The nightcap on Final Four night will feature a matchup between the No. 5 Miami Hurricanes (29-7) and the No.4 Connecticut Huskies (29-8). This game will be played at NRG Stadium, with tipoff scheduled for 8:49 pm ET.
The Huskies are the favorites in this one. They are -250 to win, while the Hurricanes’ moneyline sits at +202. The spread features Miami as +5.5-point underdogs (-110), and the over/under for total points is set at 149.5.
Miami Not Intimidated By Higher Seeds
It has not been uncommon in this tournament to face higher seeds, and to this point, they have prevailed every time. Aside from beating No. 12 Drake (63-56) in the opening round, the Hurricanes have had to deal with higher seeds as they have taken down No. 4 Indiana (85-69), No. 1 Houston (89-75), and No. 2 Texas (88-81). On Saturday, they will try to keep this streak alive as they take on No. 4 Connecticut.
In their last win over Texas, it was guard Jordan Miller who led the way with 27 points. He isn’t the only scoring threat, though, as Wooga Poplar (16 points), Nijel Pack (15 points), Isaiah Wong (14 points), and Norchad Omier (11 points) also had double digits.
As a team, the Hurricanes rank 15th in the nation in scoring, averaging 79.6 points per game. In their last three contests, that average has bumped up to 87.3 points per game.
On the defensive end, the Hurricanes have not been nearly as strong throughout the year. In fact, they rank 218th overall in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of 71.9 points per game (75 per game over their last three).
Highest Remaining Seed Looks To Make Championship
Remarkably, as a No. 4 seed, the Connecticut Huskies are the highest remaining seed left in the tournament. Trying to avoid the pitfalls of the other higher seeds throughout the tournament, they will try to continue their hot streak of basketball and secure a spot in the championship game Monday.
The most amazing part of Connecticut’s run thus far has been that they have been dismantling teams. Their close game was a 15-point win over No. 5 St Mary’s in the second round, and in their last game, they obliterated No. 3 Gonzaga 82-54.
In that win over Gonzaga, Jordan Hawkins led the way with 20 points and six rebounds for the Huskies. Alex Karaban added 12 points, while Adama Sanogo had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Collectively, the Huskies rank 21st in scoring, averaging 78.8 points per game.
The difference between UConn and Miami is that the Huskies are elite on the defensive end too. They rank 32nd in the nation, allowing opponents an average of 64.4 points per game (58 points over their last three contests).
Take Connecticut To Win And Cover
While Miami has been a fantastic story and has an offense that can run with most teams in the nation, the Huskies have just been playing on a whole different level than most anyone in the tournament.
Connecticut is averaging over 10 threes per game, but they are also averaging 37.5 points in the paint. They are also dominant in the second half of games as they are outscoring teams in the second half alone by a +19 margin.
And that is just on the offensive side. On defense, Connecticut has the size, length and physicality to make life uncomfortable for the Hurricanes.
Miami might keep this one close in the first half, but expect Connecticut to eventually pull away in this one. Take the Huskies to both win and to cover the 5.5-point spread (-110).
