Sports villains are not for everyone. Usually, they are tactfully considered an acquired taste, but mostly, the tolerance hinges on their success.
Connecticut has won two of the past three college basketball championships, and with that success comes love and appreciation for Danny Hurley.
The fan base welcomes its emotional and volatile head coach — if he can deliver those types of results.
Hurley and the fifth-ranked Huskies face 18th-ranked Florida on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
UConn is favored by 4.5 points, with a total of 145.5 points.
UConn vs. Florida best bet, prediction
The defending-champion Gators eliminated UConn in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, snapping the Huskies’ bid for a three-peat.
Safe to say Hurley has maximum intensity on the sidelines, seeking revenge.
Another layer is the availability of senior center Tarris Reed Jr., who leads the team in both scoring and rebounding.
However, an ankle injury has limited him to just three full games and his status for this showdown is unknown.
Hurley has been able to notch impressive wins without his services.
Last week, UConn beat Kansas at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, although the Jayhawks played without standout freshman Darryn Peterson. Prior to that, UConn defeated Illinois at MSG without Reed.
The Gators have lost most of their main talent from last year’s title team but they still feature 6-foot-11 Alex Condon and 6-9 Thomas Haugh, who are the team’s top two scorers.
If Reed returns, then I believe the Huskies will notch a solid win. If not, I still believe Hurley will have them incredibly prepared and motivated.
Betting on College Basketball?
The Gators are justifiably ranked but they have some issues.
They lost to TCU and while they only lost at Duke by a point, I think the narrow margin stemmed more from the Blue Devils relaxing after leading by 12 points at halftime.
I have a 80-69-2 ATS record in this Post sports section.
My next play is UConn – 4.5 against Florida.
The Play: UConn -4.5 (-110, BetMGM)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Doug Kezirian is a New York Post contributor who has over two decades of experience in the betting space, including spending 11 years at ESPN as a host, columnist and betting analyst. He’s also the rare personality who has documented success – 14th place in 2023 Circa Million and Las Vegas SuperContest ($37K), two top-10 finishes in 2022 William Hill College Football Challenge ($58K) and also grabbed headlines with a $297K win on the 2021 NFL Draft.
