North Carolina State (10) vs. Connecticut (2)
When: Sunday March 20, 12:10 p.m. EST
Where: DCU Center, Worcester, MA
Odds: Connecticut –4, 143
North Carolina State (20-13 SU, 18-13 ATS, 16-15 O/U)
North Carolina State backers were likely in a state of panic when their team got itself into a 36-29 hole by the first half of Friday’s tilt with Charlotte. Lucky for them, the Wolfpack remained clam and employed a stifling defense to pull out a 75-63 win, easily covering as 3 ½-point favorites.
49ers guard Brendan Plavich had done most of the damage in the first half, dropping five treys on N.C. State in the opening 20 minutes. Guard Cameron Bennerman made it his mission to shut Plavich down and stayed in his face the throughout the entire second half. Plavich missed all five of his second half 3-point attempts and the Charlotte offense fell apart.
The Wolfpack held the 49ers to 27.3 percent shooting in the final frame and forced 13 turnovers in the period as they cruised to an easy payday, their eighth through the Wolfpack’s last 10.
But they’ll need that defensive intensity from the get-go when they face a high scoring UConn squad on Sunday. The Huskies posted a 46.2 field-goal percentage through the season and have averaged over 75 points in their last five games.
Connecticut (23-7 SU, 16-10 ATS, 15-9 O/U)
The Connecticut Huskies may as well have taken money right out of their backers wallets the way they let the a payday slip away in their contest with Central Florida on Friday.
Charlie Villanueva’s trey at the halftime buzzer gave UConn a commanding 47-31 lead after the first 20 minutes and the Huskies appeared to be well on their way to covering the 18 ½-point chalk. They continued their march towards the ticket window through most of the second. Josh Boone’s converted free throw at 11:29 made it 63-46 for Connecticut, but after that UConn pretty much packed it in.
UConn failed to make a field goal for the next four minutes as UFC went on a 16-5 run. Marcus Williams hit two free throws with nine seconds remaining to put the game out of reach, but the Huskies’ payday was already squandered.
Lackluster performances against lesser opponents have become an all too familiar scenario for Connecticut supporters. The Huskies barely survived Georgetown in the Big East Tournament, slipping past the Hoyas 66-62 at –12 and were dumped 67-63 by Syracuse in the conference semifinals as 2-point favorites. UConn has dropped the cash in its last three contests.
Covers.com prediction: Connecticut 71, North Carolina State 64
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