Connecticut Huskies vs. Colorado Buffaloes Betting Odds, March Madness Pick

The ninth-seeded Connecticut Huskies (24-10) enter the 2016 NCAA tournament as one of the scariest teams in the field based on recent history, with their 2014 squad running the table as a No. 7 seed to win the school's fourth national championship.

That's one of the main reasons the Huskies are consensus betting favorites against the eighth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes (22-11) in their South Region first-round matchup.

Point spread: The Huskies opened as 3.5-point favorites; the total was 134.5, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

March Madness pick, via Odds Shark computer: 70.8-68.4 Huskies

Why pick Connecticut to cover the spread

UConn is coming off an impressive three-game run en route to winning the American Athletic Conference tournament and has won four in a row overall both straight up and against the spread. The Huskies were not eligible to participate in the Big Dance last year after winning it the previous season under fourth-year head coach Kevin Ollie.

They were the fifth seed in this year's AAC tourney and beat the top-seeded Temple Owls 77-62 as four-point favorites in the semifinals after upsetting the fourth-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats 104-97 in quadruple overtime as two-point underdogs. UConn won the title game 72-58 over the sixth-seeded Memphis Tigers as 5.5-point chalk.

Why pick Colorado to cover the spread

Colorado bowed out of the Pac-12 tournament in the quarterfinals, falling to the fourth-seeded Arizona Wildcats 82-78 as the No. 5 seed while covering the spread as 7.5-point dogs. The Buffaloes are on a roll ATS, covering five in a row and going 3-2 SU, with the two losses decided by a combined six points.

They had upset the Wildcats 75-72 as 5.5-point home dogs to start the positive run on February 24. Before that, Colorado had gone 2-4 SU and 1-5 ATS in its previous six games. The good news is the Buffs turned things around at the perfect time and should be ready to take on the Huskies here.

Smart betting pick

This is an interesting game from a handicapping perspective because UConn appears to be overvalued a bit in this spot due to public perception. Everybody knows the Huskies while Colorado has advanced past the first round only twice in the previous 19 years.

You can also argue that the Buffs played in a better conference and faced tougher competition throughout the season. For those reasons, look for Colorado to keep this game close until the very end and cover the spread in its sixth straight game.

March Madness betting trends

Colorado is 6-2 SU in its last eight games after a loss.

Connecticut is 4-0 SU and ATS in its last four games in March.

Colorado finished the year on a 5-0 ATS streak.

Connecticut is 4-1 SU since 1995 against No. 8 seeds.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, and all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app for iOS or Android.