Providence vs Connecticut 1/4/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Connecticut Huskies (14-1) vs. Providence Friars (12-3)
January 4, 2023 8:30 pm EDT
The Line: Providence Friars +5.5 / Connecticut Huskies -5.5; Over/Under: +141
(Get latest betting odds)
The UConn Huskies and the Providence Friars meet in college basketball action from the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Wednesday night.
The UConn Huskies will look to rebound from their first loss of the season after an 83-73 loss to Xavier last time out. Adama Sanogo leads the Huskies in scoring and rebounding with 17.8 PPG and 6.7 RPG while Jordan Hawkins has 14.6 PPG to cap off the pair of double-digit scorers for UConn up to this point in the season. Andre Jackson Jr. also has a team-high 5.1 APG to lead the Huskies in the assist department this season. As a team, UConn is averaging 82.2 PPG on 47.6% shooting from the field, 36.5% from three and 74.7% from the foul line this season.
The Providence Friars will try to add to their seven-game win streak after a 74-59 win over Depaul in their last game. Bryce Hopkins leads the Friars in scoring and rebounding with 15.7 PPG and 9.5 RPG while Ed Croswell has 12.7 PPG with 7.1 RPG and Devin Carter has 12.9 PPG with 4.3 RPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Providence so far this season. Jared Bynum also has 9.7 PPG with a team-high 4.7 APG to lead the Friars in assists this season. As a team, Providence is averaging 80.2 PPG on 47.5% shooting from the field, 34% from three and 72.8% from the foul line this season.
UConn is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a loss and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600 while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games overall. Providence is 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games overall and 13-3 ATS in their last 16 home games against a team with a winning road record while the over is 6-2 in their last 8 games overall.
I get the case to be made on either side here, as UConn’s been so good but Providence is not a pushover by any stretch of the imagination. That being said, I’m leaning towards UConn here. Providence’s run is solid, but the level of competition over that stretch leaves a fair bit to be desired in my opinion and I just think too highly of this UConn team to pass up a light number with them even on the road. I’ll lay it and play it with UConn here.
