The 2011 NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals get underway tomorrow with a West Region battle between No. 3 Connecticut and No. 2 San Diego State. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:15pm ET at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California; it will be broadcast live on CBS. Sweet Sixteen College Basketball Lines have the Huskies listed as a -1 against the spread college basketball picks favorite and the Over/Under set at 130.
Connecticut, despite playing five games in five days during the Big East Tournament, showed no ill effects from its grueling
schedule in last week's opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
UConn easily disposed of Bucknell 81-52 on Thursday and went on to defeat conference rival Cincinnati, at team it bested 67-59 in the regular season, 69-58 on Saturday.
Kemba Walker, the catalyst behind the Huskies current seven game win streak, scored 18 and 33 points in Connecticut's first two tournament games. Walker, who went 14-for-14 at the charity stripe against the Bearcats, also accounted for 14 rebounds and 17 assists in the two victories.
San Diego State, which garnered the two seed out West after posting a 32-2 regular season record, had little trouble getting past Northern Colorado in the first round, beating the Bears 68-50; however, its round of 32 meeting with Temple proved to be different.
The Aztecs, which led the Owls 36-31 at the break, played a sloppy second half that was characterized by poor shooting and suspect ball security. Those two factors allowed Temple back in the game, which ended up requiring two overtimes to determine a winner. San Diego State finally got its act back together in the second extra frame, outscoring the Owls 10-3 to win the hard fought contest 71-64.
Kawhi Leonard, the unquestioned leader of the Aztecs, tallied 16 points against Temple after a 5-for-14 shooting night. Three other San Diego State players also scored in double figures, including forward Billy White, who finished the game with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Leonard, who is averaging a double double on the season (15.6 points/10.6 rebounds), scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Aztecs win over Northern Colorado.
San Diego State is in uncharted waters right now, having never won an NCAA Tournament prior to last week. Connecticut, on the other hand, has been here many times before under Head Coach Jim Calhoun. The Huskies, which have won two national titles under Calhoun's watch, are 6-1 in their last seven regional semifinal games.
Connecticut vs San Diego State 2011 NCAA Bracket Predictions:
Connecticut Huskies -1 (-110), Over 130 (-110)
San Diego State Aztecs +1 (-110), Under 130 (-110)
