The Texas Longhorns head to Hartford to face the UConn Huskies on Friday night in the biggest game of the Friday night college basketball schedule. UConn enters this contest with a 9-1 record and on a five-game winning streak, while Texas is 7-3 and searching for its most impressive win of the season thus far. Before this contest tips off from Connecticut, you can find my breakdown of this contest below, which includes my Texas vs UConn prediction.
The Huskies are among the top programs in the country this season, carrying a 9-1 record into Friday and securing a hard-fought 77-73 victory over defending champions Florida in their most recent game. UConn’s balanced attack and depth have been evident, with key contributions from Solo Ball and Alex Karaban as well as a recent return from injury for center Tarris Reed Jr.
Reed adds size and scoring around the basket that will be incredibly valuable for the Huskies this year if he can stay healthy. UConn’s defense remains a strength, holding opponents to under 62 points per game over the season and using solid rebounding and aggressive ball pressure to control their opponents on that end of the floor.
Texas comes into this game off a 95-69 home win against Southern, where Matas Vokietaitis poured in a career-high 28 points to lead the Longhorns. Dailyn Swain has been a force as well, averaging double figures and leading the team in assists and steals. This will be Texas’ first true road game of the season, which could be a significant factor given the Huskies’ strong home court advantage and passionate fan base.
Texas is looking to pass its biggest test of the season to date here. The Longhorns have gone 1-1 against ranked teams so far this season. They were blown out by Duke in their season opener and managed to beat a ranked NC State team during the Maui Invitational. A win here would be the most impressive performance of the season by Texas by a large margin.
Score Projection: UConn 83 – Texas 70
Win Probability: UConn 82%, Texas 18%
UConn should be able to win this game on their home floor on Friday night. But I don't love the idea of laying over 15 points with the Huskies here. Instead, I'm inclined to take the over here, as Texas' defense is ranked outside of the top 100 in Division I by KenPom and they should struggle to get stops against the UConn offense.
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