Hartford vs Sacred Heart Odds and Picks (Dec. 22)

Odds as of December 21st, 2021.

John Gallagher’s guys got a season-high 24 points from Moses Flowers (to go along with nine rebounds) in a ten-point loss to the Blue Devils. The Hawks’ leading scorer, Austin Williams, added 14 while DJ Mitchell had nine points and seven rebounds.

Meantime, Anthony Latina’s lot saw leading scorer Tyler Thomas be held to just 13 point (seven below his average) in an eight-point defeat to the River Hawks. The junior guard did grab seven rebounds in the loss. Nico Galette chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds.

Coach Carter

Needless to say, the season has gotten off to a rocky start for the Hawks — whose lone win is over lowly St. Francis (New York).  But help is on the way in the form of Traci Carter. The graduate student was cleared to play just hours before the Central Connecticut matchup and will be in action Wednesday.

Traci Carter being back for Hartford was a rumor in the summer, but apparently he’s playing for the Hawks. That is WILD. Hawks just added one of the best on ball defenders in the country. Wonder if that’s why Clayton isn’t around

— Jordan Majewski (@jorcubsdan) December 18, 2021

The 1,000-point scorer will begin his third season at Hartford — and his seventh season as a collegian —after spending two years at Marquette (2015-17) and two seasons at La Salle (2017-19) In his two previous seasons at Hartford, he ranked among the nation’s best in steals per game, finishing ninth in 2019-20 (2.5 spg) and 10th in 2020-21 (2.5) He also finished as the America East’s leader in assists and assists per game in each of his two seasons and was second on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game last season. Clearly, he’ll provide a much-needed lift to a squad in search of one.

Despite its abysmal record, the Hawks have shot the ball well this season — converting 45.2% from the field to rank third in the AEC. Williams, who paces the team with 15 points per game, extended his team-best double-figure scoring streak to nine games over the weekend. He has netted double digits in all but one game this season, and has produced twin figures in scoring in 28 of his 34 games as a Hawk. Between his scoring ability and the return of Carter, Hartford should be competitive.

The Heart of the Matter

If the Hawks are to be victorious in this late morning tilt, they’ll need to lock down Thomas on the perimeter. Nearly one-third of his team-leading 19.7 points per contest comes from long range. The 6-foot-3 Amity, Conn. native has knocked down a team-best 30 three-pointers this season.

?️#NECMBB PRIME PERFORMERS from Week #⃣6⃣⬇️

?Nigel Scantlebury (CCSU)
?Ty Flowers (LIU)
?Eral Penn (LIU)
?Jalen Benjamin (MSM)
?Nico Galette (SHU)
?Tyler Thomas (SHU)
?Ronell Giles, Jr. (SFU)#NECPrimePerformer pic.twitter.com/sznj5TUWNr

— Northeast Conference (@NECsports) December 20, 2021

Thomas is not alone when it comes success from beyond the arc on his team, either. Sacred Heart has made 8.6 3-pointers per game this season, which is second-best among NEC teams. The Pioneers are also one of the best in defensive free throw percentage, rating fifth in that category among Division I programs.

The team has taken down La Salle, Lafayette and Columbia among its D-1 competition and suffered losses by ten points or less to Fairfield, Stony Brook, NJIT, Rhode Island and UMass Lowell Sunday.

Meantime, Galette is the conference leader in total rebounds (105) and rebounds per game (8.8).

The Pick

Wednesday’s outing will be Sacred Heart’s first home game since Nov. 20. SHU is also seeking its first win against an America East opponent, falling to 0-4 against the conference following the loss to the River Hawks.

With the return of Carter and Williams’ ability to score the ball, I like the underdog in this spot.

Pick: Hartford +4.5 (-110)