UConn and Furman play in opening round of NCAA Tournament

Furman Paladins (22-12, 13-8 SoCon) vs. UConn Huskies (29-5, 19-4 Big East)

Philadelphia; Friday, 10 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Huskies -20.5; over/under is 136.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 7 UConn and Furman play in the NCAA Tournament opening round.

The Huskies' record in Big East play is 19-4, and their record is 10-1 in non-conference play. UConn is ninth in college basketball with 18.4 assists per game. Silas Demary Jr. leads the Huskies averaging 6.2.

The Paladins are 13-8 in SoCon play. Furman averages 15.6 assists per game to lead the SoCon, paced by Alex Wilkins with 4.7.

UConn averages 77.5 points, 7.0 more per game than the 70.5 Furman gives up. Furman has shot at a 47.6% rate from the field this season, 7.4 percentage points higher than the 40.2% shooting opponents of UConn have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tarris Reed Jr. is averaging 13.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks for the Huskies. Braylon Mullins is averaging 12.4 points over the last 10 games.

Wilkins is averaging 17.7 points and 4.7 assists for the Paladins. Cooper Bowser is averaging 14.7 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Huskies: 7-3, averaging 73.3 points, 32.3 rebounds, 18.5 assists, 5.8 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.5 points per game.

Paladins: 6-4, averaging 74.5 points, 32.9 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 4.1 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.7 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.