SMU vs. UConn Betting Line February 18
Carrie Stroup here with your SMU vs. UConn betting line for Thursday night Connecticut -2.5, Total: 134.5
SMU MUSTANGS (21-3) at CONNECTICUT HUSKIES (18-7)
No. 21 SMU looks to hold off UConn and keep pace in the race for the AAC regular-season title when it faces the Huskies in Hartford on Thursday night.
Coach Larry Brown’s Mustangs are 9-11 ATS but a very impressive 6-2 SU (5-3 ATS) on the road this season. Coming off one of their signature wins of the season, a special February non-conference tilt against Gonzaga, where they beat the Bulldogs 69-60 at home on Saturday (SMU -5), SMU gets their first crack at Connecticut this season in a battle that will have big conference title implications. As you’ll recall, SMU is ineligible for postseason play, so the AAC regular season conference championship is the sole prize for the Mustangs to validate an outstanding season so far.
Oddly enough, the last time these two teams met in Hartford, SMU was also ranked 21st in the nation, facing an unranked Huskies squad. Connecticut would pull off the 81-73 upset in this instance (March 1st of last season) with G Rodney Purvis going for a career-high 28 points. SMU has won the other four meetings against Connecticut, most recently exacting revenge just 15 days after that defeat last March by winning the AAC conference tourney over Connecticut and getting an automatic berth to the 2015 NCAA tournament. SMU is 4-1 ATS over those five games.
Coach Kevin Ollie’s club comes into Thursday night’s game winners of four of their last five, but they’ve dropped the last three ATS. This includes their most recent win, a 75-73 home squeaker over Tulsa (UCONN -8.5) on Saturday. Connecticut is 12-2 SU at home, but just 5-5 ATS. The Huskies are 8-4 SU in AAC play and 4-8 ATS in that span.
Senior G Nic Moore (16.7 PPG, 5.2 APG) has been a star of stars for SMU lately. The diminutive guard, undoubtedly the engine that makes SMU go, has upped his play over the last five games to 21.4 PPG, 49% FG and 50% 3PT (4.0 3PM) including 25 points and 11 assists on Saturday over Gonzaga.
Moore’s play has allowed freshman G Shake Milton (10.9 PPG, 45% 3PT) to grow in a complementary role, especially with the early-season departure of transfer Keith Frazier. The heir apparent to Moore next season, Milton has had a tendency to disappear in bigger games, evidenced by his 3 points on Saturday against Gonzaga, or his 3-13 FG at Temple in late January.
A great sign for coach Brown has to be the re-emergence of F Markus Kennedy (9.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG). A guy who’s seemingly been in college forever, Kennedy’s always been one of the more talented post players in the country, but for one reason or another (health, academics) has never found the court consistently. Kennedy is averaging 11 PPG and 8.1 RPG in his last nine games. Along with F Ben Moore (12.1 PPG, 7.1 RPG) and F Jordan Tolbert (11.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG) it’s no surprise that having this trio of talented big men has SMU 7th in the nation in rebounding margin (+9.8). Given that Connecticut’s strength doesn’t lie in the paint, SMU should be exploiting mismatches as often as possible against the Huskies.
It’s been a struggle for coach Ollie to find a consistent starting five that’s worked for Connecticut this season, but he pushed the right buttons in Saturday’s tight win over Tulsa, inserting seldom-used G Omar Calhoun (4.4 PPG) into the lineup. Calhoun responded with 14 points on 4-6 from three, as he replaced mercurial freshman G Jalen Adams (6.2 PPG, 2.1 APG).
Senior G Sterling Gibbs (12.6 PPG, 38% 3PT) has been a fixture in the starting lineup, while leading scorer G Rodney Purvis (13.3 PPG, 40% 3PT) has found his niche coming off the bench.
F Daniel Hamilton (11.7 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 5 APG) does a bit of everything for the Huskies, bringing the ball up when they want to bring Gibbs or Purvis off screens, or anchoring the back line when the Huskies play small. While Hamilton isn’t shooting the cover off the ball, he’s at least somewhat out of his offensive funk that plagued his January, and now has three double-doubles in his last four games (12.3 RPG in February).
Unfortunately, as good as Connecticut is defensively (62 PPG, 10th NCAA), scoring just doesn’t come easily, as Connecticut doesn’t help themselves by avoiding the free throw line like the plague (17.6 FTA/game; 306th NCAA). Connecticut has players like F Shonn Miller (13.4 PPG) who are as consistent as they come, a predictable double-figure scoring machine, but don’t have anyone like SMU’s Moore, who can put a team on his back. The Huskies haven’t had a 20 point scorer since January 17th (Gibbs).
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
