Connecticut too tough to be denied another Sweet 16 spot

IT SHOULDN’T take a genius to get the 7-foot-4 National Player of the Year touches against the smallest team in the country. Purdue coach Matt Painter must also responsible for trying to grow the World Baseball Classic by scheduling it against the NCAA Tournament.

Connecticut (-3.5) over Saint Mary’s: Dan Hurley won’t be denied a spot in the second week of the tournament again. In a battle of lockdown defenses, UConn’s vastly superior offense — which exploded for 50 second-half points against Iona, turning a two-point deficit into a 24-point win — will be the difference. The Gaels have lost three of their four games as underdogs, while the Huskies went 20-11-1 against the spread as a favorite this season. UConn, which also covered five of six games on neutral courts, will enjoy an atmosphere more akin to a home game in nearby Albany. Pittsburgh (+5) over Xavier: Sometimes, you gotta dance with the one that brung ya. The Panthers have pulled back-to-back upsets for us — improving to 11-4-1 against the spread as an underdog this season — and their top-30 offense has yet to get hot. A matchup with Xavier’s 276th-ranked perimeter defense should remedy that. Meanwhile, the Musketeers are a mess at the moment, following their blowout Big East loss to Marquette with a near-upset to Kennesaw State, which fueled a confrontation between teammates Souley Boum and Adam Kunkel. Sean Miller’s teams have lost to lower seeds in four of his past five tournament appearances. In the past three exits, Miller’s groups were upset by teams seeded 11th or lower.

Indiana (-1.5) over Miami: Kent State was a trendy first-round upset pick. But unlike so many high seeds in this tournament, the Hoosiers never sweat because their First Team All-Ameri

can (Trayce Jackson-Davis) lived up to his billing. Jackson-Davis has been an aggressive, all-around force in recent weeks — averaging 25 points, 10.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.6 blocks while shooting 60.5 percent from the field over the past five games. The Hurricanes’ weak interior defense — ranked 255th in the nation in twopoint defense — has little hope of slowing the star capable of single-handedly carrying Indiana to the Final Four.

TCU (+4.5) over Gonzaga: The Horned Frogs were fortunate to escape with a last-second, first-round win over Arizona State, but one of the most talented teams from the country’s best conference won’t need luck to have a chance to reach the school’s first Sweet 16 since 1968. Jamie Dixon’s team has battled injuries throughout the season and is far more dangerous than its sixth seed suggests — especially against a mediocre Gonzaga defense — holding wins over 1-seed Kansas, 2-seed Texas, 3-seed Kansas State and 3-seed Baylor this season. The nation’s best fastbreak unit will relish a race against the Bulldogs, whose sublime shooting will be tested by the physicality and athleticism of a TCU defense that held opponents to 31 percent 3-point shooting this season. This season: 20-16-3 2011-22 record: 319-283-9