After 72 years in the Missouri Valley Conference, Wichita State faces Connecticut in its inaugural American Athletic conference game in a nationally televised game at noon on CBS.

The eighth-ranked Shockers have racked up a 10-2 record against non-conference foes leading up to their game with the Huskies. Building off a 31-5 campaign last year, Wichita State has returned all five starters in hope of a deep postseason run.

The Huskies are 7-5, having been drubbed their last time out by Auburn, 89-64. UConn has won just three of its last eight games -- two of them in overtime.

The Shockers opened as 9-point favorites and now are laying 10.

Before picking either side, you need to read what the SportsLine Projection Model has come up with. This model completely crushed its college basketball picks during the 2016-17 season, producing an stunning 755-636-20 record on its A-rated picks, returning a massive profit of almost $6,600 on $100 bets for anybody who followed them.

Now, the model has examined every matchup, every player and every trend for Wichita State-UConn and locked in its against-the-spread pick.

Two big reasons as to how Wichita State will cover the spread is its rebounding prowess and ability to dish the orange. The Shockers are seventh in the nation in rebounding, gobbling up an astonishing 43 rebounds per contest. Forward Darral Willis is the team's biggest beast on the boards, hauling in 7.5 a game.

The team is also top-25 in assists with 18.0 a game, and sophomore guard Landry Shamet distributes 4.6 each time out. He also leads the team in scoring at 17.1 points and is a ringer beyond the arc.

Defense is another cause for the Shockers' hot start. Center Shaquille Morris has already registered 23 blocks -- nearly two per outing.

The Huskies' best hope in winning -- or at least beating the spread -- lies squarely on the shoulders of junior guard Jalen Adams, who tracks a whopping 37.5 minutes of hardwood action per game. He's also UConn's most proficient scorer at 18.2 points and chips in another 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals.

Wichita State got off to a sluggish start in its last game eight days ago against feisty Florida Gulf Coast before pulling away, 75-65. It can't afford to fall behind and allow the Huskies to feed off the vocal UConn contingent in the stands.

For a week, the Huskies have been forced to own up to their humiliation at Auburn. They'll be eager to prove they're better than that squad which lost by 25.

It all comes down to the Shockers building momentum on its Top 10 ranking or the Huskies pulling off the monster upset to spoil Wichita State's AAC debut.

So what side of Wichita State-Connecticut do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread pick for Wichita State-Connecticut, all from the model that has absolutely crushed college hoops, and find out.