8:30 p.m. ET – Butler at Connecticut (-5½) O/U: 122½
| Teams | Spread | Money Line | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | +5½ (-110) | +205 | O 122½ (-110) |
| Connecticut | -5½ (-110) | -245 | U 122½ (-110) |
The 5-7 Bulldogs travel to Storrs, Conn., to take on the 7-3 Huskies. Butler, winners of two games in a row, defeated DePaul 67-53 last Tuesday. UConn, losers of two in a row, is coming off a 74-66 loss to Creighton on Saturday. Butler is seeking revenge for a Jan. 9 loss in Hinkle Fieldhouse to these same Huskies by the score of 72-60.
The Bulldogs are led by Jair Bolde, who averages 13.5 points per game on better than 40-percent shooting from 3-point range. The Huskies’ biggest issue right now is that they have zero clue who they are led by now that leading scorer James Bouknight, averaging 20.3 per game, is out indefinitely with an elbow injury. Bouknight was out for the two teams’ previous matchup and it was Tyler Polley who stepped up for the Huskies, scoring 18 points and leading them to the win. But in the last two games, both UConn losses, Polley scored a total of seven points combined. Junior guard R.J. Cole was the team’s leading scorer the past two games, averaging 16 points per contest.
Butler game Unders are 7-5 this season, but the market has clearly caught up. These two teams played just two weeks ago and combined for 132 points. Butler has scored at least 60 points in four of its past five games. This game should be extremely close and could go either way. But with Butler shooting a dismal 60 percent at the free-throw line this season as a team, things have gone poorly for the Bulldogs down the stretch of tight ballgames. Both teams combined for 25 turnovers in their last meeting and the game still went over. Take the Over in Connecticut Tuesday night and stay away from everything else, as this game is rather difficult to call one way or the other except possibly for the Over.
