College Basketball Betting Trends: Connecticut vs. Louisville
In this exciting matchup between Big East powerhouses, the defending nation champs will travel to the KFC Yum! Center to take on #24 Louisville. Both teams had high expectations coming into this season; however the Huskies have been a disappointment so far this year.
Despite losing Kemba Walker to the NBA, Connecticut returned a strong core including one of the top backcourts in the nation led by sophomores Jeremy Lamb (17.6 ppg) and Shabazz Napier (13.3, 4.0, 5.7). With the addition of Andre Drummond (the #2 ranked freshman in the country according to ESPN), this team was supposed to contend for another national title. Instead, they find themselves in the middle of the Big East standings without their legendary coach Jim Calhoun — who is taking an indefinite medical leave of absence.
On the other side, Louisville has jumped out to an 18-5 record behind a balanced offensive attack in which 4 players’ average double-figures with two others on the cusp. They are led by Kyle Kuric, a 6’4″ senior guard averaging just over 13 points per game.
One important factor to monitor as we approach tip-off is the health of Cardinals’ center Gorgui Dieng. The 6’11” sophomore from Senegal — who is averaging 10.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks — injured his knee last game and is listed as doubtful for tonight’s matchup. Any change in his status would undoubtedly impact the line, so make sure to check in with Sports Insights College Basketball Injury page for the latest news.
Louisville opened as a 4.5-point favorite at the market-setting Cris sportsbook and, according to Sports Insights’ College Basketball Betting Trends, is currently receiving 60% of spread bets and 72% of moneyline wagers. Despite this slanted betting percentage, the line has dropped to -4 at CRIS. This reverse-line movement indicates that early sharp money has taken the road Huskies.
At the time of publication, this game is the most heavily bet (in terms of total number of bets) college basketball game of the day. As a result, be sure to login to your Sports Insights account, check the College Basketball Betting System Plays and shop for the best line before taking a side in this game.
The following table shows the breakdown of spread betting percentages from our six contributing sportsbooks:
| Team | # Bets | Sportsbook | BetUS | Carib | WagerWeb | 5Dimes | SIA |
| UConn | 10728 | 37% | 30% | 67% | 27% | 44% | 38% |
| Louisville | 63% | 70% | 33% | 73% | 56% | 62% |
pete
02/07/2012 at 5:21 amI feel like sometimes you have to consider fundamental factors along with technical factors and the situation at UConn is tenuous right now with their coaching situation. If you are playing them, you are accepting that risk. Obviously, this is reflected in the line but it still factors into your own personal decision as to bet the game or not.