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The UConn Huskies take on the Butler Bulldogs. Check out our college basketball odds series for our UConn Butler prediction and pick.
The UConn Huskies are No. 3 in the country. They have certainly played like a team which is currently (if the season ended today) in line to be a No. 1 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
UConn has played 11 games so far this season. That's not a massive sample size, but we're no longer talking about just a handful of games, either. Roughly one-third of the season has been played, and UConn has not showed any signs of slowing down or breaking its winning patterns heading into the holiday season. Connecticut has not allowed more than 67 points in any game it has played, and it has not scored fewer than 71 points in any game it has played. The Huskies' smallest margin of victory through nine games played: 10 points, in a win versus Oklahoma State. This is a team which is tending to all the details at both ends of the court, and it will be a main point of intrigue in the college basketball season to see just how long the Huskies can keep it up.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the UConn-Butler College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: UConn-Butler Odds
UConn Huskies: -7.5 (-110)
Butler Bulldogs: +7.5 (-110)
Over: 138.5 (-114)
Under: 138.5 (-106)
Why UConn Could Cover the Spread
This team is playing high-level basketball, especially on defense. UConn is scoring at a high level on a consistent basis, but the defensive acumen is what should get a lot of attention. UConn went to Florida for a true road game earlier in December and limited the Gators to just 54 points. Really good teams do that. They walk into a hostile building and simply don't allow the opponent to attain any comfort zone whatsoever. Teams will go through shooting slumps and will have bad nights at the office due to missing 3-pointers or just not finishing plays on offense, but a team can always help its cause by playing great defense. Even when shots don't fall, a basketball squad can prevent the other team from scoring. It can rebound. It can alter shots. UConn has relentlessly done that so far this season, and that's why the Huskies can walk into Hinkle Fieldhouse — a tricky road venue for Big East teams over the past several years — and not only win, but dominate. That's the standard Dan Hurley has set this season.
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Dan Hurley and his brother, Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley, have lost a combined one game through five and a half weeks of play. It's as though they both know how to teach defense, because that has been the reason for UConn's and Arizona State's separate ascents to positions of prosperity this season.
Butler has gotten blown out by Tennessee and North Carolina State. The Bulldogs have not shown they can keep pace with UConn.
Why Butler Could Cover the Spread
The UConn team had a flight delay getting into Indianapolis for this contest. The Huskies didn't get into Indianapolis until very late Friday night, near 10 p.m. local time. That's precisely the kind of thing which could lead to an off-kilter performance for a team which hasn't yet made a significant misstep this season. UConn is bound to have a clunker at some point. This could easily be the time the Huskies finally have a bad game and show that they are mortal.
The other point to make about this game is that Hinkle Fieldhouse is not an easy place to play. Butler has, in particular, mastered the Villanova Wildcats at home in recent seasons. The Bulldogs were a thorn in the side of head coach Jay Wright and his Wildcats before Wright retired in the offseason and handed the reins of the program to his Nova successor, Kyle Neptune. If Butler could throw a monkey wrench into the plans of highly-ranked and very successful Villanova teams, it can certainly do the same with UConn.
Final UConn-Butler Prediction & Pick
UConn is a much better team, and the Hinkle factor probably won't get in the way of that. Take UConn.
Final UConn-Butler Prediction & Pick: UConn -7.5
