The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (9-5, 2-0 AAC) will try to prolong their five-game home winning streak in a matchup against the Connecticut Huskies (7-6, 0-1 AAC) at Donald Reynolds Center. The game will air on ESPNews at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 3, 2018.
The Over/Under (O/U) for the game opened at 138 points with Tulsa set as a 4-point favorite.
Connecticut Huskies at Tulsa Golden Hurricane Free Prediction
The Huskies are hoping for a better outcome after their 72-62 loss to the No. 8 Wichita State Shockers in their last contest. Wichita State won the rebounding battle. The Shockers had 17 offensive rebounds and 47 total rebounds, while the Huskies had eight and 34, respectively. Jalen Adams was the game’s leading scorer with 18 points on 7-for-20 shooting.
The last time the Golden Hurricane played, they were victorious over the Tulane Green Wave, 65-56. Tulsa out-rebounded Tulane. The Golden Hurricane had 16 offensive rebounds and 52 total rebounds, while the Green Wave had five and 30, respectively. Martins Igbanu was Tulsa’s high scorer with 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
From an effective field goal percentage perspective, Tulsa figures to have a considerable edge. The Golden Hurricane defense ranks 96th in effective field goal percentage allowed (0.479), while the Connecticut offense is ranked 336th in effective field goal percentage (0.452).
Connecticut heads into the contest with records of 7-6 straight up (SU) and 3-7 against the spread (ATS). Games featuring the Huskies have typically finished over the total (55.6 percent).
Meanwhile, Tulsa owns records of 9-5 SU and 8-3 ATS. Vegas has typically been fairly accurate when predicting totals of Golden Hurricane games, with 6 overs compared to 5 unders.
Junior Etou has averaged 20.6 points and 8.0 rebounds over the last five games for Tulsa.
After the Golden Hurricane won the only game against the Huskies last season, 61-59, these teams will go head-to-head for the first time this year. The Golden Hurricane made 12 of their 15 free throws (80.0 percent) and had a much better turnover percentage (14.0 vs. 21.6).
Connecticut Huskies at Tulsa Golden Hurricane Free Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Connecticut, ATS Winner – Connecticut, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Notes:
On the road, Connecticut is 2-4 ATS with 3 overs and 3 unders.
Tulsa is 3-1 ATS at home with 3 overs and 1 under.
Tulsa averages 39.0 rebounds per game, which ranks 55th in the NCAA. Connecticut ranks 173rd in rebounds allowed per game (36.5).
The Huskies rank 190th in three pointers attempted per game (20.6) while the Golden Hurricane rank 258th in three pointers allowed per game (26.9).
Connecticut ranks 28th in steals allowed per game (5.1) while Tulsa ranks 90th (6.2).
The Golden Hurricane rank 199th in assists per game (12.2) while the Huskies rank 244th (9.3).
Connecticut ranks 88th in blocks per game (3.7) while Tulsa ranks 94th in blocks allowed per game (3.5).
Bettings Trends:
In their last five games, Connecticut is 2-3 ATS with 2 overs and 2 unders.
Tulsa is 4-0 ATS with 3 unders and 1 over over their last five games.
The Huskies’ average margin of defeat in their last five games has been 9.2, up from 3.6 for the season.
During their last five games, the Golden Hurricane have scored an average of 72.0 points per game (3.4 below their season average) and allowed an average of 63.8 points per game (6.8 below their season average).
