I texted Steve Makinen — VSiN’s king of conference tournament trends — with a simple question:
What’s your favorite conference tournament trend?
He pointed to this one in the Big Ten Tournament:
Teams coming off a bye are 25-14 SU but just 13-28-2 ATS (31.7%) against teams that already played in the tournament since 2018.
The takeaway: The bye hasn’t been nearly as valuable to Big Ten teams as it has been for other conferences.
Makinen added: Even as we speak, Indiana is laying an egg.
Indeed, Indiana (-6.5) lost to Northwestern 74-61, and earlier Iowa beat Maryland 75-64 but didn’t cover -11.5.
So the trend moves to 26-15 SU and 13-30-2 ATS.
Why it matters: Four Big Ten teams with byes take the floor today.
My theory: The United Center isn’t the easiest building to adjust to without game reps.
👉 Steve’s mid-major conference tournament trends
👉 Steve’s power conference tournament trends
Best betting day of Champ Week?
Even without an automatic NCAA Tournament bid on the line, today might be the best betting day of conference tournament season.
Seven conferences reach the quarterfinal round, creating a nonstop betting board from morning through late night.
And we did add three teams to the NCAA Tournament field Wednesday, bringing the total to 15 of 31 automatic bids spoken for.
🏆 Wednesday Championship Games
Southland: McNeese (2 seed / +115)
Patriot League: Lehigh (2 seed / +800)
Big Sky: Idaho (7 seed / +950) — first NCAA bid since 1990
📅 Tournament Starting Thursday
The MAC Tournament usually flies under the radar.
Not this year.
Miami (OH) enters Cleveland undefeated at 31-0, but the RedHawks are actually underdogs (+190) to Akron (-115) to win the tournament.
The big question: Would a one-loss Miami still make the NCAA Tournament if it doesn’t win the MAC?
👉 Adam Burke‘s preview and prediction
👉 VSiN’s Conference Tournament Hub
💰 More Betting Insight for Thursday
VSiN’s experts are loading up the board.
Later this morning:
• Adam will post his top plays
• Josh Appelbaum will break down the market moves
👉More picks on our college basketball page
FYI: “The Angle,” discovered by Follow The Money producer Luke DiVasta, went 2-0 last night to improve to 45-20 (69 percent).
👉 Check here today to see if Luke has any system matches.
🎲 Contest Corner
Two VSiN contests are coming for next week’s Big Dance.
VSiN March Betting Contest
Make ATS or total picks from Round 1 through the national championship and compete against fellow readers throughout the tournament.
👉Read about the rules, the prizes — and register
$1 Million High Stakes Survivor Madness
Pick 10 teams to win outright from Round 1 through the title game.
The twist: You can’t pick the same team twice.
If your team wins, you survive and advance.
$1 million to the ultimate survivor(s).
$1000 fee per entry.
👉 Contest details and registration
Zach Cohen’s NBA Report
Nuggets beat the Rockets down
Sharp money hit Denver throughout the day Wednesday, and the Nuggets ultimately closed as 7.5-point favorites. Well, the sharps certainly got that one right, as Denver absolutely pounded Houston 129-93.
Nikola Jokic did his usual Nikola Jokic things, finishing with a triple-double in a game in which it hardly looked like he broke a sweat. However, the real stories of the game were the Nuggets’ defense and Cameron Johnson’s efficient 17-point outing.
Thursday’s Must-Watch Games
At 9 p.m. ET, the Nuggets (+4.5) will take on the Spurs. This is the second leg of a back-to-back for Denver, while San Antonio, a team that already has younger/fresher legs, was off last night.
About 30 minutes later, a massive tilt between the Celtics (+6.5) and Thunder tips at the Paycom Center. Given how well Boston has played recently, this could very well be a preview of the 2026 NBA Finals. Let’s just hope the Thunder injury report isn’t packed.
The Tankers
For those looking to jump on a parlay fading the league’s tanking teams, you’ll be looking to back the Suns (at Pacers), Magic (vs. Wizards), Hawks (vs. Nets), and Lakers (vs. Bulls). You might also want to throw in the Pistons, who are facing a 76ers team that is currently missing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George.
I’m also curious to see what superstars do in their upcoming meetings with Washington. After Bam Adebayo’s 83-point performance against the Wizards on Tuesday, are we sure Paolo Banchero isn’t going into that game in attack mode?
👉 Zach’s Best Bets and Steve Makinen‘s Analytics Report will hit around mid-morning on our NBA page.
Tennis: Underdog Value in the Desert
Today’s BNP Paribas Open slate offers two intriguing underdog opportunities, including Arthur Fils as a live moneyline dog against Alexander Zverev. On the women’s side, Victoria Mboko’s form and power profile make her a compelling plus-money play to take a set — and possibly more — off Aryna Sabalenka.
