Georgetown Hoyas at Connecticut Huskies, XL Center, Hartford, CT
Wednesday, February 16, 2011, 7:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN3
Opening Line: UConn -2.5
Current Line: UConn -2.5
Opening Total: 140
Current Total: 138
Money Line: UConn -140 / Georgetown +120
The ninth-ranked Georgetown Hoyas (20-5, 9-4 Big East) might be the hottest team in the conference, but the 13th-ranked Connecticut Huskies (19-5, 7-5) have a score to settle at home when they meet on Wednesday. The Huskies (-2.5) have lost the last four meetings with the Hoyas and would love nothing more than to end their eight-game winning streak.
Georgetown also won eight games in a row to start the season before losing 68-65 at Temple and started league play with a 1-4 mark. The Hoyas have played outstanding defense during their current run with Big East Preseason Player of the Year Austin Freeman finally living up to the hype. Freeman struggled during a three-game skid just prior to the latest winning streak, averaging 9.7 points on 32.3 percent shooting. Since then, he is averaging 20.5 points on 50.4 percent shooting.
UConn also knows what it is like when a star player is slumping. Kemba Walker figures to challenge Freeman for Big East Player of the Year honors when the regular season is over, but he has not been nearly as effective as he was earlier in the year. Walker averaged 15.2 points on 29.5 percent shooting in the previous five games before breaking out with 22 points on 7 of 10 shooting in a 75-57 rout of Providence on Sunday.
The Huskies are still 2-3 in their last five games overall, going 1-4 against the spread. But they dominated the Friars in all phases of the game, shooting nearly 47 percent from the field, holding them to 33.3 percent shooting and outrebounding them by a 38-32 margin. The league’s leading scorer Marshon Brooks scored 25 points for Providence but made just 7 of 22 shots from the field, going 1 of 8 from beyond the 3-point arc.
This game could very well come down to which team’s star turns in a better performance. Connecticut is 14-2 when Walker scores 20 points or more while Georgetown is 13-1 when Freeman totals at least 15. Freeman scored a game-high 33 points in last year’s 72-69 home win over the Huskies, and Walker finished with nine on 2 of 7 shooting from the field.
Walker’s UConn squad will again face a difficult challenge offensively against a Hoyas team that has held four of its last six opponents to 60 points or less. Georgetown has seen five of its last six games go UNDER the total while the UNDER is 8-2 in the past 10 for the Huskies. Connecticut has covered two of the past three meetings though despite losing all three straight-up.
If you are betting this Big East college basketball game between UConn & Georgetown, be sure to check out the winning basketball picks packages we offer. You can also get free winners on our free NCAA basketball picks page.
