UCONN to win the Big East Regular Season Title +120
Oh dear God. I think UConn hoops is back. This team is big. This team plays defense. This team can shoot. And oh boy is this team mean. This team feels like old school, Jim Calhoun era bad-ass and quite frankly the nation should be terrified. UConn hoops has been average the past few years but never at the heights it once ruled. This alumni/fan base have been dormant and I believe this team woke them up. The Huskies will enter Big East season play undefeated, 11-0 (10-0-1 ATS FYI). Not only do they win, they absolutely beat the bag out of the opponent. Their average margin of victory is 26.5 points. This sizzling start includes wins over Oregon, Iowa State, Alabama, @ Florida and Oklahoma State.
This Huskies team starts and ends with big fella Adama Sanoga. The Big East Preseason player of the year is off to an insane start. He leads the team in scoring with 18.3 ppg, with an efficient 62.0 FG% which ranks 32nd in the country. Sanogo is also 81% from the charity stripe, which is about a 12% increase vs last year. Safe to say once the ball gets into Adama's hands in the low post, UConn is adding points to the board. When teams are focusing on defending down low, it frees open the shooters on the perimeter and the Huskies have a dude named Jordan Hawkins that is a pure assassin. Hawkins averages 14.4 points per game and is shooting 42.6% from 3PT%. They also have a guy that I believe will be a dark horse scorer for this team down the road in University of San Diego Grad Transfer Joey Calcaterra. He offers this teams efficient scoring from the field with 55.9 FG% and a much needed veteran boost.
The strongest piece of this team is going to be defense. The Huskies concede 58.5 PPG, which ranks 14th in the country. The catalyst in this teams defense is their ability to suffocate their opponent around the 3PT line. The length and athleticism of guys like Andre Jackson and Hassan Diarra have allowed only 3.7 three pointers per game. This is the fewest amount three's made per game in the entire country. Now once an opponent penetrates into the UConn paint, he will be met by either Sanogo or 7'2 rising freshman Donovan Clingan. Its safe to say, this UConn defense will make teams miserable all year long.
The bet here is UConn to win the Big East Regular Season +120. The teams depth at all positions, aggressive team defense and a repertoire of scoring options makes them the clear favorite in the conference. My biggest fear is guard play. Can UConn guards like Tristen Newton and Andre Jackson protect the ball and start the offense? Can the guards also defend the opposing teams guards i.e. Posh Alexander, Ryan Nembhard and Kadary Richmond? As a Friar fan, I hate these guys but it makes the Conference that much better when UConn is an issue. Que the Dan Hurley face:
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