Purdue can be tough to defend with 7-foot-4 senior Zach Edey drawing double teams leaving someone open on the perimeter. But Connecticut is no ordinary team with 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan (13.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg) up front anchoring a suffocating inside-out defensive game. UConn was No. 1 in the Big East in points given up (61.4 points per game), field goal shooting allowed (.385), and at defending beyond the arc (.271). Connecticut is 36-18 UNDER the First Half Total after three consecutive contests committing 11 or fewer turnovers. In addition, NCAA tournament neutral court games featuring a team like UConn that has covered four straight are 71-31 UNDER the First Half Total. Since the new year began, Purdue has faltered away from home against fierce defensive teams in losses at Nebraska, Ohio State, and Wisconsin, the latter in the Big Ten tournament on a neutral court. Nebraska was tops in the conference in field goal shooting allowed, Ohio State was seventh in points given up, while Wisconsin was sixth in points allowed. UConn won seven of nine during the regular season versus Top 20 teams, won the Big East tournament by an average of 15.6 points, plus knocked off No. 3, 4, and 5-seeded Big Dance teams by an average of 23 points. That included a 77-52 blowout of Big Ten member Illinois, a team that Purdue beat by just five and six points.
Combine the Huskies (-305) and the Connecticut vs. Purdue 1st ½ UNDER 68.5 (-110) into a 2-team parlay at +154 odds.
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