College Basketball Best Bets Today:

We’ve got 34 games on the card for Friday, as some huge conference tournament clashes are scheduled. Today is one of the top days of the college basketball calendar with all-day hoops and nothing but motivated teams on the floor. It should be a fun day and hopefully you’re in a position to enjoy the action.

The first tip is at Noon ET and the last tip is at Midnight ET. That’s not a bad way to spend a Friday and a nice reminder of what we’ll have less than a week from now with Thursday and Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Once again, in the interest of lead time, I’ve narrowed my focus to the later portion of the card.

 

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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.

NC Central Eagles vs. South Carolina State Bulldogs (-7.5, 147.5)

8:30 p.m. ET

Semifinal action in the MEAC Tournament brings us to NC Central vs. South Carolina State. The teams split during the regular season, with NC Central taking down an 82-77 win at home and SC State returning the favor with an 87-71 triumph on their home floor to finish the regular season. That was a really bad spot for NC Central with nothing to play for and they were coming off of an overtime win at home against Norfolk State on Senior Day.

So, I’m less worried about that last result. LeVelle Moton has been an outstanding head coach in conference tournaments throughout his tenure and I fully expect his team to make the necessary adjustments. There are other reasons to like NC Central as well.

First, it is hard to blow out a motivated team that has a 45.1% shot share on Close Twos. Neither defense has done all that well protecting the rim throughout the season, so high-percentage looks should be available both ways. The Eagles were also second in 3P% against during MEAC play, so I don’t think that SC State can run away and hide by shooting it well. Also, the Eagles were a tick better at shooting 3s.

Both teams were locked in close games to open the tourney, but SC State looked like a bit of a nervous team, going just 17-of-47 on 2-pointers against a horrendous Coppin State squad. The Bulldogs did have yesterday off, while this is a back-to-back for NC Central off a close game, but I think there’s plenty of adrenaline to go around at this time of year.

Pick: NC Central +7.5

Seattle Redhawks vs. Utah Valley Wolverines (-3.5, 132.5)

9 p.m. ET

WAC Vegas continues with the semifinals tonight, including the first game of the doubleheader between Seattle and Utah Valley. The Wolverines swept the regular season with wins by four and six points. In the first game, Utah Valley was 20-of-28 on shots at the rim, but just 8-of-22 in the second game. Yet, they still found a way to win that second one.

This is a team shooting 58.1% on Close Twos with one of the highest shot shares in the nation at 47.9%. I’d expect them to find some better fortunes at the rim in this one than they did in that second meeting. They are also really good at taking care of the basketball, which neutralizes Seattle’s biggest defensive strength, as the Redhawks were second in conference in adjusted defensive efficiency, largely due to their 23% TO%. Utah Valley only turned it over 16.2% of the time overall, and 17.9% and 18.6% in the two head-to-head meetings.

So, they were still a bit above their average and won both games. Utah Valley does have the benefit of an off day here, though like I said above, I’m not sure how much that matters at this time of the year. Seattle won by six against Abilene Christian yesterday, but the Wildcats were just 1-of-18 from 3 and that wound up being a huge difference maker. The Wildcats were 18-of-28 at the rim, though.


Seattle also shot 34 free throws yesterday and only scored 47 points from the floor. Utah Valley is a much better team than Abilene Christian.

Pick: Utah Valley -3.5

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