The No. 5 seed in the West Regional Region bracket, the UConn Huskies (23-9), and the No. 12 seed New Mexico State Aggies (27-6) square off in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at KeyBank Center, beginning at 6:50 PM. UConn is a 6.5-point favorite in the matchup.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
UConn’s record against the spread so far this season is 11-18-1, while New Mexico State’s is 17-13-0. A total of 17 out of the Huskies’ 31 games this season have hit the over, and 15 of the Aggies’ 30 games have gone over. The two teams average 146.4 points per game, 14.9 more points than this matchup’s total. UConn has a 1-7-1 record against the spread while going 6-4 overall over the past 10 contests. New Mexico State has gone 5-5-0 against the spread and 8-2 overall in its last 10 games.
Before watching this matchup, here’s what you need to know about Thursday’s college hoops action.
New Mexico State at UConn odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list.
- Spread: UConn -6.5
- Total: 131.5
- Moneyline: UConn -298, New Mexico State +237
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New Mexico State at UConn odds, spread, & more
Prediction
UConn 71, New Mexico State 65
Moneyline
- The Huskies have won 84% of the games this season when they were the moneyline favorite (21-4).
- When it has played as a moneyline favorite with odds of -298 or shorter, UConn has a 14-2 record (winning 87.5% of its games).
- Based on this game’s moneyline, the Huskies’ implied win probability is 74.9%.
- The Aggies have been the underdog in four games this season but picked up the win in all of them.
- New Mexico State has entered two games this season as the underdog by +237 or more and won each of those games.
- The oddsmakers’ moneyline implies a 29.7% chance of a victory for the Aggies.
Against the spread
- The Huskies score 75.2 points per game, 12.1 more points than the 63.1 the Aggies give up.
- UConn has an 11-10-1 record against the spread and a 20-3 record overall when putting up more than 63.1 points.
- New Mexico State has a 14-11 record against the spread and a 24-4 record overall when giving up fewer than 75.2 points.
- The Aggies average six more points per game (71.2) than the Huskies give up to opponents (65.2).
- New Mexico State is 10-10 against the spread and 20-3 overall when it scores more than 65.2 points.
- UConn’s record is 7-13-1 against the spread and 17-5 overall when it allows fewer than 71.2 points.
- The Huskies have put up a total of 321 more points than their opponents this year (an average of 10 per game), and the Aggies have out-scored opponents by 267 points on the season (8.1 more per game).
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Over/Under
- The Huskies have an average implied point total of 75.5 this season, which is 6.5 points higher than their implied total in Thursday’s game (69).
- This season, UConn has scored more than 69 points in 21 games.
- The 73.4-point average implied total on the season for the Aggies is equal to the team’s implied total in this matchup.
- So far this season, New Mexico State has totaled more than 63 points in a game 25 times.
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