After a couple of highly entertaining March Madness games on Saturday, the Elite 8 is set to conclude on Sunday, and the 2-game slate features a pair of fascinating matchups across the East and Midwest Regions. There are massive games to look forward to and find value in, so let’s take a look at my best bets for March 29. I’m on a 7-1 run in my March Madness best bets column over the last week, so let’s keep that momentum going with my college basketball predictions for Sunday’s slate. Also, be sure to keep an eye on our March Madness picks for expert analysis and bets for EVERY game of the NCAA Tournament!
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March Madness Elite 8 best bets: UConn Huskies +5.5 vs Duke Blue Devils (-110) & UConn Huskies 1st Half ML (+155)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to UConn +5 & UConn 1st Half ML (+140).
To tip off my best bets on Sunday, I’ll target the matchup in the East Region between UConn and Duke. The Huskies struggled down the stretch to close the regular season, but UConn has raised their level in March, as they typically have under Danny Hurley in recent seasons. To his credit, Hurley might be the best postseason coach in the sport at the moment, and he is now 16-1 against the spread over his last 17 NCAA Tournament games. Furthermore, the Huskies are in much better shape than Duke heading into this game, as it took an all-out effort from the Blue Devils to rally from a double-digit deficit in the second half to knock off St. John’s on Friday. Duke is undoubtedly an extremely talented team, but it remains to be seen if we’ll see another heroic effort from Caleb Foster just 48 hours after logging significant minutes while playing with an injured foot. Foster is the engine of this team on both sides of the floor, so anything less than a solid effort from him would spell trouble for Duke.
UConn has a blend of experienced veterans (Alex Karaban, Taris Reed Jr.) and younger players, and this mixture has proven to be very effective through its first 3 games played in this tournament. In fact, while the Huskies have played well of late, you could certainly argue that they’re still due for some positive shooting regression from beyond the arc — especially against a Duke team that just allowed plenty of 3-point looks against St. John’s. UConn has also been excellent on the glass in this tournament, which could go a long way to staying close against a Duke team that boasts an elite first-shot defense. If the Huskies are able to generate second-chance looks and impose their will in the paint, they are certainly capable of keeping this one close down the stretch.
There’s also the matter of UConn’s offense being incredibly difficult to prepare for on a short turnaround, which is certainly a major factor as to why Hurley is such an effective NCAA Tournament coach. It’s a massive credit to this coaching staff that teams consistently fall behind against UConn, and we saw that on Friday as Michigan State trailed by as many as 19 in the first half and looked totally out of sorts for the first 20 minutes. Jon Scheyer’s team has trailed in the second half in every game of this tournament, but the Duke staff has been excellent with their halftime adjustments. With that in mind, it wouldn’t shock me at all if UConn jumps out to an early lead and holds an edge at the break, before the talent of Cam Boozer and the Blue Devils’ ultimately wins out in a tight, physical battle down the stretch. I’ll take a plus-money shot on the 1st half money line and follow that up with a wager on UConn to cover the full-game spread.
Read our expert’s full UConn vs Duke prediction
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