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The UConn Huskies are set to face the Xavier Musketeers. Check out our college basketball odds series, which includes our UConn Xavier prediction, odds, and pick.
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Connecticut scored a much-needed win over Marquette earlier this week. The Huskies had been struggling. They lost to Creighton and Villanova before the Marquette game, and the bigger point of concern for coach Dan Hurley's team is that its wins in January came mostly against the lower half of the Big East Conference. Against the upper tier, UConn looked like a second-rate team. This is why the Marquette win was so important; it was a high-end win which immediately shored up the Huskies' resume. College basketball odds analysts and anyone thinking about a UConn Xavier prediction had to be impressed by Connecticut's performance against Shaka Smart's overachieving team. It's exactly what was needed to change the conversation for Hurley. It will reshape the UConn Xavier odds.
UConn is an NCAA Tournament team at this point. The Huskies' win over No. 1 Auburn is going to help them a lot on Selection Sunday. As long as this team can stabilize and not absorb any especially bad losses in the coming weeks, while picking off at least one or two more quality wins, it should be fine. No one knew the win over Auburn in late November was going to carry so much weight, but that overtime victory is a massive poker chip. It's something to remember when making a UConn Xavier pick.
Xavier has important wins over Ohio State, Marquette, Virginia Tech, and Cincinnati. Those wins plus some other Big East wins should put the Musketeers on the right side of the bubble, but they're hardly an NCAA Tournament lock just yet. They have work to do, and a win here would move them in the right direction. Xavier is a lot like UConn in that it hasn't won a lot of games against the Big East's upper tier, Marquette being the one notable exception. Xavier is coming off losses to DePaul and Seton Hall and has not been a picture of consistency. A recent win over Creighton embodied the Musketeers' volatility. They were outscored 36-19 in the first half but then buried the Bluejays with a 55-28 second half. Good Xavier showed up after halftime, but Bad Xavier took the floor for the first 20 minutes. You have a lot to think about when making a UConn Xavier prediction.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the UConn-Xavier odds:
College Basketball odds: UConn-Xavier Odds
UConn: +1.5 (-110)
Xavier: -1.5 (-110)
Over: 138.5 (-110)
Under: 138.5 (-110)
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Why UConn Could Cover the Spread
The Huskies, after beating Marquette, will be confident for this game against a Xavier team which is clearly struggling, having lost two in a row. Keep in mind that Xavier lost to DePaul at home; the Musketeers are tough at home, but hardly invincible.
Why Xavier Could Cover the Spread
The Musketeers very, very rarely play two straight bad games at home, but if they lose to UConn, they will need to play two straight bad games at home, having lost to DePaul in Cincinnati this past Saturday.
Final UConn-Xavier Prediction & Pick
Xavier won't lose two straight games at home in the Cintas Center. That seems to be the best angle to take on this game, which is essentially a coin flip.
Final UConn-Xavier Pick: Xavier -1.5
