You never know what version of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane you're going to get on any given night. You might get the club which scored 57 against Cincinnati and got blown out by 19, and you might get the one which dropped 81 on Tulane in an easy romp from the get go. The Connecticut Huskies have to be aware of this potential challenge at the Reynolds Center on Thursday night and cannot take the Golden Hurricane lightly.
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HOW THE CONNECTICUT HUSKIES CAN COVER THE SPREAD
From a pure athletic standpoint, there's no doubt that Connecticut has the better of these two teams. The Huskies though, could've lost to Memphis over the weekend and did get beaten by a clearly inferior Temple team at home a few days earlier.
With Amida Brimah out with a finger injury until at least the middle of next month, the defense has really lacked for the Huskies. Teams are shooting 38.3 percent against them this year, but since Brimah broke his finger, that percentage has risen to 44 percent.
Somehow, Kevin Ollie has to find some shot blockers. Shonn Miller is excellent defensively, but he was really boosted by the presence of Brimah in the middle to protect the rim.
Rodney Purvis, Miller, Daniel Hamilton and Sterling Gibbs will surely take care of the scoring, but finding options on the other end of the court is the real key to covering road games here in the AAC.
HOW THE TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Tulane isn't the greatest team in the world, and though Tulsa should be proud to go to the Bayou and pick up a win, there were definitely some concerning stats. The Golden Hurricane were outrebounded 41-20, including allowing 19 offensive rebounds to a team which isn't known for its ability to hit the glass. Furthermore, Tulsa only forced eight turnovers for the entire game.
Neither of those stats are going to cut it against the Huskies.
Pat Birt is going to be a key man in this one. James Woodard and Shaquille Harrison are going to get their points, but Birt has been all over the place this year. He scored 27 in that win against Tulane, but he was shut out the game prior against ECU.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Golden Hurricane are insanely tough to handicap. They could shoot 55 percent from the field, and they could shoot 35 percent. They could win the rebounding battle by 20 and lose it by 20. If they're at their best, they're going to win this game as we see it with Brimah out of the fold.
However, what's more likely is that Birt will disappear, Woodard and Harrison will have the whole offense to themselves, and that just isn't going to work against a team which just sends guys at you in waves.
Look for Hamilton in particular to have a strong game for the Huskies here on the road. We're not convinced that he'll be enough without a lot of help defensively to win this game, but we trust that a few days off will give Ollie enough time to come up with some answers to these crucial defensive woes.
Connecticut 69, Tulsa 62
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The game between the Connecticut Huskies and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane is scheduled for Thursday, January 14, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Reynolds Center. Catch the game live on ESPN2.
