UConn and Villanova are synonymous with the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. Here, they meet in the semifinal round of the tournament at the world’s most famous arena, with a spot in the conference championship game on the line. In our college basketball picks, we look at UConn vs Villanova and offer up our best bet for this marquee matchup.
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UConn vs Villanova Betting Pick
This game will be played at 9:00 PM ET at Madison Square Garden on Friday, March 11, 2022.
Why Bet On UConn:
✅ UConn seemed to figure out how to defend Villanova in their win over the Wildcats at home just a couple of weeks ago. They used the paint protection of Adama Sanogo to keep Villanova from getting looks at the rim. That forced Villanova to rely too heavily on perimeter shooting, and that lack of balance will hurt the Wildcats again here.
✅ Both teams have dynamic guards who can close out games for their respective teams. RJ Cole for the Huskies and Collin Gillespie for the Wildcats are both elite level closers, and should cancel each other out in this matchup. The difference maker will be Sanogo for the Huskies, who the Wildcats do not have an answer for on the offensive end.
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✅ Villanova faced a much tougher test in the quarterfinal round of this tournament, as they won by just one point against the St. John’s Red Storm. UConn, meanwhile, took care of business in a much easier game against Seton Hall. With UConn playing better basketball right now, they should win this game outright in what should be an exciting affair.
UConn Huskies
UConn just rejoined the Big East, and is already back in the semifinals of the Big East tournament. They picked up a 62-52 win over Seton Hall in the quarterfinals, with the defense of the Huskies showing out in that contest. Against Villanova, the defense of the Huskies will once again be the key to this matchup.
The Huskies have already proven that they can beat Villanova, despite Villanova having a superior ranking on the season. These teams split their two regular season meetings, but UConn won the most recent matchup, doing so without the services of their head coach for the second half of the game. With Dan Hurley presumably being available for this entire game, UConn should be able to give Villanova a run for their money here.
Villanova Wildcats
Villanova barely survived and advanced in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament, beating St. John’s 66-65. That game was essentially a home game for St. John’s but Villanova made the plays they needed to down the stretch to avoid taking a bad loss. Here, they will need to find a way to overcome the paint protection of the Huskies, who are riding high at the moment.
Villanova is going to have to be aggressive early in this game to try and get Sanogo into foul trouble for UConn. Whether that comes via straight-line drives or by using misdirection and ball movement to force him to come over and provide late help, getting Sanogo to the bench is going to be the key to this game for Jay Wright’s squad.