NCAA BASKETBALL – WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2009
#16 Pittsburgh Panthers (13-2) vs. #15 UConn Huskies (11-4)
The No. 16 Pittsburgh Panthers hit the road to take on their Big East rival the No. 15 UConn Huskies at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. on Wednesday evening.
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This rivalry really heated up when the NCAA’s two most winning programs over the past 10 years met in three consecutive conference tournament title games from 2002-2004. The Huskies claimed two of those three championship games but the Panthers have won three of the past four in the series, including last years meeting 70-60 on Mar 7, 2009.
The Huskies lost its top three scorers from last season but returned leading scorer senior guard Jerome Dyson, who along with teammate Stanley Robinson (17.1 ppg) has made up for most of the scoring lost from A.J. Price, Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet. Dyson is the conference’s third-leading scorer at 19.3 points per game. He had 12 points in the Huskies 72-69 loss to Georgetown on Saturday—their fourth in a row to the Hoyas. UConn led by 15-points at the half but due to some defensive lapses, allowed the Hoyas to rally back for the win. The loss dropped the Huskies two spots in the rankings. The Huskies’ rebounding differential is down from last season when they were third in the nation, and has been one of the key factors for the teams ability to secure the win in the four games they dropped this season.
The Panthers’ lost three of their own as Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields all departed after last season. However, it has cleared the way for sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs to have a breakout season as well as Gilbert Brown and Jermaine Dixon. All of who are playing pivotal roles and after two impressive conference road wins including a 74-71 victory over Cincinnati in their last outing, are making this years team a Big East contender. Brown had a career-high 17 points in the win. With a balanced offensive attack and a strong and deep backcourt, the Panthers could appear to be headed to another appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The odds makers have the Huskies at –9 ½ -point favorites in this one.
This should prove to be a great game as both teams are pretty evenly matched and playing well.
Expect a tight one with the Panthers eeking out a narrow margin victory.
- Connecticut is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
- Connecticut is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut’s last 5 games
- Connecticut is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
- Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- Pittsburgh is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
- Pittsburgh is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games on the road
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Pittsburgh’s last 6 games on the road
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