About a month ago, Furman was in the midst of a losing skid.
The Paladins had lost four out of five games and were just one game above .500 in Southern Conference play. But now they find themselves in the NCAA Tournament.
Furman, which is 22-12 overall, has won five of its last six contests, including a 76-61 victory over East Tennessee State in the SoCon Championship. That earned the Paladins a March Madness berth.
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They will take on No. 2-seeded UConn as a No. 15 seed in the first round. The Huskies are 29-5 overall, but most of those losses have been over the last four weeks.
UConn went 17-3 in Big East play during the regular season. But the Huskies ended up falling just short of winning the league tournament, as they fell to St. John’s in the championship game, 72-52.
We’ll find out in just a few hours how UConn will respond.
UConn vs. Furman Odds
Furman is a +20.5 college basketball betting odds underdog against UConn, with the Over/Under being 135.5 points as of this writing.
The moneyline for UConn is -5000, while it’s +1450 for Furman.
UConn vs. Furman On TV
The matchup between UConn and Furman will be televised on TBS. The game will tip off at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, March 20.
The contest is taking place at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
UConn vs. Furman Prediction
I predict UConn will win but Furman will cover the 20.5-point spread. I also project the game will go Under 135.5 total points.
Furman is a good team, but I think UConn is equipped to fend off an upset here.
Furman rebounds at a pretty solid rate, ranking 31st in the country with a rebounding margin of plus-five per game. Charles Johnston leads the Paladins with 9.1 rebounds per game – and is first on the team with 0.8 steals and 0.7 blocks per contest.
The Paladins can also make some shots, as they’re in the top 50 in the nation with a 47.58% field goal percentage. Alex Wilkins leads Furman with 17.7 points and 4.7 assists per game.
But the Huskies are strong defensively. They’re 11th in Division I basketball in scoring defense (65.1 PPG allowed) and 19th in defensive field goal percentage (40.17%). They also take care of the basketball, as they’re 25th with a 1.64 assist-to-turnover ratio.
They’re not far off from Furman in terms of rebounding, either, as the Huskies are tied for 33rd in the country in rebounding margin.
I expect Furman will make this game interesting. But I also anticipate UConn will play disciplined as it has all season and will find a way to win.
