From hearing all the chatter about the West-Regional's of the 2011 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament, one would think 2-seeds San Diego State Aztecs are underdogs when they play 3-seeds Connecticut Huskies Thursday (7:15 pm ET) in Anaheim, Calif. And according to those who set the betting odds they are. Connecticut is lined as 1-chalk NCAA Basketball Odds favorites over the Aztecs with a posted betting total of 128 1/2. Considering the tight point-spreads on the game, oddsmakers have stayed away from posting money line odds.
At 34-2 on the season, the Aztecs share with Ohio State and Kansas, the best won-lost record in NCAA Div. 1 basketball as they head into the regional semifinals. Connecticut (28-9) gets plenty of respect due to the league they belong, the Big East Conference. The Huskies finished the regular season struggling, losing four of their last five conference games heading into their conference tournament. It was there the Huskies got hot winning four straight games and securing the automatic bid to the Dance. At the NCAA's, UConn has logged wins over Bucknell and Cincinnati.
Do not look for Steve Fisher's Aztecs' to be too intimidated at the site of UConn. The Mountain West is a very good league though underrated by pundits, especially in the East. However, this year the Aztecs along with BYU elevated play in the MWC to a higher level.
Early betting trends, always good tools for making NCAA Basketball Picks , shows public betting going heavy on the Huskies to cover ATS by 76 percent while 82 percent of the action on the total is for the game score to go OVER the 128 ½ posted by odds makers.
I thought the Huskies and Aztecs would get this far in the NCAA Tournament with ease and I was correct. I have circled San Diego State on my brackets as my College Basketball Picks for the game. I think they are the better team.
