UConn vs. Marquette prediction: College basketball odds, picks, bets

UConn already has clinched the Big East regular-season title and the top overall seed in the conference tournament, but the Huskies might not be done yet. 

They’re hunting for the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, and closing the regular season with road wins over Marquette and Providence would look good in the committee’s eyes. 

Generally, Marquette’s inventive and explosive ball-screen offense — spearheaded by Tyler Kolek, Oso Ighodaro and Kam Jones — can score with anybody.

However, Kolek is still out with an oblique injury and will miss Wednesday’s game.

The All-American point guard’s absence significantly hamstrings Shaka Smart’s pick-and-roll sets. 

I have trouble imagining the Kolek-less Golden Eagles scoring much against UConn, which boasts the Big East’s best ball-screen coverage defense (0.67 PPP allowed). 

In the last matchup between these two, Marquette scored just 22 points on 29 pick-and-roll sets, and that was with Kolek. 

On the other end of the court, Dan Hurley’s pattern motion offense utilizes secondary actions to pop open his bevy of lethal 3-point shooters.

Behind Cam Spencer (45 percent on treys this season), Alex Karaban (38 percent) and Hassan Diarra (35 percent), the Huskies lead the Big East in 3-point shooting (37 percent). 

Marquette is good at stopping secondary actions, but mainly on the interior, as the Eagles focus on fronting the post and denying the paint. 

As a result, the Eagles rank 350th nationally in 3-point rate allowed and 242nd in Open 3 Rate allowed, meaning the Huskies should take and make plenty of perimeter jumpers. 

In the first meeting, UConn shot 11-for-30 (37 percent) from deep in a 28-point victory. 

Expect more of the same Wednesday and wager accordingly. 

The play: UConn -5.5 (-102, FanDuel)