The No. 1 UConn Huskies take on the No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs in the Sweet 16 in a rematch of last year’s championship game. The matchup will take place on Thursday, March 28. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:39 p.m. ET, and the game will air on TBS and TruTV. UConn defeated SDSU 76-59 to win it all in 2023.
2024 March Madness picks
No. 1 UConn vs. No. 5 San Diego State best bet
UConn (33-3) had a fairly easy go of it in the first two rounds of the tournament. The Huskies have yet to be truly challenged after pulling out a 39-point win over No. 16 Stetson and a 17-point win that was never close over No. 9 Northwestern.
This year’s Big East champs have remarkable scoring depth, as all five starters average in the double digits in the scoring column, and currently rank first overall in the nation at KenPom. They land in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, scoring 81.6 points per game while keeping opponents to 63.9 points on average.
San Diego State eked out a win over No. 12 UAB in the First Round before demolishing No. 14 Yale in the Second Round of the tournament. In the 85-57 win over Yale, forward Jaedon Lee led the Aztecs with 26 points and nine rebounds. The Aztecs out-rebounded the Bulldogs 41-26, and held Yale to just 36% from the field.
SDSU (26-10) ranks ninth in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, as they keep teams to 67 points per game on 40.9% shooting. They are the only Mountain West team to have reached the Sweet 16, and their path will likely end here. This is a very similar matchup to last year’s title game, as the Aztecs bring a stifling defense and a decent, but not stellar, offense to the court. Their best shot at pulling off an upset here is to mimic their 48% three-point shooting performance that they had against Yale, but even that may not be enough to stop this UConn team.
Betting lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Thursday odds
Spread: UConn -11
Total: 136
Moneyline: UConn -700, SDSU +500
Opening odds
Spread: UConn -11
Total: 136
Moneyline: UConn -600, SDSU +440
Best bet: UConn -11
UConn is looking utterly unstoppable right now, while San Diego State has been challenged and does not have the offensive firepower to keep up with the Huskies. SDSU has the worst ATS record of any Sweet 16 team, going 14-20 against the spread this season, while UConn went 24-12. UConn will advance to the Elite Eight, and can cover the spread in this matchup easily.