Kemba Walker is about all that anyone thinks about when they think of the Connecticut Huskies. However, UConn is all about its defense, and the NCAA Tournament betting festivities will show that this week against the Kentucky Wildcats in the Final 4.
Walker is known for his offense and his sharpshooting capabilities. Sure, averaging 23.9 points per game is impressive, but this is a kid that does a heck of a lot more than just shoot the rock. Walker can often be a one man fast break when he gets his own rebound. He’s averaging 5.3 boards per game, most of which are on the defensive end of the court.
Walker has also swiped 74 steals on the season, the most on the team. He wasn’t the only theft artist on a regular basis for Head Coach Jim Calhoun and company though, as Shabazz Napier has 64 steals and the team is averaging 6.41 steals per game as a whole.
UConn games in NCAA Tournament betting action have featured a ton of gigantic block parties. Alex Oriakhi hasn’t done well this season offensively at times, but he does have 62 blocks on the campaign. Roscoe Smith and Charles Okwandu have combined for nearly 100 blocks on the season between them as well. Oriakhi is averaging 8.6 rebounds per game, and he is one of the four Huskies averaging at least 4.5 boards per game.
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The Big East always brings out the best and brightest both offensively and defensively, and it makes for a ton of challenges. UConn overcame some of the biggest teams in the land in this conference this year to average 39.4 rebounds per game to ultimately rank #12 in the country. The Huskies are outrebounding their foes by 8.2 boards per game, one of the best marks of the teams that lasted into the second weekend of NCAA Tournament betting action.
Teams are only shooting 40.0 percent against UConn this year as well, which ranks No. 26 in the country. An average of 65.7 points per game allowed might only rank No. 104 in the land, but this is a number that would be significantly better if not for the fact that the Big East provided such a brutal schedule.
When push came to shove in the dance though, defense has been of the utmost importance. Only the San Diego State Aztecs were able to crack the 65 point barrier in four games against this defense. The ‘D’ came up big down the stretch against the Arizona Wildcats, which was really saying something considering the fact that Oriakhi only played 20 minutes in the game and couldn’t really keep up with Derrick Williams.
This is a totally different type of challenge though, going against the Wildcats and their supreme talent all over the court. If UK can’t find holes in this ‘D’ though, it could be a long, long night of NCAA Tournament betting action for the Cats.
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