Connecticut Huskies vs San Diego State Aztecs Betting Odds

Opening Line: Connecticut +1 / San Diego State -1 Over/Under: 130.5

Time: 7:15 PM EST Thursday, March 24, 2011 on CBS

San Diego State has made it to the Sweet 16 for the first time ever and to make it to their first Elite 8 they will have to beat one of the hottest teams in the nation in UCONN. The Huskies have won both of their NCAA Tournament games by double digits and they ended the season on fire winning the Big East tournament ousting 4 ranked teams in the process. SDSU had a tough test in their last game winning in double OT. This game pits the great backcourt of the Huskies against the great frontcourt of the Aztecs.

This game will be held in Anaheim, California so SDSU may have a little home court advantage.

To make it to the Sweet 16 UCONN beat Big East foe Cincinnati 69-58 and San Diego State beat Temple 71-64 in double OT.

Both teams were great betting ones on the season with UCONN at 20-11 ATS and SDSU at 22-12 ATS.

The UCONN offense has played well in the Big Dance so far and in this game they will be facing a SDSU defense that ranks 7th in the nation in terms of opponents’ points allowed. The Huskies are led by star G Kemba Walker, who has been playing great in the last few weeks and scored 33 points in the last game against Cincinnati. He and G/F Jeremy Lamb (14 points against Cincy) will be counted on to provide the offense.

UCONN F/C Alex Oriakhi was the 3rd leading scorer for the Huskies this season at 9.8 ppg and while he did grab 11 boards in the win over Cincinnati he only scored 4 points going 0/6 from the field. He will have to score some buckets in the paint so the Aztecs’ defense does not pack the perimeter to keep Walker and Lamb bombing away from deep.

The forward trio of Kawhi Leonard, Billy White, and Malcolm Thomas leads SDSU and in the win over Temple they combined to score 45 points and grab 31 boards. The Huskies will have their hands full with these guys and they must keep them from dominating the glass. D.J. Gay was the 3rd leading scorer for the Aztecs this season and he has to shoot the pill better than he did against Temple when he was only 3/13 from the field.

Betting Trends

UCONN has covered the spread in their opening 2 games in the Big Dance and they are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games overall.

SDSU is 1-1 ATS in their 2 Big Dance game covering the first, but the 2nd and overall they are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games.

Our Selection : Sure the Huskies have gotten hot at the right time and sure the Aztecs schedule hasn't been the most difficult. But, getting a team with two losses on the season who are playing well and backers are asked to lay only a single point has us on San Diego State. Take the Aztecs -1 at Bodog.