It’s the top seed in the East Region UConn Huskies against the Fighting Illini of Illinois. The winner of this game will head to Phoenix and play in the NCAA Final Four.
The UConn Huskies are the defending national champions, and have been red hot in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies have won all three games by double digits. UConn is 34-3 on the season.
Illinois has won seven straight games. The Fighting Illini are the third seed in the region, and coming off a win over Iowa State. Illinois is now 29-8 on the season. For Illinois, they won the Big Ten Tournament, which is part of their seven straight wins.
UConn comes into this game listed at -7.5 over Illinois.
Coach Hurley and the Huskies
In the 82-52 win over San Diego State, the Huskies saw four players score double digits in the game. Cam Spencer was the leading scorer with 18 points. Tristen Newton added 16 in the game. The second round win over Northwestern saw Newton lead the way with 20 points and 10 assists.
On the season, Newton is the top scorer on the team with more than 15 per game. Spencer is at 14.4, Alex Karaben at 13.7 and Donovan Clingan at 12.8. The Huskies as a team are scoring more than 81 points per game, which ranked them 21st in all of College Basketball. UConn is one of the most unselfish teams in College Basketball, with 18.7 assists per game.
UConn won their first seven games of the season. Their first loss came on the road at Kansas the first of December. The other two losses for Coach Hurley’s team came at Seton Hall on December 20th, and a 19 point loss at Creighton near the end of February. The Huskies have allowed 60 or less in six of their last seven games.
Brad Underwood and the Illini
If the Connecticut Huskies are playing the best basketball in the country right now, the Fighting Illini are a close second. The Fighting Illini ran through the Big Ten Tournament and now three in the NCAA Tournament. Illinois is up to nearly 85 points per game on the offensive end.
Since the start of the Big Ten tournament, the Fighting Illini have scored 77, 98, 93, 75, 89 and 72 points. Terrence Shannon Jr has been incredible on the offensive side. Shannon had 25 in a win at Iowa late in the season. Since the Big Ten Tournament, he has scored 28, 40, 34, 26, 39 and 29 points.
The Illini went 2-0 to start the season, but then took a loss to Marquette. The other losses for the Orange and Blue this season came to Tennessee, Purdue, Maryland, Northwestern, Michigan State, Penn State and Purdue a second time. This is the first time the Fighting Illini have been in the Elite 8 since 2005.
Huskies Keep Rolling
The Connecticut Huskies are the defending national champions for a reason. They do everything well. They are going to be tested by the Fighting Illini in this one. But, in the end, the Huskies are going to win this game.
UConn is going to extend the lead and win this game by 8 points. We are going to bet the UConn Huskies -7.5 over the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday in College Basketball.
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