UConn vs. Oklahoma: Picks, Predictions and Odds

One of the best games of the day on the Friday slate in the first round of the men's tournament features the No. 8 seed UConn Huskies taking on the No. 9 seed Oklahoma Sooners.

The two-time reigning National Champions are in an unfamiliar position this season, with UConn needing to knock off the Sooners to advance to a potential matchup with top-seeded Florida on Sunday.

As for the Sooners, Porter Moser’s team was excellent in the nonconference portion of their schedule, before struggling mightily in SEC play.

Nonetheless, Oklahoma appears to be trending in the right direction following a couple of strong performances against Georgia and Kentucky in the SEC Tournament last week. 

Will Oklahoma be able to spring the upset, or will UConn pick up another postseason victory and keep their three-peat hopes alive? 

Let’s get into our expert’s UConn vs Oklahoma picks, predictions and best bets for this highly anticipated round of 64 matchup on Friday.

UConn vs. Oklahoma betting picks and predictions

Oklahoma +5.5 (-110)

This could be an extremely high-variance matchup due to the fact that UConn has generally been a high-variance shooting team this season. 

Oklahoma has been outstanding as an underdog this season, posting a 12-6 against-the-spread record in that role.

Conversely, we have a UConn team on the other side that has been uninspiring against the spread as a favorite - covering in just 11 of 26 games in that scenario. 

While the Huskies' offense is vastly improved compared to what it was in the nonconference portion of their schedule, it’s important to remember that UConn has played a pretty weak Big East conference schedule compared to what their opponents faced in the loaded SEC. 

Additionally, Dan Hurley’s team has experienced a litany of issues on defense of late, with the Huskies sitting outside the top 150 in adjusted defensive efficiency over the past month.

Therefore, we can expect that UConn will struggle to slow down a top-30 offense in Oklahoma that shoots the ball very well from beyond the three-point arc and has a dynamic guard leading the way in Jeremiah Fears, who loves to get downhill and generate shots at the rim. 

All things considered, our expert is taking Oklahoma +5.5 (-110) to cover in the underdog role.

Over 148.5 Total Points (-110)

The NCAA Tournament is not typically an event that is defined by high-scoring contests and games sailing over the total, particularly in the earlier rounds.

However, given that both of these offenses should hold edges over the opposing defenses in this matchup, our game totals bet for this one is on Over 148.5 at -110.

In fact, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if the Sooners were able to cover the spread with the score sailing way above this total as a result. That is the most likely avenue for Oklahoma to cover the spread in this contest.  

Both teams have been rolling on the offensive end of late, mutually ranking in the top 12 in adjusted offensive efficiency since February 22 per Barttorvik.

Similarly, neither team has been all that good defensively, as both sides rank 99th or worse in adjusted defensive efficiency over the last month. 

Finally, neither team is disciplined enough to defend effectively without fouling, as the Huskies are ranked 333rd in free throw rate allowed, while the Sooners are 254th in that same metric. 

It wouldn’t be a shock if both teams registered 75 or more points in this one. With that in mind, the Over is the way to look on Friday. 

Read more College Basketball betting picks and predictions on site.

UConn vs. Oklahoma odds

UConn	-240 ML
Oklahoma	+195 ML
Spread	UConn -5.5
Total Points	O/U 148.5

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.