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Odds To Win The 2009 NCAA Tournament: Connecticut Huskies

Written by Jimmy Boyd

uconn-31809 For most of the season, the Connecticut Huskies were believed to be the best team in the country, but with a pair of losses to Pittsburgh, they didn’t even end up as the best team in the Big East. UConn was dealt an unfortunate blow when Jerome Dyson endured a season ending knee injury and because of that many experts argued the Memphis should be the last No. 1 seed. The NCAA Tournament selection committee took a hard look at the two resumes and decided to give the Huskies the No. 1 seed nod in the West Region. Now, UConn needs to go out and prove it is worthy of the distinction. The Connecticut Huskies are listed at +700 to win the 2009 Men’s NCAA Tournament.

After breaking down the West Region, it is apparent that the Huskies have a favorable schedule for advancing to the Final Four. They face No. 16 seed Chattanooga in round one and odds makers have them coasting into round two. Connecticut is listed as a 20.5-point favorite with the total set at 145.

While much has been made about the injury to Dyson weakening this team, it is fortunate that it happened when it did as the Huskies have now had plenty of time to get used to playing without him. One player who has really picked up the slack in the scoring department is guard A.J. Price. Price leads the Huskies with 14.0 points and 4.6 assists per game and has also proven to be a guy the team can rely on in crunch time. Price does what the team needs him to do in order to when and when he has been called on to do more scoring he has delivered.

Co-Big East Player of the Year Hasheem Thabeet will be the key to the Huskies making a championship run. He is a beast under the basket averaging 10.6 rebounds and an astounding 4.5 blocks per game. He also gets you 13.5 points a contest. UConn is a much better team with him on the floor protecting the basket so he can not afford to get into foul trouble against the tougher teams. UConn also gets great contributions from forward Jeff Adrien, who average 13.6 points per game.

The Huskies have only lost 4 games all season and two were to Pitt and the other was a 6 overtime contest. That tells you right there that the Huskies are a force to be reckoned with. After they get past Chattanooga, they are looking at either BYU or Texas A&M and both of those teams will be overmatched. The Sweet 16 is when things will get a little bit tougher as the Huskies will likely face either Purdue or Washington, but neither of those teams are as balanced as the Huskies. UConn doesn’t prefer to run and gun, but it did show that it can when it has to with a big win at Louisville so I don’t see Washington’s uptempo style being something the Huskies can’t match. Purdue is good, but it is still young, and experience is key in the Big Dance. A number of teams could come out of the bottom half of this region to face UConn in the Elite Eight, but let’s say it is Memphis. If these teams meet for a trip to go to the Final Four, I think you’ll see UConn prove that it was more than worthy of getting a No. 1 seed.

Do your basketball betting on the NCAA Tournament with Jimmy Boyd’s expert college basketball picks for the most winners against the NCAA basketball odds.

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