The Connecticut Huskies (16-6) play the East Carolina Pirates (10-12) at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Action starts at 12:00 pm ET on Sunday, Feb. 7 and will air on CCS.
The Huskies enter this game hoping for similar success after blowing out Memphis 77-57 on Thursday. Daniel Hamilton was a key piece, recording his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Pirates, meanwhile, are coming off a 97-93 loss to Houston on Saturday. Caleb White stood out for East Carolina, accumulating 17 points, eight assists, and five rebounds.
The Huskies may have trouble getting to the line in this one. They’re 298th in the nation in FTA rate (31.8), while East Carolina is among the nation’s least foul-prone squads (yielding a FTA rate of just 28.2, 28th in the country).
The Huskies are attempting to build on their records of 16-6 Straight Up (SU) and 10-8-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Huskies are an impressive shooting team from the line with a .763 free throw percentage, one of the highest marks in Division I. As for the Connecticut defense, it’s been a struggle for opposing teams to score on the Huskies. The 61.2 points that Connecticut’s defense allows per game makes them the eighth-ranked defense in the country. The Huskies have really locked down opponents on the defensive end, ranking third in the country with a .368 opponent field-goal percentage. An area where the Huskies are particularly strong is shot blocking, where they average 5.1 blocks per game, 32nd in Division I. Connecticut has given up very few turnovers with an average of only 11.4 per game.
As for their opponent, the Pirates head into the game with records of 8-7-2 ATS and 10-12 SU. The last 10 games have really brought out the best of the Pirates on the defensive end. They’ve allowed 57.7 points per game during that span, which is lower than their season average of 71.2.
This is the first meeting of the season for Connecticut and East Carolina. The last time they played, Connecticut came out on top, moving its SU record against the Pirates to 2-0. At 1-1, they are even ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – UConn, ATS Winner – UConn
Notes
“Connecticut is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games “.
“Connecticut is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Connecticut’s last 5 games “.
“Connecticut is 19-5 SU in its last 24 games at home”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Connecticut’s last 5 games at home”.
East Carolina scores an average of just 70.3 points per game (ranked 187th). Connecticut ranks eighth in points allowed, giving up 61.2 points per game.
Connecticut won its last game by a 20-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, East Carolina is 3-4. Connecticut is 9-0 in blowouts this season.
The Connecticut Huskies have a defensive rating of 91.3 (ranked sixth), while the East Carolina Pirates have an offensive rating of 104.1 (ranked 207th).
The Connecticut Huskies average a field goal percentage of 46.0% this season. The East Carolina Pirates have a subpar record of 1-7 when opponents have a FG% of 46.0% or greater.
The Connecticut Huskies rank higher based on their field goal percentage (81st) than their effective field goal percentage (100th). The East Carolina Pirates rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (206th) than their field goal percentage (223rd).
East Carolina ranks 67th in assists, recording 15.4 per game. Connecticut performs worse at 145th with 13.8 assists per game.
Connecticut, the 32nd-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 5.1 per game. East Carolina does worse, ranked 296th with 2.4.
The East Carolina Pirates make an average of 5.6 steals per game. When the Connecticut Huskies give up 5 or more steals, they are a winning 8-5.
