UConn vs Georgetown | Prediction & Pick

NCAA Basketball Free Pick – Wednesday, March 12, 2011

Big East tournament cranks up intensity with UConn and Georgetown

Two teams likely to hear their names called on Selection Sunday try to advance and secure an automatic bid by winning the Big East tournament as Connecticut takes on Georgetown on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

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#19 Connecticut (22-9, 9-9 Big East) vs. #22 Georgetown (21-9, 10-8 Big East)
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 9, 12:00 PM ET
Venue: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY.
Broadcast: ESPN

Spread: UConn -3.5
Over/Under: 130

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Two of the top five scorers in the Big East will go head-to-head, with the winning team in this game facing the top-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The Huskies and Hoyas met just once this season, with UConn posting an eight-point triumph on February 16 in Storrs.

Kemba Walker scored 31 points for the Huskies in the first meeting between the teams, tying his season high in league play. He finish second in the Big East in scoring average at 23.1 per game, second only to Marshon Brooks of providence.

Walker was also aided by Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, who added 23 points off the bench for Connecticut. The Huskies came into the tournament having lost four of the previous five games, relegating them to playing in the opening round. DePaul was no match for the Huskies, as Connecticut won easily 97-71 for their first Big East tournament victory in six years.

The Huskies figure to be one of a record-setting 11 clubs from the Big East Conference to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. With quality out-of-conference wins over Michigan State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Harvard, and Texas, the committee should reward Jim Calhoun with his 17th appearance in the big dance as coach of the Huskies.

Georgetown is also seemingly a lock to play in next week’s NCAA Tournament. Despite dropping three straight and four of their last five, the Hoyas have quality road conference wins at Villanova and Syracuse, as well as non-conference triumphs over Missouri and Memphis.

The Hoyas are one of the best shooting teams in the entire country. At 48 percent efficiency from the floor, Georgetown is ranked 10th best overall in the nation. They have three players averaging in double digits in scoring. Austin Freeman (17.8 PPG), Chris Wright (13.1 PPG), and Jason Clark (11.7 PPG) are part of Georgetown’s balanced scoring attack.

To win the game, Georgetown must be more disciplined. The Hoyas committed 17 personal fouls and eight turnovers in that earlier loss to the Huskies. They also need to be a force on defense – Julian Vaughn averages two blocks per game, fourth best in the league.

This will be a tight game, a typical Big East brawl. We’ll lean slightly towards the Huskies in this one.

Check out the latest College Basketball Odds here.

The odds makers have the UConn Huskies as a -3.5 point favorite with an over/under of 130.

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