Saturday afternoon in CBB we will see the Connecticut Huskies travel to New York to take on the Syracuse Orangemen. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 pm tipoff and will be televised live on CBS. Currently Syaracuse is favored by 11 points with the total being set at 132 for this game.
Free Analysis: The Huskies have lost five of six and, more importantly, show no signs of breaking out of their rut. They were embarrassed by No. 23 Louisville on Wednesday, 80-59. During their last 6 games the Huskies have averaged just 57.3 ppg on 37.5%shooting overall and about 25% from long range. They are just not shooting the ball well at all right now. The Huskies have 4 players that are averaging 9.7 ppg or more and they are led by Jeremy Lamb, who averages 17.2 ppg on 47.3% shooting and he is followed by Shabazz Napier (13.1 ppg & 5.5 apg) and Ryan Boatright (10.4 ppg). Boatright had some off the court problems earlier in the month with NCAA investigations, but they have been cleared up and he won't have to worry about that for the rest of the year. Andre Drummond rounds out the top scorers on this team with 9.7 ppg, but he does so much more for them as he also leads the team in rebounding (7.5), shooting (54.8%) and blocks (2.6 bpg). The Huskies were a solid 70+ ppg team earlier in the year, but their recent struggles now have them averaging 68.5 ppg (175th) on 45.4% shooting (95th), including just 32.35 hotting from long range (257th). The recent struggles of the team has been clearly due to the offense as this defense has been as tough as ever. Uconn has allowed 58.8 ppg on 38.6% shooting in their last 5 games, while overall this team has allowed 62.1 ppg on 37.1% shooting, which is 4 th in the country. For Syracuse Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim he had to sweat out his 880th career win earlier this week. Saturday's game might be less stressful given the struggles of Connecticut – the Orange's Big East rival for the time being. Syracuse, which leads the Big East in scoring (77.6), is arguably the deepest team in the nation. Its lone loss came without the 7-foot Melo, who missed three games due to academic issues. Rebounding could be key in this games and Syracuse was outrebounded 52-35 by Georgetown so they could struggle against Connecticut, which is the third-best rebounding team in the conference (38.3). The Orange are the deepest team in the nation and they have 7 players who average at least 7.4 ppg. At the top is Kris Joseph with 14.3 ppg, while Dion Waiters is their only other DD scorer on the team at 12.2 ppg, plus he leads the team in steals (2.1). Scoop Jardine (8.2 ppg) leads the team in assists (4.9) and shooting (48.8%), while Fab Melo leads in Blocks (3.1) and rebounding (5.6). The Orange just get contributions form everyone. The Orange have the seventh-most efficient offense in the country, according to Ken Pomeroy’s ratings (1.17 points per possession). Connecticut’s troubles against zone defense are well-documented, and there’s none better than Syracuse’s 2-3 variation, which has been bolstered by the return of Fab Melo. The Orange are third in the nation in blocks (7.4) and 10th in steals (10.0), 36th in scoring defense (60.8 ppg) and 12th in FG% defense (38.3%). More than 31,000 are expected to be on hand for could be the last conference clash between the teams in upstate New York, considering Syracuse's impending move to the ACC. The Orange has won three of the last four meetings and leads the series 51-36. This will be the first meeting since UConn, behind 33 points from Kemba Walker, knocked off Syracuse 76-71 in overtime of the Big East Tournament semifinals last March.
Free Pick: Im gonna look to the huskies in this one. Despite all their recent struggles they still are a very talented team, but now you can add desperation to the mix as well. Thewy may not be scoring that much right now, but the Cuse have still given up 62.4 ppg in their last 5 games overall. The Orange are 16-0 at home on the year, but in their ;last 5 Big East home games they have just 1 win over 10 points (23 vs Providence), while allowing 61.2 ppg over that stretch. We know the Cuse can score (77.6 ppg) and that Uconn gave up 80 points in their last game (Louisville), but this is still a team that has played excellent defense of late as they have allowed just 58.8 ppg on 38.6 % shooting in their last 5 games, while overall they are 4th in the nation in FG% defense (37.1%). I expect that Uconn will lean on their defense more in this game, while their offense puts up just enough points to keep this one close. KEY TREND--- SYRACUSE is 4-15 ATS (-12.5 Units) in home games after 2 straight games committing 11 or less turnovers since 1997.
Free Picks: Connecticut at Syracuse Betting
http://PregameVideos.com - Defending champs rarely offer value and Connecticut possibly quit in 2nd half last game plus other factors CBB bettors need to know about Connecticut at Syracuse (Saturday, February 11, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Bryan Leonard and analysis from host Vegas Runner.