The Furman Paladins play the UConn Huskies in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Friday, March 20. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. ET on TBS.
UConn is favored by -20.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -4500. Meanwhile, Furman is the underdog at +20.5 with a moneyline of +1700. The total is set at 137.5 points.
Here’s my Furman vs. UConn prediction and college basketball picks for Friday, March 20.
Furman vs UConn Odds, Prediction, Spread, Pick
| Furman Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+20.5 -110 | 134.5 -115o / -105u | +2200 |
| UConn Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-20.5 -110 | 134.5 -115o / -105u | -8000 |
My Pick: UConn -22 or Better | UConn 1H -12 or Better
My Furman vs UConn best bet is on the Huskies to cover the full-game and first-half spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Furman vs UConn College Basketball Betting Preview
Furman Paladins Betting Preview
Bob Richey has the Paladins back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Furman pulled off a miracle late-game upset of Virginia in 2023. This season's Furman team needed a miracle of its own, winning three games in three days as the six seed to capture the SoCon auto-bid.
In some years, that would be cause for real ambition this month, but this is the worst the SoCon has been in a while. The SoCon ranked its lowest in KenPom (23rd) since 2015, when it was dealing with a wicked round of realignment.
Furman was 10-8 in conference play, struggling heavily on offense. The Dins turned the ball over like crazy against fellow conference teams and didn't make shots, from deep or inside the arc.
Alex Wilkins is one of the highest usage players in college basketball, but he scored 17.7 points on 13.6 shots per game. That's the centerpiece of a broken offense.
The Paladins' defense was better, thanks in part to one of the tallest frontlines in mid-major hoops. Richey has three near 7-footers he rotates in the lineup. yet we have no real evidence of how this team fares against real size and athleticism, with no power-conference foes on the schedule.
Oddly, the first four Division I teams Furman played this season found their way to a double-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Dins were blown out by High Point, lost to Troy at home and were blown out at Northern Iowa before winning a home game against now fellow 15-seed Queens.
UConn Huskies Betting Preview
The Danny Hurley experience at UConn is never dull. He has a championship-level roster once again, earning a two-seed thanks mainly to some key early-season wins.
On February 5, UConn was 22-1. The lone loss came to undefeated (at the time) Arizona. The Huskies had wins over Florida, BYU, Illinois and at Kansas. T-Rank pegged UConn as the eighth-best team in the country.
Since February 6, UConn is 7-4 with a home loss to Creighton, a bad loss at Marquette and close calls against Georgetown and Seton Hall. T-Rank has UConn playing like the 24th-best team in the country since that date.
That number is certainly helped by the metrics from a home beatdown of St. John's, when the Red Storm simply couldn't find the basket. Aside from that game, the Huskies have looked downright pedestrian for the last month, playing in a watered down Big East that earned just three NCAA Tournament bids.
We can't forget we're talking about a team with a coach and senior captain — Alex Karaban — with two rings to their name. Solo Ball and Silas Demary Jr. can hang with any backcourt in the country. Braylon Mullins will be a lottery pick in June, and Tarris Reed Jr. is an absolute bear in the paint.
Connecticut can beat any team in this tournament. The Huskies just can't play like the Huskies of February if they want to win in March.
Furman vs UConn NCAA Tournament Pick
Because of UConn's shakiness down the stretch, you could potentially talk yourself into the Huskies being a Goliath with a target between their eyes.
To build that case, you'd need to find an opponent built to take advantage of UConn's two major flaws.
First, for a team with a top-30 offense, UConn turns it over too often. The Huskies were first in the Big East in offensive efficiency despite being seventh in turnover rate. In both of UConn's losses to St. John's, the Huskies' press break was a disaster. Getting the ball inbounds was a challenge.
Second, UConn plays defense inside its opponents' shorts and gets very handsy. The Huskies rank 301st in free-throw rate allowed, and UConn opponents scored nearly a quarter of their points at the charity stripe (18th most in the country).
Well, Furman ranks 256th in earning free throws and 342nd in forcing turnovers. The Paladins might have made for an interesting test for certain teams — thanks to their size — yet that's no trouble for Reed and Eric Reibe in the middle for UConn.
Hurley might look at this game as a chance for his team to get right and take out some recent pain on the Paladins. I like UConn big and big early.
My Pick: UConn -22 or Better | UConn 1H -12 or Better
