San Diego State Aztecs vs. Connecticut Huskies

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Connecticut(-1.5)
Game Total Line: (130)
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

This year’s NCAA Men’s Tournament is down to the Sweet 16 and Thursday’s action starts things off with the San Diego State Aztecs taking on the Connecticut Huskies in the semifinals of the West Region. Tip-off from the Honda Center is set for 7:15 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on CBS.

San Diego State came into this tournament with one of the best records in the country at 32-2 straight-up (22-12 against the spread) as the only team to beat the Aztecs all season long was BYU, who also advanced to the Sweet 16 as a No.3 seed in the Southeast Region. San Diego State met little resistance in its game against No.15 seed Northern Colorado with a 68-50 win as a 14 ½-point favorite, but had its hands full against No.7 seed Temple in the third round. The Aztecs needed two overtimes to finally subdue the Owls in a 71-64 victory as a 5 ½-point favorite.

Senior forward Billy White came up big against Temple with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds while sophomore forward Kawhi Leonard scored 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the win. Leonard leads San Diego State with 15.6 points and 10.6 rebounds a game.

The Aztecs shot 43.1 percent from the floor against the Owls which was slightly less than their 46.4 percent season average. A huge bonus in this game was their shooting from beyond the arc; hitting an incredible 54.5 percent of their attempts. This was well above their season average of 35 percent. San Diego State also did a great job controlling the boards with a 40-30 edge in rebounds.

Connecticut is one of the hottest teams left in the field with seven straight wins dating back to the first round of the Big East Tournament. The Huskies’ two victories in this tournament started with an 81-52 rout of No.14 seed Bucknell 81-52 as a 10-point favorite. They followed this up by knocking-out Big East foe No.7 seed Cincinnati 69-58 as a 3 ½-point favorite.

Junior guard Kemba Walker was relatively quiet in the win over Bucknell with 18 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists, but Connecticut’s leading scorer, who averaged 23.5 points a game in the regular season, lit things up against the Bearcats with a game-high 33 points including 16 in the final 10 minutes of play. Freshman guard/forward Jeremy Lamb added 14 points and sophomore center/forward Alex Oriakhi pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds in the win.

The Huskies are shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 33.4 percent from three-point range while averaging 73 points a game. They are ranked 11th in the nation in rebounds with an average of 40 a game. They outrebounded Cincinnati 34-22 in last Saturday’s game.

San Diego State is 3-0 ATS in its last three games road games and 6-1 ATS in its last seven games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in four of its last six games.

Connecticut is 5-1 ATS in its last six games on the road and 7-0 ATS in its last seven games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in its last three games.

Against the Spread Game Pick

This one will come down how well the Aztecs’ defense can contain Kemba Walker. San Diego State might be able to win the battle under the boards against the Huskies, but Walker finds a way to bury a few key three’s down the stretch to give the Huskies the win in the game.
Take Connecticut -1.5 at Beted where you can bet using your checking account!