The Manhattan Jaspers and the UConn Huskies meet Friday in college basketball action from XL Center. Manhattan enters this one at 3-1 so far following a four-point win over Central Connecticut back on Sunday. As for UConn, they’re rolling right along at 5-0 this year. The Huskies took out a great Texas team in their most recent outing. Here’s a Manhattan vs UConn Prediction.
Manhattan Jaspers
The Jaspers are playing well so far, all things considered. Manhattan’s only blemish came to Kansas in a 99-61 loss back on November 10, but sandwiched around that were wins over Bryant 61-59 and Felician 79-67. In the win over Felician, Manhattan shot 44.6 percent from the field but also got out-rebounded 47-42.
The Jaspers were able to get back into the win column in their last matchup versus Central Connecticut. It wasn’t easy though, as Manhattan was down 35-26 at the half in a 67-63 comeback victory. Shaquil Bender topped the team with 16 bench points and four rebounds, while Seydou Traore added 15 points with eight boards.
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UConn Huskies
Over on the Huskies side, it’s been smooth sailing this year. UConn has scored 77 or more points in all five games so far, taking out Northern Arizona, Stonehill, Mississippi Valley State and Indiana in their first quartet of appearances. UConn drilled the Hoosiers on the boards with a 44-22 rebounding advantage (15-4 offensive).
The Huskies’ toughest matchup of the season came on Monday versus Texas, and they passed the test well. UConn jumped out to a 46-33 first-half advantage and ended up with an 81-71 win in the end. Alex Karaban topped the team with his 20 points and six boards. Cam Spencer managed 16 points with five rebounds and five assists as well.
ANDREW’S FREE UCONN VS MANHATTAN PREDICTION
I’ll probably just stay with UConn. The line’s too thick to mess with, though. This is an obvious mismatch and the only real question is margin of victory. Considering the Huskies posted 47.5 percent shooting and 41 rebounds with just six turnovers versus a very good Texas team in their last outing, it’s going to be difficult for Manhattan to keep any sort of pace until garbage time in the second half.
The Jaspers can shoot fairly well against comparable teams this year—they hit 50 percent from the floor in the Central CT State matchup—but probably won’t get too many open looks. UConn should dominate the boards as well, so if Manhattan isn’t nailing shots at a high clip all afternoon they’ll fall behind quickly. On paper at least, the Huskies dominate this one.