Connecticut Huskies vs. San Diego State Aztecs Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Connecticut Huskies have been a wrecking ball throughout the NCAA Tournament. UConn has won all five of its games by double digits, and the Huskies have ended up covering all of those games handily by the closing odds.

They are a sizeable favorite over the San Diego State Aztecs in the NCAA Championship Game on Monday night as four of SDSU's five wins have been by seven points or less, and the Aztecs' last two wins were the result of last second scores resulting in one-point victories.

Dan Hurley will try to lead the Connecticut Huskies to their fifth national championship in the last quarter century on Monday night. They will face the San Diego State Aztecs at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on April 3, 2023. Tip off is scheduled for 9:20 p.m. ET on CBS.

UConn Huskies vs. S.D. State Aztecs Betting Prediction

San Diego State is looking to make history. We have not seen a No. 5 seed win the NCAA Tournament in the modern era, making this the only top-eight seed that has yet to claim a championship. Butler, Indiana, and Florida have previously made it to the national championship as a No. 5 seed, but all three teams ended up falling short.

Along those lines, the Aztecs will be very hard-pressed to beat Connecticut. The Huskies have been the most dominant team in the country over the last three weeks, and they have both the size and the toughness to handle San Diego State on the glass. Kudos to San Diego State for getting this far, but the Aztecs won't be much of a match for the Huskies.

Best Bet: UConn -7.5
Score Prediction: UConn 73 San Diego State 62

Monday's Title Game Video Best Bet

Connecticut Huskies vs. San Diego State Aztecs Betting Odds

Connecticut Huskies vs. San Diego State Aztecs Betting Resources

Date: Monday, April 2 2023
TV-Time: CBS, 8:49 p.m. ET
Venue: NRG Stadium
Location: Houston, Texas
Matchup
Expert Picks

Connecticut Huskies vs. San Diego State Aztecs Betting Stats

Connecticut Huskies
SU: 30-7
ATS: 23-14
O/U: 17-19-1
PPG: 78.8
OPPG: 64.4

San Diego State Aztecs
SU: 32-6
ATS: 20-17
O/U: 15-22
PPG: 71.5
OPPG: 62.9

Straight Up (SU), Against the Spread (ATS), Over-Under (O/U)
Points Per Game (PPG), Opponents Points Per Game (OPPG)

Updated on 12/02/2024

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Connecticut Huskies Betting Analysis

Adama Sanogo came up big for Connecticut on Saturday night. Sanogo has been the team's best player all year, and he put up 21 points and 10 rebounds while going 9 of 11 from the floor for the Huskies. He has been a monster throughout the NCAA Tournament, and his only poor performance came against Gonzaga in the Elite Eight. Sanogo showed that he could hit threes against Miami too, forcing the Hurricanes to switch up their defense early. He is hitting 68.2% of his field goals since the start of March Madness while averaging 20.2 PPG and 9.8 RPG.

Connecticut's best shooter was not 100% against Miami. Jordan Hawkins only played 25 minutes as he was dealing with an illness, but he was still able to finish with 13 points. Hawkins has hit 19 of 38 three-pointers in the NCAA Tournament so far, and the Huskies know that he only needs a little bit of space to get his shot off. He will be an X-Factor on Monday night since opposing players only hit 28.1% of their three-point attempts against the Aztecs.

The Huskies are superb on offense and defense. The combination of Sanogo and Hawkins helps make this an elite offense, while the presence of two strong big men alongside Sanogo makes this defense hard to beat. Freshmen Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan have both had some big moments this season, and these two players are strong defensive rebounders that will make it difficult for San Diego State to get second chances on offense.

San Diego State Aztecs Betting Analysis

San Diego State overcame a 14-point deficit with 14 minutes left to beat Florida Atlantic thanks to a Lamont Butler buzzer beater. The Aztecs were fortunate to win this game as they had 12 offensive rebounds, and they rebounded over 50% of their missed shots in the second half. They took advantage of the Owls' lack of size and inexperience to advance to the title game, but they do not match up well against UConn. Nathan Mensah is their tallest player at 6'10, and Jaedon LeDee is the only other Aztec with the size to outmuscle the Huskies down low.

Matt Bradley was the leading scorer for San Diego State in the regular season with 12.5 PPG, but he has been hit or miss in the NCAA Tournament. Bradley had 27 points in the first two rounds, but he was only able to muster eight points in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games. He led the Aztecs with 21 points against Florida Atlantic on Saturday night, and that is the type of performance his team needs if the Aztecs are going to pull off the upset.

The Aztecs aren't very efficient on offense, so they need their defense to hold the Huskies to under 70 points. San Diego State makes use of a deep bench in order to be able to keep pressure on the opposing team, but they just don't have the same talent as Connecticut. They don't force a lot of turnovers either, so UConn's guards are going to be able to get better shots than most teams against the Aztecs.