The Furman Paladins and the UConn Huskies meet Friday in NCAA Tournament First Round college basketball action from Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Here’s a UConn vs. Furman prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UConn vs. Furman pick.
Furman Paladins Betting Preview
Furman was sitting at 16-7 overall back on February 1 and just coming off a three-game win streak over UNC Greensboro, Samford and Chattanooga. A 1-4 run came next with losses to East Tennessee State, UNC Greensboro, Mercer and East Tennessee State again, then a 3-1 stretch containing a loss to Western Carolina. Furman beat UNC Greensboro and East Tennessee State in the conference tournament from there.
In the Southern Conference Tournament championship game back on March 9, the Paladins jumped out to a 42-35 advantage in the first half. Furman kept it going on a 34-26 advantage the rest of the way and took a 76-61 victory in the end. Cooper Bowser led the team with 21 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, while Tom House added 13 points with three boards and three assists in the winning effort.
UConn Huskies Betting Preview
Over on the UConn side, they kicked off the year on a very nice 22-1 run with a lone loss to Arizona on November 19. The Huskies lost to St. John’s and Creighton over the next four, then beat Villanova, St. John’s and Seton Hall before a loss to Marquette. After wins over Xavier and Georgetown in the conference tourney, the Huskies took a loss to St. John’s last weekend for a 29-5 overall record.
In the St. John’s matchup back on Saturday, the Huskies were in trouble at the break with a 40-27 deficit on the scoreboard. UConn was outscored 32-25 the rest of the way and limped to a 20-point Big East Tournament loss, 72-52. Tarris Reed was the only UConn player to finish in double figures during the losing effort with his 17 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes of action on the floor.
Why the Connecticut Huskies will win
- Connecticut has won each of its last 11 NCAA Tournament games against a lower seed.
- Connecticut has won the first half in each of its last 10 NCAA Tournament games against a lower seed.
Why the Furman Paladins will win
- Furman has won each of its last four games against non-Conference opponents.
- Furman has won the first half in three of its last four games against non-Conference opponents at neutral venues.
Total Points Facts
- Each of Furman’s last nine games at a neutral venue has produced a total of 137+ points.
- Fourteen of Connecticut’s last 15 NCAA Tournament night games have produced a total of 136 or fewer points.
Matchup/League Facts
- Connecticut has recorded the equal-longest winning streak among Division 1 teams this season (18 games).
- Connecticut ranks 6th among Division 1 teams for opponent field goals made per game this season (21.8).
- Furman ranks 35th among Division 1 teams for rebound percentage this season (54.0%).
- Furman ranks 36th among Division 1 teams for opponent free throws made per game this season (11.9).
UConn vs Furman Prediction
I’ll lean toward UConn, I suppose. The Huskies need a good bounce-back showing here after a rough statistical game versus St. John’s. In that one, UConn shot just 33.9 percent from the field and 15.8 percent (3-of-19) from outside, along with 16 turnovers for 24 Red Storm points. The Huskies are just 2-2 in their last four games and they’ve scored fewer than 68 points in three of those outings.
As for Furman, they were able to stave off East Tennessee State in their latest win thanks to 50.9 percent shooting and a 33-20 rebounding edge. The 80 percent (12-of-15) effort from the line helped as well. The Paladins have won six of their last eight games and three straight overall (all tournament matchups). Across those three, Furman has scored 76 or more points in each. The Paladins certainly have their work cut out for them in this one, however.