Shifting to the other side of the court, teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Huskies, who are the second-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .382.
Colorado and Connecticut have not played one another in a regular season matchup in recent years.
Predictions: SU Winner – Colo, ATS Winner – Colo
Notes
“Colorado is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of Connecticut’s last 7 games “.
The Connecticut Huskies rank 85th for their offensive rating of 109.9. The Colorado Buffaloes have a defensive rating of 99.8 (ranked 39th).
The Colorado Buffaloes average a field goal percentage of 42.5% this season. The Connecticut Huskies have a poor record of 3-6 when opponents have a FG% of 42.5% or greater.
The Colorado Buffaloes rank lower for their field goal percentage (252nd) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (239th), but the Connecticut Huskies have a better FG% ranking (78th) than eFG% ranking (91st).
Connecticut ranks 71st in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.25. Colorado is ranked lower at 188th with an A/TO of 1.03.
Ranked fourth in the nation, Colorado averages 42.4 rebounds per game. Connecticut ranks lower at 150th with 36.5 RPG.
Connecticut ranks 275th in offensive rebounds, while Colorado ranks at fifth in defensive rebounds.
On average, Colorado forces a turnover rate of 15.7%. When Connecticut turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 12-7 record.
