Saturday NCAAB Picks
Our team of writers and handicappers hand out their College Basketball picks and predictions for Saturday, February 14.
UCONN at Seton Hall, 12:00PM ET
Connecticut’s balanced scoring attack took a hit in its latest game when guard Jerome Dyson went down with a potentially season-ending knee injury.
Considering the way coach Jim Calhoun’s team is playing defensively, it may not need to spend too much time lamenting the loss.
With center Hasheem Thabeet constantly altering shots inside, the top-ranked Huskies will hope to keep up their defensive intensity Saturday at Seton Hall as they look for their 13th consecutive win, and ninth straight over the Pirates.
UConn (23-1, 11-1 Big East) has four players that average between 12.4 and 14.0 points, a luxury that’s given Calhoun a variety of reliable options on the offensive end.
That number was reduced by one on Wednesday, though, when Dyson, UConn’s second-leading scorer at 13.2 points per game, tore the lateral meniscus in his right knee in the Huskies’ game against No. 23 Syracuse.
He’s likely out for the season, but will be re-evaluated after having surgery sometime in the next few days.
NCAA Free Pick: Seton Hall – View Game Matchup | Best Line: +9.5 Sportsbook.com
Georgetown at Syracuse, 12:00PM ET
When Syracuse and Georgetown met for the first time this season, the Big East rivals were seemingly headed for high seeds in the NCAA tournament.
One month later, both are in danger of being left out altogether.
Having gone from Big East title contenders to the middle of the pack, the 23rd-ranked Orange and the Hoyas meet Saturday at the Carrier Dome likely needing to string some wins together to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive.
On Jan. 14, then-No. 8 Syracuse was 16-1 when it visited then-No. 13 Georgetown looking to open Big East play with five consecutive victories. The Hoyas entered that game 11-3 – each loss came to a team ranked in the top 15 – and already had a league win over then-No. 2 Connecticut.
Georgetown (13-9, 4-7) won 88-74 to hand the Orange (18-7, 6-6) their first conference loss, but failed to build any momentum. The Hoyas lost their next five games by an average of 10.2 points, with three of those defeats coming to unranked Big East foes.
NCAA Free Pick: Syracuse – View Game Matchup | Best Line: -4.5 Sportsbook.com
UCLA at Arizona, 1:00PM ET
After arriving in Arizona atop the conference on the heels of four straight impressive victories, UCLA is in danger of leaving the desert third in the Pac-10.
The 11th-ranked Bruins look to bounce back from a tough loss Saturday when they play the surging Wildcats, who try to extend their season high-winning streak to seven games.
Three-time defending Pac-10 champion UCLA (19-5, 8-3) entered Thursday’s game at No. 18 Arizona State outscoring its previous four opponents by an average of 22.8 points, but never led by more than four in a 74-67 defeat to the Sun Devils.
The Bruins, who averaged 85.8 points during their winning streak, had a one-point lead with 1:36 remaining before allowing Arizona State to score the game’s final eight.
NCAA Free Pick: UCLA – View Game Matchup | Best Line: -4 Sportsbook.com
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Posted: 2/14/09 10:30AM ET
