Iona Gaels vs UConn Huskies Prediction, 3/17/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Iona Gaels vs UConn Huskies

Date: Friday, March 17, 2023

Location: MVP Arena in Albany, NY

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Iona (+10)

The UConn Huskies (24-8) welcome the Iona Gaels (27-7) at MVP Arena on Friday. UConn opens as 10-point favorites. The total is set at 144.

The Iona Gaels stepped onto the hardwood against Marist and walked away with a win by a score of 76-55 in their last game. Concerning personal fouls, the Gaels walked away with 16 and Marist totaled 19 personal fouls. They converted 5 of their 20 tries from beyond the arc. Marist finished 82.4% when shooting free throws by burying 14 of 17 attempts. In addition, Marist grabbed 26 rebounds (8 offensive, 18 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Marist distributed 8 dimes and had 3 steals for the matchup. With regard to defense, Iona allowed the other team to go 33.3% from the floor on 18 of 54 shooting. They also recorded 10 assists for this contest as well as forcing 16 turnovers and earning 9 steals. Regarding rebounding, they earned 34 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Gaels buried 17 of their 22 attempts for a percentage of 77.3%. Iona walked away from the game having earned a 40.7% FG percentage (24 of 59) and buried 9 of their 23 shots from distance.

Daniss Jenkins is one guy who played a role in this game. He walked away from this one shooting 44.4% from the field and earned 2 assists. He played 32 minutes played and also pulled down 5 boards. He notched 27 points on 8 out of 18 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Picks Today

Iona enters this one with a mark of 27-7 for the season. They are turning it over 10.6 times per contest and as a group they commit 16.3 fouls per game. As a team, Iona is pulling in 35.8 rebounds per game and has accounted for 511 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 33rd in D-1 in terms of passing. The Gaels are connecting on 36.0% on 3-pointers (240 of 667) and 73.1% from the free throw line. They have an average of 76.4 pts per contest (69th in Division 1) while shooting 46.1% from the floor.

Defensively, the Gaels are able to force 14.5 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.1 personal fouls. They are ranked 163rd in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 402 conceded on the year. The Gaels defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 40.9% (794 of 1,943) and they concede 34.6 boards per game as a squad. They are relinquishing 29.2% on three-point shots and they are ranked 42nd in Division 1 in PPG allowed (65.0).

When they last played, the UConn Huskies got the victory with a final of 73-66 when they faced Providence. When discussing cleaning the glass, UConn allowed Providence to snag 22 in all (10 offensive). They finished 26.1% from three-point range by going 6 of 23 and finished the contest at 12 out of 17 from the free throw line (70.6%). The Huskies allowed Providence to bury 24 out of 58 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 41.4% for the matchup. In all, the Huskies ended up going 28 out of 53 from the floor which gave them a rate of 52.8%. When it comes to shots from downtown, UConn buried 13 of their 30 attempts (43.3%). They were able to make 4 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 80.0%. Providence had 12 fouls in this game which got the Huskies to the free throw line for a total of 5 tries. They gave up possession 18 times, while getting 5 steals in the matchup. The Huskies earned 23 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for the matchup.

Jordan Hawkins ended up being a factor for the Huskies in the game. He knocked down 7 of 13 for this game for a rate of 53.8%, and added 4 rebounds. He had 19 points in his 33 minutes on the court and totaled 1 assist in the matchup.

UConn has a record of 24-8 on the year. On the offensive side of the court, the Huskies are shooting 46.0% from the field, which ranks them 88th in the nation. UConn has tallied 2,518 points this year (78.7 per game) and they snag 39.0 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 17.3 times per contest (7th in college hoops) and they turn it over 13.0 times per contest. The Huskies have committed 18.2 fouls per game and they hit 75.0% from the free throw line.

The Huskies are ranked 47th in college hoops in points allowed per game with 65.2. They are able to force 13.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 41.1% from the field (41st in college basketball). The UConn defense allows 30.2% on shots from 3-point land (156 of 516) and opponents are making 73.8% of their free throw shots. They concede 9.2 dimes and 29.8 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 7th and 7th in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UConn (-10)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here