Providence Friars vs UConn Huskies Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 03/09/2023

Game Time: 2:30 pm ET, Thursday, March 9, 2023

Venue:  Madison Square Garden, New York, NY 

Where to Watch:  Fox Sports 1

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Providence +7, UConn -7; Over/Under:  145.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Providence +7, UConn -7; Over/Under:  145.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Providence +7, UConn -7; Over/Under:  145.5 points

Providence Friars:  21-10 (13-7) (5th place, Big East)

UConn Huskies:  24-7 (13-7) (4th place, Big East)

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Providence Friars:  2-3  last 5

UConn Huskies:  5-0  last 5

Providence is coming into this game with a 21-10 record overall and they are 0-2 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They are also 13-7 in their conference games this season as well. They are entering this game on a 2 game losing streak with losses coming against the Xavier Musketeers and the Seton Hall Pirates in their last game. Devin Carter led the team in points in that game with 14 while Ed Croswell was next on the team with 13 points. Devin Carter and Jared Bynum each led the team in assists in that game with 3 while Ed Croswell led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 40.4% from the field, 17.4% from 3-point range, and 61.5% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 78.5 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 71.3 PPG against them. Providence has an ATS record of 18-13 this season and their O/U record is 17-14.

UConn is coming into this game with a 24-7 record overall and they are 3-0 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They are also 13-7 in their conference schedule this season as well. They are entering this game on a 5 game winning streak with wins coming against the Seton Hall Pirates, the Providence Friars, the St. John’s Red Storm, DePaul Blue Demons, and the Villanova Wildcats in their last game. Jordan Hawkins led the team in points in that game with 24 while Alex Karaban was next on the team with 16 points. Andre Jackson Jr. led the team in assists in that game with 5 while Adama Sanogo led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 44.6% from the field, 29.6% from 3-point range, and 92.9% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 79.2 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 65 PPG against them. UConn has an ATS record of 20-10-1 this season and their O/U record is 18-13.

The current betting odds have UConn listed as a 7 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. UConn has had an up and down season as they started the year off great and hit a bit of a snag midway through the season, but they have gotten back on track now and are coming into this Big East Tournament very hot right now. Providence finished the regular season with a 21-10 record overall and they were just as good as UConn was in the Big East with a 13-7 conference record like UConn, but UConn had a better record overall as they were 24-7 and they were also better in their few neutral site games going 3-0 all season while Providence lost the only 2 neutral site games they played in. Providence was one of the best teams in the Big East all year but they were cooling off at the wrong time as they finished their regular season with 2 losses in a row now and both came on their home court where they were undefeated up to that point in the season. UConn has a lot more momentum behind them now with 5 wins in a row and they have been getting really hot over the last 2 weeks with some big wins against some good teams. The best way to place a bet here is on UConn to cover the spread in this game. 

Providence UConn Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Thursday, March 9, 2023 (2:30 pm ET start time) is UConn 74 Providence 61.

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Providence Friars: 17-26 ATS in a neutral court game where the total is 140 to 149.5. 8-16 ATS off an embarrassing home loss scoring less than 60 points. 24-14 OVER after a game where they failed to cover the spread.

UConn Huskies: 20-11 ATS in all games. 22-12 ATS when the total is 140 to 149.5. 10-3 OVER after allowing 60 points or less.

Providence Friars:  Q. Berry (G) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed.

UConn Huskies:  H. Diarra (G) Ques Thurs - Abdominal.

“There’s no team in the country playing better than them right now. They’ve got a lot of confidence. They have two first team all-conference players. I think they have a first round pick in (Jordan) Hawkins, so it’s going to be a real tough game for us. … We’ve got a lot to play for.” - Ed Cooley on UConn coming into this game. 

“Any game that we win from here on out is going to be a hard game to win. That game [against Providence] is going to be incredibly hard to win, if you survive that, now it’s [No. 1 seed] Marquette or [whoever beats them]. And then obviously NCAA Tournament games – I mean, you’ve got to be playing to your identity to the fullest and you’ve got to play at a high level to advance and win any more games from here.” - Dan Hurley on his team coming into this game. 

J. Bynum 

D. Carter 

E. Croswell 

B. Hopkins 

N. Locke

J. Hawkins 

A. Jackson  

A. Karaban 

T. Newton 

A. Sanogo

PPG: B. Hopkins (16.1)

APG: J. Bynum (4.4)

Reb/G: B. Hopkins (8.5)

PPG: A. Sanogo (16.9)

APG: T. Newton (4.5)

Reb/G: A. Sanogo (7.2)

Coaches:

Providence Friars: Ed Cooley (12th season)

UConn Huskies: Dan Hurley (5th season)