New Mexico State vs. UConn Prediction: Can New Mexico State Cover the Spread?
New Mexico State vs. UConn Prediction: Can New Mexico State Cover the Spread?
The 5 vs. 12 matchup has become a very trendy upset pick. It is for good reason as the fifth seed has had a lot of success over the years. The 5 vs. 12 matchup we get here will be between the Connecticut Huskies and the New Mexico State Aggies. The Huskies come into this one as an extremely dangerous No. 5 seed.
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New Mexico State vs. UConn Pick
They had a great regular season, led by guard RJ Cole and big man Adama Sanogo. This is a hard-nosed team, led by head coach Danny Hurley. The Huskies are actually one team that I put in as a longshot to win the National Championship due to their style of play. They just play every single possession with an edge, and that goes a long way this time of year.
The Aggies are no slouches in their own right, entering this first-round matchup playing to the tune of a 26-6 record. I know not a lot of people have kicked back and watched a New Mexico State game this season, but this is a highly-talented roster who is a dangerous 12 seed.
Their best player comes in the form of junior guard and the pride of Phoenix, Arizona, Teddy Allen. Allen is one of the best scorers in all of the nation, scoring north of 19 points per game. Allen will be a tough matchup for this Huskies team. New Mexico State also has a hard-nosed guard in Sir’Jabari Rice. Besides having an excellent first name, he is the heartbeat of this team. Rice is scoring just over 12 points per game and is the engine of this offense.
I will be backing the dog here in New Mexico State and taking the points.
I love this UConn team, and I still think they have an outside chance of winning a National Championship. I just think in this particular matchup, the books are giving too many points to New Mexico State. UConn is a very streaky offensive team, so if New Mexico State can make life tough on them on the defensive end, they have a really good chance to keep this tight all game. I trust the offense of New Mexico State to be able to keep up with the pace of UConn here.
Teddy Allen is a prolific scorer who will make his presence felt in this game. I think Allen has a breakout game on the national stage to prove how good he really is. This is a stingy defensive team who is going to be able to stack up stops against UConn, which makes me love getting plus points. New Mexico State has had some impressive non-conference wins this season, including an eleven-point win over Davidson. New Mexico State also had an impressive road win over a solid Washington State team when they were eight-point underdogs. The defense will keep this one tight in what I expect to be a quality basketball game from start to finish.
New Mexico State vs. UConn Pick
- PICK: New Mexico State +7 @ -110 (Bet $110 to win $100)
Article Author
Matt McCuen is a native of Delco, PA. He has been working in the sports gambling industry and creating content for the last few years. He is an expert in numerous different sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and collegiate sports. You can follow Matt on Twitter at @DeadPresPicks.