Best Bets For #9 Oklahoma Vs. #8 UConn March Madness

• UConn’s odds on the spread have them as 5.5-point favorites.
• Oklahoma is 18-15 ATS this season.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The road for a three-peat March Madness Championship for UConn starts against the Oklahoma Sooners in the #8 vs. #9 matchup in the West Region of the bracket.

The two time defending champions are going into this one as 5.5-point favorites over Oklahoma. Legal sports betting sites have seen plenty of movement on this line since it opened at 4 points.

#9 Oklahoma Vs. #8 UConn

• Moneyline: Oklahoma (+190) vs. UConn (-230)
• Spread: UConn -5.5
• Total: 147.5

Sooners Make Things Competitive Vs. Down UConn

There is no hiding that this has been a down year for the defending champs as they’re coming off of a 23-10 season which is their lowest win total over the last three seasons. Oklahoma, on the other side, has turned two straight 20+ win seasons after failing to do so the four years prior.

The Huskies went 14-18-1 against the spread to this point with a -1.8 cover margin on average. They are also 2-5 ATS in games with a -5.5-point spread or less this season.

Oklahoma has a significantly better record against the spread at 18-15 with a +1 cover margin. The Sooners also turn things up when playing from behind as an underdog with a 12-6 record in that situation.

Looking at their more recent March Madness games, obviously, UConn has been perfect on their run since 2023 going 12-0 straight up, however, their dominance on college basketball sportsbooks is showing as well with a 12-0 spread record since then as well.

However, this is a completely different team as they saw seven players from last seasons championship team either transfer, graduate, or go on to the NBA. That said, experience playing in March Madness is certainly going to be an issue.

On paper, the Oklahoma offense should keep things close here as they’ve done all season when playing as an underdog between 1-6 points. They are 8-1 ATS and 7-2 straight up in games with that spread this season.

News tags: basketball | CBB | College Basketball | March Madness | NCAA Tournament | Oklahoma | Oklahoma Sooners | UConn | UConn Huskies