The Stonehill College Skyhawks and the UConn Huskies meet Saturday in college basketball action from XL Center. Stonehill is 1-1 on the season and coming off a double-digit win over Army. As for UConn, they beat Northern Arizona in blowout fashion during their opener. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Stonehill College Skyhawks 

The Skyhawks faced off against George Washington in their opener on Monday and things didn’t go very well. Stonehill was outscored 37-20 in the first half and coughed up another 52 points from there in an 89-44 loss. No one on the roster got into double digits, but Louie Semona managed nine points and Max Zegarowski posted eight points with nine boards. 

Game two went much better for Stonehill on Thursday. The Skyhawks took on a struggling Army team, holding the Knights to just 19 points in the second half in a 57-44 win. Zegarowski managed 21 points with eight rebounds to lead the way, while Jackson Benigni added 14 points to the cause. 

UConn Huskies 

Over on the UConn side, they’re coming off a great run last season resulting in a national championship. The Huskies went 31-8 overall and 13-7 in the Big East for a fourth-place finish. UConn lost to Marquette in the conference tournament, but then went on a tear in the national tourney on the way to a win over San Diego State in the championship. 

UConn got off to a nice start this year as well. On Monday in their opener, the Huskies scored 47 points in the first half and 48 in the second for a 95-52 blowout win. Tops in scoring was Alex Karaban with 22 points and seven boards. Tristen Newton manger 14 points with seven rebounds and three assists as well. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’m likely going to lean toward UConn here, but the line’s too thick to mess around with. The Huskies didn’t have much issue in their opener versus Northern Arizona, shooting 56.1 percent from the field with a 50-27 rebounding advantage and 15 rebounds. If there’s a complaint it’s the tepid 3-point shooting (28.0 percent) and 24-of-37 rate (64.9 percent) from the line. Still, it’s likely going to be tough for Stonehill to find many good scoring chances in this one. The Skyhawks broke away from Army in the second half of their latest game, but still got out-rebounded 44-35. I like Stonehill to hang around for a little while initially but UConn should dominate this one.