UConn headlines a light Friday of College Basketball

The Thursday slate of games wasn’t incredible, but there were two results I want to talk about.  Green Bay, coached by podcast host Doug Gottlieb, finally got its first Horizon League win this season.  As much as I hate to admit this, Coach Gottlieb has built a competitive roster in the Horizon League.  CJ O’ Hara and Preston Reudinger have been huge reasons for the resurgence of the Green Bay program.

Then the game of Thursday night was Iowa State and Iowa at the Hilton Coliseum.  The Cyclones won the game, but it wasn’t by much, and they failed to cover.  A little bit of regression was to be expected, but a lot of it tonight was Iowa taking away what the Cyclones were trying to do.  That speaks volumes of Hawkeyes coach Ben McCollum, and while he is not in the business of moral victories, Iowa has a lot to build on.

There are only eight games on Friday night and only one game of note.  It's a game between a top-five school and a potential bubble team that needs all the wins it can get. The rest of the schedule takes place in the mid- and low-major leagues.  

Texas Longhorns at No. 5 UConn Huskies - Texas looking for a massive win in Gampel.

Texas is a capable team that can get this done in a perfect storm.  Now, what would an ideal storm mean for Sean Miller and the Longhorns?  Dailyn Swain and Jordan Pope would have to be making shots.  Those two can go shot-for-shot with UConn.  Texas would need to speed up the tempo and force the Huskies to play faster than they want to, and finally, the Longhorns will have to play the best defense they have played all year.  It is almost impossible to win a game in Storrs, and this version of Texas has an uphill climb, but we all love college basketball for the uncertainty, right?

UConn is playing like a National Title contender right now, and they are not going to go into a game at home against a capable SEC team and do anything to mess that up.  Alex Karaban and Solo Ball are going to play like the best players on the floor all night.  Silas Demary and Malachi Smith will just run the offense and be the head of the snake of the defensive end.  If the Huskies play UConn basketball, they will win this game going away.  We already know Gampel will be rocking.

Here are the picks for the rest of the day: