College Basketball Best Bets Today:

There are not a whole lot of Sweet 16 candidates on the floor tonight, but we do have a set of 16 sweet games on Friday night. Alright, so maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, as the conferences in action will be the Big Ten, Mountain West, MAAC, Ivy League, MAC, and Horizon League. But, hoops is hoops. Hoops are hoops? You get the idea.

Tip times run from 6 p.m. ET in Hanover, NH (Columbia vs. Dartmouth) to 10 p.m. ET in San Jose (Nevada vs. San Jose State) on a night where the NBA takes a break and it is an off day for the 4 Nations squads on the ice.

 

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Tracking sheet is here. 2023-24 for reference is here.

This article will run Monday-Saturday (not next week, see exception above). Lines will be from DraftKings, as they are widely available to readers. Shop around for the best prices.

Shout-outs to Bart Torvik, Erik Haslam, and Ken Pomeroy, as those are my three primary resources for information when handicapping.

Check the latest college basketball odds for legal U.S. sportsbooks across the country and our Vegas odds if you share a state with us here at VSiN. Also, give the college basketball betting splits a look for these or any other college basketball games today have your interest.

Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publish.

Marist Red Foxes at Siena Saints (-2.5, 130.5)

7 p.m. ET

Marist and Siena come together in a rematch of a recent game, as the Red Foxes won 72-67 at home over the Saints back on Jan. 31. Siena has a chance at rapid revenge in this one and are likely to be facing a shorthanded Marist bunch. Jackson Price is out “week-to-week” with a foot injury. In two games without Price, the Red Foxes have lost to a terrible Fairfield team and then lost at home to Iona, despite a 10-of-28 performance from 3. It was the first time since Nov. 9 that the Red Foxes made double-digit 3s and just the second time this season.

The 6-foot-8 Price is Marist’s best rim weapon and third-leading scorer. He had 13 points and seven rebounds in the first meeting. Even with Price out there, Siena had more rim chances (20 to 13), but should be able to keep the offensive rebounding battle a bit closer in this one.

Marist has also played the 12th-ranked strength of schedule in league play so far out of 13 teams. Their schedule is ramping up and I think we’ll see some negative regression in their numbers. Siena has played a tougher schedule and has been the better offensive team in conference action. Marist is second in adjusted defensive efficiency, but they’ll be missing Price in all likelihood, who is a top-20 conference player in Defensive Box Plus-Minus.

Pick: Siena -2.5

UCLA Bruins (-1.5, 138.5) at Indiana Hoosiers

8 p.m. ET

UCLA’s setback on Tuesday night against Illinois had to be disappointing, as it snapped a seven-game winning streak, but the Bruins played well in the losing effort, particularly on the offensive side with 1.159 points per possession. The travel in the Big Ten this season has been difficult for most teams, but this is at least the second game in the Midwest for Mick Cronin’s club.

Everything is difficult for Indiana right now. The soap opera with Mike Woodson and the on-court product have been a lot to deal with. The Hoosiers had a nice win against Michigan State last time out, but they haven’t won consecutive conference games since Jan. 1-8 when they had three in a row over Rutgers, Penn State, and USC. Since then , they’ve dropped seven of nine Big Ten contests.

UCLA has played one of the weakest conference schedules thus far, but Indiana is one of the weaker teams in the conference. The Bruins are seventh in adjusted offensive efficiency and sixth in adjusted defensive efficiency in Big Ten play. Indiana is 16th on offense and 10th in defense. The Bruins should get extra possessions here by winning the turnover battle and they’re a more efficient shooting team in both 2P% and 3P%.

Thanks to Oumar Ballo, Indiana is likely to have the advantage on the glass, but he’s seen his playing time decreased in recent games and fouled out last game against Michigan State. Also, Cronin is accustomed to planning for the former Arizona Wildcat. 

Pick: UCLA -1.5

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