Two Big East heavyweights meet on Wednesday night as 15th ranked Connecticut hosts 16th ranked Pittsburgh in a game that can be seen on ESPN 2. The Panthers are 3-0 in the conference while Connecticut is 2-2 so this is a critical early NCAA Basketball Betting season conference matchup for the Huskies. These two teams have played some great games though the years but recently Pittsburgh has had the edge, winning three of the last four.
Connecticut is a 6.5 point favorite at SBG Global.
Pittsburgh and Connecticut lost a lot of talent from last year but both teams seem to have reloaded well. The Panthers were not picked at the top of the Big East this season but Jamie Dixon has built a power at Pittsburgh. Connecticut lost its top three scorers from last year but they do have Jerome Dyson and he is scoring 19.3 points per game which is third best in the Big East.
Pittsburgh has been led this year but Ashton Gibbs who is averaging 22 points per game in league play. “We’ve been doubted this whole season, from the start,” said Gibbs. The key for Pittsburgh is shooting the ball as they are 12-0 when they shoot at least 40% from the field. “It’s just getting better,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “I think they’re improving. I think there’s a real understanding that we’re not going to be the same team in January that we were in November.”
Connecticut is coming off a very tough loss on Saturday as they blew a 19 point lead to Georgetown and lost 72-69. “It’s the most heartbreaking loss this year. It’s not even close,” head coach Jim Calhoun said, “We took our 20 minutes of work, threw it away and said, ‘OK, now let’s play an even game.’”
The Panthers are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Panthers are 10-4-1 ATS in their last 15 vs. the Big East. The Panthers are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings at Connecticut.
The Huskies are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 college basketball betting games overall. The Huskies are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. the Big East.
The Over is 5-1 in the Panthers last 6 road games. The Over is 22-10-1 in the Panthers last 33 vs. the Big East. The Over is 4-1 in the Huskies last 5 overall.
