Best College Basketball Prop Bets for San Diego State vs. UConn in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

Sweet 16 action tips off on Thursday night in the East Region with defending National Champion UConn looking to continue its quest for back-to-back championships against the team it beat in the National Championship game last season, San Diego State. 

Like last year’s title game, UConn guard Tristen Newton is expected to play a big role in the game, but there are some different players leading the charge for this Aztecs squad, namely Jaedon LeDee. 

Here’s three player prop bets for Thursday’s Sweet 16 showdown. 

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Best College Basketball Player Props for San Diego State vs. UConn

• Tristen Newton OVER 20.5 Points + Assists
• Jaedon LeDee OVER 8.5 Rebounds + Assists
• Darrion Trammell UNDER 3.5 Assists

Tristen Newton OVER 20.5 Points + Assists

UConn’s motion-based offense that flows from off-ball screens to pick-and-roll actions and so on are a blur to watch. The Huskies can win in plenty of ways, but a lot of it starts with Newton, the team’s do-it-all point guard. 

Newton can call his own number for a bucket plenty, but he opts to play within the offense and it turns into a ton of assist opportunities. He is fresh off of 10 assists against Northwestern and eight in the first round demolition of Stetson. Dating back to last year’s NCAA Tournament, Newton is over this total in five of eight games. 

San Diego State’s defense is stout, but it can be had on cutting actions and there is the lob threat of Donovan Clingan looming near the rim. 

I’ll stick with Newton’s over on dimes and get enough buckets to get over this mark.

Jaedon LeDee OVER 8.5 Rebounds + Assists

For San Diego State to compete on Thursday night, a lot of it will fall on LeDee, who is averaging north of 21 points and eight rebounds. The big man has been a monster down low this season, showcasing a growing mid-range and even 3-point shot as well. He’ll need to outduel the 7’2” sophomore Clingan on Thursday in an uphill battle to begin with. 

However, I believe LeDee’s motor will shine on Thursday in what should be a defensive minded affair. The big man will check Clingan, so he’ll likely be around the rim to clean up misses on defense, and I expect Brian Dutcher to have him working on the offensive glass to gobble up any missed chances as well while the other Aztecs get back to deny transition opportunities. 

Furhter, with such size and attention on him, LeDee may be good for a raised assist total on Thursday night.

I won’t count on points from LeDee, but I’ll expect his season average of boards with some help in the assists department.

Darrion Trammell UNDER 3.5 Assists

UConn’s defense, unlike its offense, is fantastic at forcing isolation situations. The team stops ball movement and forces teams to win one-on-one with plenty of help-side defense. 

With that in mind, I’ll target Trammell’s under on assists. While he is averaging north of three on the year, I believe the Aztecs offense is going to revolve around offensive playmaking late in the shot clocking and from the mid-range, not from a team’s free-flowing ball movement sets.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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