Providence vs UConn Prediction 3/1/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The UConn Huskies and the Providence Friars meet Saturday in college basketball action from Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Here’s a Providence vs UConn prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Providence vs UConn pick.

UConn Huskies Betting Preview

The Huskies have had a wild year so far with some great wins mixed among some crushing losses. UConn went 12-3 over their first 15 outings though, falling to only Memphis, Colorado and Dayton during that time. Since then it’s been a pretty choppy run. The Huskies are 6-6 in their last 12 outings with wins over Georgetown, Butler, DePaul, Marquette, Creighton and Villanova. The losses otherwise were versus Villanova, Creighton, Xavier, St. John’s, Seton hall and St. John’s again. That gave the Huskies an 18-9 overall run through the first 27 outings.

In their Wednesday matchup with Georgetown, the Huskies jumped out to a 42-35 lead in the first half. UConn kept it going from there on a 51-44 advantage and took the eventual win 93-79 in the end. Solo Ball led the starters with his 20 points, five rebounds and three assists. Liam McNeeley added 17 points with four assists and three rebounds, while Hassan Diarra put up 14 points with seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. Alex Karaban had 13 points with three rebounds, and Tarris Reed doubled off the bench on 20 points and 10 boards.

Providence Friars Betting Preview

Over on the Providence side, they’ve had a couple of good runs so far this year but overall they’re struggling. The Friars won their first five straight games, then hit a 2-8 run with wins over BYU and DePaul among losses to Oklahoma, Davidson, Indiana, Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure, St. John’s, Marquette and UConn during that time. A 4-2 stretch came next with wins over Butler, Seton Hall, Georgetown and Seton Hall again. Since then it’s been a 1-6 run with a lone win over Villanova among losses to St. John’s, Creighton, Butler, Xavier, Georgetown and Marquette. That gives the Friars a 12-16 overall run through 28 games so far.

Matched up against Marquette in their Tuesday outing, the Friars were down 43-32 by the break. Providence didn’t get any better from there on a 39-20 second half and limped to the blowout defeat 82-52. The only player on the team to finish in double-figures was Jayden Pierre with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Both Oswin Erhunmwunse (eight rebounds; three blocks) and Rich Barron (four rebounds; two steals) chipped in eight points apiece during the defeat last well.

Why the Providence Friars will win

• Providence has won 21 of its last 24 day games at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
• Connecticut has lost each of its last three day games.
• Connecticut has lost the first half in five of its last six games against the Big East Conference.

Why the Connecticut Huskies will win

• Connecticut has won 22 of its last 24 games when playing with a rest disadvantage.
• Providence has lost six of its last seven games.
• Providence has lost the first half in six of its last seven games against the Big East Conference.

Providence vs UConn Prediction

I’ll probably take a stab on Providence here. The Friars are looking pretty bad after a blowout road loss to Marquette in their latest outing, though. In that matchup Providence shot just 33.9 percent from the field and got outmuscled on the boards 39-34. The 18 turnovers for 19 Eagles points didn’t help matters either. The Friars have now given up 80 or more points in five of the last six games, losing all five.

These teams last saw each other back on January 5 in a tight 87-84 home win for the Huskies. In that one Providence had a 12-point lead at the break but UConn stormed back with 60 points in the second half. Both teams shot well (50 percent and up), while the Friars had a 34-22 rebounding edge (15-5 offensive). The 10 turnovers for 14 Huskies points didn’t help though, nor did the second-half breakdown. Providence isn’t playing very well lately so they’ll need to rise to the occasion in the home rematch. I think they’ve got a good shot at covering but I’m probably not touching this one in reality. UConn could easily come alive and blitz the Friars into a blowout finish as well.