College Basketball Best Bets Today:
The calm before the Saturday storm brings us 23 games on Friday, as we have a good number of conferences represented. Games will come from the Big Ten, Mountain West, Ivy, MAC, Sun Belt, A-10, and MAAC with 46 teams in action before we get 133 games on Saturday.
The Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament preview has already been posted, as that one gets underway on Sunday. Keep an eye out this weekend for more conference tourney previews and throughout the next two weeks, as we preview all 31 of them right here at VSiN.com.
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For now, we still have some regular season business to tend to.
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.
Appalachian State Mountaineers at Marshall Thundering Herd (-2.5, 135.5)
9 p.m. ET
Appalachian State gets a crack at rapid revenge here against Marshall, as the Mountaineers head to Huntington looking to avoid a three-game losing streak entering the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Mountaineers lost 69-59 less than a week ago, so this line may catch some people off-guard, but here’s why I think App State gets that game back.
The Mountaineers were just 15-of-33 at the rim in the first game, while Marshall was 10-of-16. So, App State definitely had the better offensive looks, but simply couldn’t convert. They had 12 offensive rebounds to just five for Marshall in that contest.
Also, while Marshall has a nice record this season, they’ve had two instances of losing the rematch against a team, as they lost in the rematch against James Madison and also against Georgia State. I think Preston Spradlin and Jonas Hayes are two pretty solid coaches and we know that Dustin Kerns at App State has done a pretty good job, including last year’s 27-win team.
App State is definitely not playing their best basketball right now, but they deserved a better fate in that game last Saturday on Senior Night and I think they rally here for a good victory. Shop around, as DraftKings was one of the only books to move to 2.5 as I was getting ready to publish and I’ve used DK lines all season. Most are on +3.
Pick: App State +2.5
Nevada Wolf Pack (-2.5, 132.5) at UNLV Rebels
11 p.m. ET
The rivalry game between Nevada and UNLV stands alone in the Mountain West Conference tonight. It is a rematch of the Feb. 1 game that landed 71-65 in Nevada’s favor in Reno. This one will be at Thomas & Mack in Sin City.
A lot of fouls artificially inflated the pace and the score in the first game. The teams combined for 42 free throw makes on 51 attempts. It was a game that featured only seven offensive rebounds and a combined effort of 10-for-38 from 3. I’m expecting a similar defensive struggle here, but I don’t see a repeat of the 68-possession game we saw in the first meeting.
These two teams rank in the top 70 in shot share against on Close Twos, with UNLV 70th at 34.7% and Nevada 49th at 33.6%, so this is going to be a game with a lot of jump shots and not a whole lot of high-percentage looks at the tin. Nevada is finishing at a 65.6% clip on Close Twos, so UNLV’s rim protection is a big deal in this one.
Both teams do have high 3-point rates against, so that could negatively impact the chances of the Under, but UNLV is only shooting 32.4% from 3 in MWC play and Nevada is only shooting 33.4%. The Rebels are also holding opponents to 32.4% from 3.
Word around town is that Dedan Thomas Jr. is going to miss his third straight game tonight, so that will make it tougher for the UNLV offense, as he’s averaging 15.6 PPG and 4.7 APG to lead the Rebels.
Pick: Under 132.5
