Furman Paladins vs UConn Huskies Prediction, 3/20/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Furman Paladins vs UConn Huskies

Date: Friday, March 20, 2026

Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Furman (+21)

The Furman Paladins (22-12) are traveling to Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday where they will attempt to beat the UConn Huskies (29-5) in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. Furman opens as 21-point underdogs. The over/under is 136.5.

The Furman Paladins played East Tennessee State and notched a win by a score of 76-61 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Paladins ended up finishing with 14 and East Tennessee State totaled 14 fouls. They converted 3 of their 16 attempts from beyond the arc. East Tennessee State ended up shooting 55.6% from the charity stripe by knocking down 10 of 18 shots. On top of that, East Tennessee State snagged 20 rebounds (4 offensive, 16 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. East Tennessee State earned 5 assists and had 8 steals for the matchup. Regarding defending, Furman allowed the other team to shoot 48.0% from the floor on 24 of 50 shooting. They also dished out 12 assists in this matchup as well as forcing 10 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In relation to hauling in boards, they earned a total of 33 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Paladins made 12 of their 15 tries for a percentage of 80.0%. Furman walked away from the contest having earned a 50.9% field goal percentage (27 out of 53) and made 10 of their 26 3-point shots.

Cooper Bowser is a guy who was a factor in this game. He scored 21 points on 9 of 12 shooting. He played for 30 mins and pulled down 11 boards. He finished the game shooting 75.0% from the field and also dished out 3 dimes.

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Furman will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 22-12 for the year. They average 76.5 points per contest (159th in the country) while shooting 47.6% from the field. The Paladins are shooting 32.7% on shots from downtown (302 of 923) and 69.0% from the free throw line. As a team, Furman is pulling down 38.0 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 532 dimes for the year, which is 57th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 11.9 times per contest and as a squad they commit 15.1 personal fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Paladins are forcing 9.6 turnovers every game and they draw 17.0 personal fouls. They are conceding 32.4% on 3-pointers while they are 89th in the nation in points per game from their opponents (70.5). The Paladins defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 42.5% (859 of 2,021) and they concede 32.1 rebounds per contest as a team. They are 109th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 405 conceded on the campaign.

In their last game, the UConn Huskies took a loss by a final score of 72-52 when they faced St. John's. The Huskies were able to snag 19 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 28 in this game. They gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while recording 4 steals for this contest. St. John's earned 15 personal fouls for the contest which took the Huskies to the free throw line for 14 tries. They were able to convert 11 of them for a clip of 78.6%. In relation to shots from downtown, UConn converted 3 of their 19 attempts (15.8%). When the final whistle blew, the Huskies finished shooting 19 for 56 from the floor which had them shooting 33.9%. The Huskies permitted St. John's to bury 27 of 56 tries from the floor which had them shooting 48.2% for the contest. They finished 25.0% from behind the 3-point line by going 5 out of 20 and ended up going 13 of 17 from the free throw line (76.5%). In the matter of team rebounding, UConn permitted St. John's to pull down 24 in all (8 on the offensive side).

Tarris Reed Jr. ended up being a major contributor for the Huskies for this contest. He made 8 out of 17 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 47.1%, and accumulated 7 rebounds. He earned 17 points in his 29 minutes of playing time, but finished this game without an assist.

UConn has a mark of 29-5 on the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Huskies are connecting on 48.2% from the floor, which ranks 34th in college hoops. UConn has accumulated 2,635 pts on the campaign (77.5 per game) and they grab 36.6 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 18.4 times per contest (9th in college) and they turn it over 11.2 times per game. The Huskies are committing 18.0 personal fouls per contest and they go 71.6% from the free throw line.

The Huskies are ranked 11th in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 65.1. They are forcing 12.0 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 40.2% from the floor (19th in the nation). The UConn defense concedes 30.3% on shots from behind the 3-point line (202 of 667) and their opposition makes 71.9% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 10.6 dimes and 30.9 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 10th and 22nd in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Furman (+21)

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