The Connecticut Huskies and the Kentucky Wildcats will meet in the title game of the NCAA Tournament on Monday night in a battle between a No. 7 seed and a No. 8 seed at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The Huskies punched their ticket to the title game on Saturday with a 63-53 win as a 7-point underdog over top-seeded Florida in the Final Four. The Wildcats edged second-seeded Wisconsin by a 74-73 score as a 1-point favorite in their Final Four matchup on Saturday.
For Monday night's matchup sportsbook early odds (at shops such as Sportsbook) had the Wildcats favored by 2 points, with the OVER/UNDER for the contest set at 133 points for March Madness totals bettors (per Sportsbook).
On the college basketball betting trends, the Wildcats are 8-1-2 ATS in their last 11 tournament games, and 8-2 SU in Final Four games since 1996. The Huskies are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 tournament games, and 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS in Final Four games since 1999.
Connecticut and Kentucky last met back on April 2, 2011 in the national semifinal at the NCAA Tournament, with the Huskies grabbing a 56-55 win as a 2.5-point odds underdog that night. [ See dozens of UConn vs Kentucky props ]
This season, the Huskies are 31-8 overall and 21-14-2 ATS, while the Wildcats are 29-10 overall and 21-14-2 ATS. As for the totals, Connecticut boasts a 13-24 mark on the OU, and Kentucky is 19-18.
View Kentucky Wildcats vs Connecticut Huskies Odds and Stats.
It's a betting matchup between the No. 190-rated Huskies and the No. 86-ranked Wildcats, according to the latest pro hoops power rankings here at Odds Shark.
Kentucky won its last outing, a 74-73 result against Wisconsin on April 5. They earned a push in that game as a 1-point favorite. Kentucky earned a 74-73 victory over Wisconsin on Saturday, getting 17 points from James Young at AT&T Stadium.
Connecticut was a 63-53 Sportsbook in its last match on the road against Florida. They covered the 7-point spread as underdogs. Florida was victimized for 20 points and 10 rebounds by DeAndre Daniels as the Huskies bested the Gators 63-53 in college basketball action on Saturday.
How They Match Up:
Scoring and defensive stats point to some edges in this matchup. The game features Connecticut's No. 106-ranked scoring average of 72.13 PPG, against a Wildcats defense rated No. 67 and allowing 66.79 PPG. The Huskies FG% has averaged 45% to date this season, less than the Wildcats shooters have managed so far (45.48% per game).
A few Wildcats at Huskies trends to consider:
Kentucky is 7-0-1 ATS in its last 8 games
Kentucky is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kentucky's last 5 games
Connecticut is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Connecticut is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Connecticut's last 19 games
