The 5th-seeded Saint Mary's Gaels (27-7) square off with the 4th-seeded Connecticut Huskies (26-8) Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Tip from MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y., is set for 6:10 p.m. ET (TNT). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Saint Mary's vs. UConn odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
No.19 in the Saint Mary’s handled VCU 63-51 Friday in a game pegged by many to be an upset. No. 12 ranked UConn enters off an 87-63 dismantling of Iona in its first-round affair Friday.
While the Gaels want to use a slow pace and their 5th-ranked scoring defense (59.9 points allowed per game) to muddy things up, UConn will want to play a more-up tempo game with its 29th-ranked offense (78.7 points per game).
UConn also has an elite defense though, allowing just 65.0 points per game (40th), and if it can hold the Gaels down to that average there is very little chance that Saint Mary’s will be able to keep up. If the Gaels are able to get closer to their average of 71.1 points per game (184th), they could make this a close game to the end.
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