Hoyas And Huskies Headline Monday Hoops Schedule

Alabama and LSU will play for the college football championship on Monday night, for those who may not have heard about that game.  For those who have heard about the BCS Championship and may have already overdosed on the bowl season, the college basketball schedule has a few crucial games on tap to keep you from having to watch Jersey Shore reruns or the latest nonsense among the Republican presidential candidates.

The relatively light slate includes just two contests involving ranked clubs, and both take place in the Big East which has gotten off to about as messy a start as the GOP.  Top-ranked and undefeated Syracuse is certainly doing its part to uphold the conference's tradition on the hardwood, but the rest of the group is in a bit of turmoil after three ranked clubs from the league went down in defeat this past Saturday.  Two of those three will be looking to quickly bounce back into the win column as the NCAA hoops campaign begins its 10th week of action.

First up at 7:00 p.m. (ET) are the Connecticut Huskies who were upset twice on the road last week and now face the West Virginia Mountaineers who are coming off an upset victory of their own.  ESPN2 will provide the broadcast from Hartford's XL Center where the Huskies are 5½-point favorites.

Connecticut (12-3 straight up, 3-7-1 against the spread) started last week ranked eight by the writers and coaches before suffering a pair of losses at Seton Hall and Rutgers.  Jim Calhoun's squad shot poorly in both games, especially from long range where the Huskies went 11-41 combined in the two clashes, and committed 20 turnovers in Saturday's 67-60 loss to the Scarlet Knights.

The Huskies have been a poor play at the college basketball betting window since early-December, a 'push' among their last five games their closest thing to a cover.  The good news is they are a perfect 9-0 between their two home courts, winning all three played so far at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs and all six in Hartford.

West Virginia (12-4 SU, 9-4 ATS) has been building a solid resume with bettors this season and is off to a 3-1 start in the conference standings following Saturday's home win over the previously ninth-ranked Georgetown Hoyas.  Bob Huggins' boys have scored with relative ease the past two games, including finding the net at nearly a 57 percent clip last Wednesday on the road at Rutgers.  The two wins were preceded by a horrible performance at Seton Hall, however, and consistent play away from home has been an issue for the Mountaineers who are 4-3 SU and ATS outside of Morgantown.

This series has been dominated by UConn (14-5 all-time) and the Huskies have never lost to WVU at home.  The last three meetings have finished under the total which is 137 for tonight's tilt.

The second key matchup in the Big East for Monday finds the Hoyas at home to face the Cincinnati Bearcats (9:00 p.m. ET).  Both teams just saw winning streaks stopped this past Saturday, and Georgetown is laying 6½ according to the Don Best odds, with 124½ for the total.

Cincinnati (12-4 SU, 4-6 ATS) was embarrassed at home in a 57-55 buzzer-beating loss to St. John's.  The Bearcats were strong 11½-point favorites but forgot to bring their offense to the game, hitting just 26.3 percent from the field overall and an even worse 7-for-32 (21.9%) from beyond the arc.  Mick Cronin's crew is just now getting back to a full roster complement following suspensions stemming from the Dec. 10 brawl with Xavier.  Senior forward Yancy Gates has looked a bit out of sync since coming back from his 6-game vacation.

Georgetown (13-2 SU, 7-3 ATS) just saw an 11-game win streak snapped at West Virginia, the 74-62 loss as 3-point underdogs magnifying a recent 3-game skid vs. the spread for the Hoyas.  Like some of their Big East counterparts mentioned already, the Hoyas have had trouble hitting the trey after managing to sink only 2-of-14 from beyond the arc against the Mountaineers and going just 11-of-49 from that distance the past three contests.

The Bearcats won and covered both of last year's meetings, and have triumphed each of their last two trips to Washington DC's Verizon Center.  The last five battles have finished 'under' the closing totals that ranged from 125 to 134½.