Madison Square Garden – New York, NY — 2K Sports Classic
Tip-off: Thursday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: Connecticut -10

Meeting for the first time since Boston College left the Big East in the 2004-05 season, No. 18 UConn will face the Eagles in the first round of the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden now that neither team is a part of the Big East.

The Huskies are 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS to start the season, covering in their past three contests. However, their only ATS loss was against their lone ACC opponent, Maryland, in the first game of the season. That was also their only neutral-site game thus far as well. On the other hand, it’s been a brutal start for a Boston College team that many pegged as a sleeper in this year’s ACC. Without having played any powerhouse teams yet, the squad is 1-3 SU and 0-4 ATS, with losses to Providence, Massachusetts and Toledo to begin the year, and a narrow three-point win against 16.5-point underdog Florida Atlantic. The Eagles have been outrebounded in every game while all three of their games with Totals have gone Over due to their weak defensive effort. Though these teams haven’t squared off in recent memory, dating back to 1997 they have played 13 times with UConn going 10-3 SU in those games. Boston College, however, is 7-4 ATS in those contests. Meanwhile, the Huskies appear to be in good shape, as since 1997, double-digit favorites that had a winning record the previous season are 51-22 ATS (70%) when coming off 3+ consecutive home wins when playing a team coming off a losing season. Still, UConn is just 8-24 ATS (25%) in non-home games after three consecutive double-digit wins since 1997.

Who will win this renewal of a northeast rivalry? For the latest college basketball picks, check out The Platinum Sheet for all the StatFox Experts selections every week throughout the entire 2013-14 season. The experts have started the season red-hot, going 61% ATS (30-19-5) in college basketball Best Bets through Tuesday, led by StatFox Scott's 73% ATS (8-3) mark in Best Bets. StatFox Zach is 67% ATS (6-3-1) for the season, while StatFox Dave is 60% ATS (6-4-1) in Best Bets.

The Huskies have been red-hot from the field to start the year, shooting 53.6% from the floor and 52.6% from three-point range, which is a big reason why this small lineup has not been outrebounded once this season. Leading the team in both of those efforts has been senior PG Shabazz Napier (13.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 7.8 APG), who has been ridiculously effective across the board so far, ranking fourth in the nation in assists. In addition to one triple-double and one double-double, Napier has made 6-of-7 threes and has 1.5 SPG on defense. He has an excellent backcourt complement in SG Ryan Boatright (12.8 PPG, 4.3 APG, 3.8 RPG), who has also been great from long distance (7-of-13 threes). Six-foot-6 sophomore wing Omar Calhoun (12.0 PPG, 9-of-21 threes) joins them on the perimeter and could be in for a big game returning to his native New York. Forwards DeAndre Daniels (10.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG) and Niels Giffey (11.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG) and haven’t had to do much rebounding with Napier hounding the glass, but have done their due diligence in averaging double-digit points. Giffey ranks fourth in the nation with an 80% FG clip (16-of-20). Freshman 7-foot C Amida Brimah (5.3 PPG) is 9-for-11 shooting this season, but it's been his defense that has really stood out, as he has blocked 16 shots in just 63 minutes on the floor.

The Eagles have been brutal on the boards thus far, averaging a paltry 26.3 RPG, which ranks fourth-worst among the 351 Division-I teams. The only player averaging more than five boards per game is junior PF Ryan Anderson (16.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG), but that figure is still down from his 8.0 RPG a year ago. The team’s best asset is sophomore SG Olivier Hanlan, the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year. The 6-foot-4 guard is averaging a tremendous 24.5 PPG on 50% FG (42% threes), going off for 38 points on 11-of-19 shooting (4-of-10 threes) in the win against Florida Atlantic. He also adds 3.3 APG and 3.0 RPG. Behind Anderson and Hanlan though, only one other player has really contributed on the offensive end with SG Joe Rahon (13.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG) the team’s final double-digit scorer. Other players, such as 6-foot-6 junior SF Patrick Heckmann (8.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG) and PF Eddie Odio (4.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG) will have to step up their play for this team to compete. As good as Hanlan is, he can’t be expected to score 38 every night, especially while going against quick, on-ball defenders like Napier and Boatright, who combine for 3.0 SPG.