College Basketball Best Bets Today:
With the CBI getting underway today, we have 18 games on the college basketball betting board. Obviously the action started early in both the CBI and the NCAA Tournament, so I’ll be looking at the later games once again in hopes of giving everybody enough lead time to check out my thoughts.
Things slow down a bit in the college basketball world after today, as we now wait until Thursday for the NCAA Tournament to resume. As teams get knocked out in all of the tourneys, the number of games dwindles, so let’s enjoy it while we can and hopefully end the season on a high note.
It’s a great time to sign up as a VSiN Pro subscriber, which you can become for the low cost of $9.99 for the first month. We have previews of every NCAA Tournament game coming your way as things progress.
Tracking sheet is here. 2023-24 for reference is here.
This article will run every day with CBB games through the end of the season. 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.
Saint Mary’s Gaels vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (-5.5, 149.5)
6:10 p.m. ET
Maybe Alabama overlooked their first opponent, as Robert Morris, who had the much shorter trip from the Pittsburgh area to Cleveland, really hung in there and gave the Crimson Tide a scare. They’ll be much more focused in this one on Saint Mary’s, a perennial NCAA Tournament competitor who just beat a SEC team in Vanderbilt to get into the second round.
But, Randy Bennett’s teams have had issues stepping up against top programs. Since 2012, they’ve beaten Middle Tennessee in the First Four, VCU twice, Indiana in 2022 as a No. 12 seed, and then Vandy. They’ve lost by 15 to UConn, 16 to UCLA, and Arizona by 9 back in 2017. They’ve kept games close against teams like Memphis and Villanova, but this is a top-five Alabama team and a tough matchup.
I don’t know if the Crimson Tide can speed up this game a whole lot, but their shot selection is a big deal in a game with a depressed number of possessions compared to usual. They were among the nation’s leaders in dunks and should have more of Grant Nelson in this game, as the 6-foot-11 forward shakes off a knee injury. Alabama’s Rim & 3 Rate is over 88%, so they take a lot of 3s and a lot of high-percentage shots at the rim. Saint Mary’s Rim & 3 Rate is around 75%. They don’t take a lot of 3s and rank in the 230s when it comes to making them.
So, I like Alabama’s shot selection a lot here. Saint Mary’s doesn’t turn the ball over, so Alabama’s lack of takeaways doesn’t really concern me and I think their length and athleticism to pressure the ball and contest shots in the half-court, where they rank in the top 100 against 2s and top 25 against 3s, will be too much for the Gaels to handle.
Pick: Alabama -5.5
