'Zona will be 'tripped' up

It is rare that a Pac-12 team plays a true road game on the East Coast, but that is exactly what Arizona is doing as it will square off with UConn.

Both teams are in a bit of transition, UConn with a new coach in Dan Hurley and Arizona losing almost everyone from last season and having its 2018 recruiting class rocked by the big FBI probe.

Both teams are led by score-first guards, Brandon Randolph for Arizona and Jalen Adams for UConn. Arizona will try to make the interior play of Chase Jeter, who began his career at Duke before transferring to the Wildcats, the difference.

The Huskies don’t have many true big men who can pound the glass other than Josh Carlton, while Arizona plays a bit slower on offense and surrenders fewer point per possession on defense. Despite that, UConn is 15th in among Division 1 teams in rebounding rate while Arizona is 138th.

With Connecticut playing at a pace that is 26th among DI teams compared to the Wildcats, who are 141st, while being the more efficient offense in terms of points per possession, it makes the home Huskies the pick in this one.

THE PLAY: UConn, Pick ’em.

Greg Peterson writes about college basketball for Point Spread Weekly, VSiN’s digital magazine for sports bettors. He also is a producer for the “That’s Gold! with Steve Hytner” podcast.