The Connecticut Huskies are one game away from winning their third NCAA men’s basketball championship under coach Jim Calhoun. Standing in their way: the Butler Bulldogs, who are trying to become the first 8-seed to win the title since Rollie Massimino’s Villanova Wildcats in 1985. This year’s men’s Tournament will be decided Monday night with the Huskies favored by 3.5 points at Sportsbook.com, or –170 on the moneyline, with a total of 128 points.

The Huskies (31-9 SU, 22-12 ATS) weren’t considered title contenders going into the 2010-11 season, having lost three of their top four scorers from last year: Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson and Gavin Edwards, who combined for 42.3 points per game. However, junior point guard Kemba Walker has blossomed in their absence, scoring 23.7 points per game and earning Big East Tournament MVP honors.

Walker’s supporting cast includes four of Calhoun’s prized freshmen recruits: Jeremy Lamb, Niels Giffey and Roscoe Smith in the starting line-up, and Shabazz Napier as UConn’s sixth man. Lamb and Napier are shooting guards, but Napier (3.1 assists in 23.7 minutes per game) is better at distributing the ball and defending, while Lamb (36.6 percent from 3-point range) is the more gifted scorer. They give some variety to an offense that runs primarily through Walker.

The Bulldogs (28-9 SU, 20-13-2 ATS) have also outperformed expectations this year after narrowly losing the title to the Duke Blue Devils last year. Butler lost its top player from 2009-10, Wooden Award candidate Gordon Hayward (15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds per game), but senior forward Matt Howard (16.7 points, 7.8 rebounds per game) picked up the slack by adding a 3-point shot to his arsenal, hitting 40.9 percent of his attempts.

Butler has also relied on the steady scoring of junior guard Shelvin Mack (16.1 points per game), who is shooting 41.3 percent from 3-point range during this Tournament – including 7 of 12 during Butler’s upset victory over the No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers (–8) in the Third Round. The Howard-Mack dynamic shows up on the NCAAB props list with each player priced at +400 to score the first point of the game. Walker is all alone in front for UConn at +350.

It might also be tough to decide between the two star Bulldogs when it comes time for the Associated Press to name the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Walker is the clear favorite in this case at –125, with Howard at +225 and the field (including Mack) at +175. It’s very likely that Walker will get the MOP if the Huskies become champions – the last MOP who wasn’t on the winning team was Hakeem Olajuwan of the 1982-83 University of Houston Cougars.

CBS will air the NCAA men’s basketball Tournament final from Reliant Stadium in Houston with the tip-off scheduled for 9:23 p.m. Eastern Time.