#16 Connecticut Huskies (13-3) vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-6)
The Connecticut Huskies may have lost a couple of road games recently but I don’t think they are too much to get excited about. This team still has just 3 losses on the season and is loaded with talent including a couple of potential lottery picks.
Saturday January 14
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce, South Bend IN
11:00AM
Moneyline: Connecticut -125, Notre Dame +105
Spread: Connecticut -2
O/U: 131
Connecticut
They got back to winning beating West Virginia earlier in the week and have a chance to get on a nice run with their schedule over the next couple of weeks including two games against Notre Dame, this one on the road. No need to worry about the Huskies, Kemba is gone but this is still a final four capable team.
Those two potential lottery picks are Jeremy Lamb and Andre Drummond. Drummond may be just a freshman but he is one of the most imposing figures in college basketball. He shoots 61% from the floor but needs to improve at the line so they can leave him in late in tight games. That is assuming the ball would ever get away from Lamb in those situations, he is simply one of the smoothest players in the land. He averages 18ppg but is so fluid out there it looks like he could average 25 if he forced it a little more. This is a great duo and the supporting cast is pretty good too. This looks a bit like last year’s team that peaked at the right time. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Notre Dame
I feel like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the team in the Big East that nobody talks about – maybe it is because they don’t play football in the league. Last year this team was very good and a dropoff was expected after significant graduation losses but nobody could have envisioned that their top player, slick shooting forward Tom Abromaitis would be forced to sit out the year due to injury. They have played a tough schedule and scrapped out some nice wins including winning at Louisville. They enter Saturday on a two game win streak.
With Abromaitis out it has been easier for guard Jerian Grant to emerge. He didn’t play a minute last year but leads the team in scoring at 13ppg. He and fellow sophomore guard Eric Atkins log serious minutes but they have to on a team that just doesn’t go very deep. The last real threat to be concerned with is forward Jack Cooley. He may have a bad haircut but he is a legit big averaging close to a double-double. The Huskies throw size on the floor in waves and he will have to be able to have some success scoring in close for the Fighting Irish to have a chance at upsetting Connecticut.
Spread Pick: Connecticut -2
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Connecticut 71 – Notre Dame 65
