The first Saturday of March is here and it comes with a full college basketball slate. A total of 133 games are scheduled to take place with many of them having conference tournament and March Madness seeding implications. The debut of best bets last week was not ideal with my picks going 3-5, but we will keep moving forward and searching for winners in all places.
Here are the best bets in college basketball for Saturday, March 1st:
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook | Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER | Season Record: (3-5)
Clemson -6.5 (-110) at Virginia, 12 p.m. ET
Clemson is head and shoulders above Virginia and could walk away from this one with a double-digit victory. The Tigers are a very good team defensively and Virginia really struggles to score the ball, with only two players averaging double figures. I do not see UVA’s leading scorer Isaac McKneely, being able to keep up with the Tigers duo of Chase Hunter and double-digit. Also, if you are one for trends: Clemson has covered in their last five games, is covering the spread by an average of 6.5 points in ACC road games, and is 6-1 ATS as an away favorite this season.
Alabama/Tennessee Under 156.5 (-110), 4p.m. ET
This game will feature two completely different styles of basketball with Alabama who loves to play fast and is the highest ranked team in KenPom’s tempo metric, and Tennessee who likes to slow the game down and beat you in the half court. This speaks to how odd of a total this is for each team as it is the highest for Tennessee and third lowest for Alabama all season.
In a matchup of these differing styles, I see it as easier to slow the game down, hence the under. Rick Barnes will make sure this one does not turn into a track meet, and maybe we can even get an off shooting night from the Tide. In the seven meetings between these two head coaches, the total has gone over this number only one time with an average of 142.4ppg.
Indiana Moneyline (-130) at Washington, 6p.m. ET
Indiana now finds themselves on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and is playing their best ball down the stretch. The matchup down low in this one between Oumar Ballo and Great Osobor will be a battle, and I see it as even. While the status of Malik Reneau is still unknown after missing Wednesday’s game due to illness, I give Indiana the advantage in the backcourt with Trey Galloway and Mackenzie Mgbako. This will be the Hoosier's first trip out west of the season, which is scary, but they did get lucky with it not being a late-night tip-off. I like a team that is fighting for something, and Indiana certainly is, as they know a loss in this one would really hurt their tournament chances.
Ohio -4.5 (-110) vs Miami (OH), 1p.m. ET
There may not be a bigger difference in a team in all of college basketball than the Ohio Bobcats at home, where they are 11-2, vs on the road where they are 3-9 including bad losses to Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. When playing at the Convocation Center the Bobcats look like a real contender in the MAC and that is what I believe we see in this one. Hopefully we get another big time home crowd at Ohio, like we saw last Saturday for a 17 point win over Akron, to help get a win and cover.
Rounding it out:
- Arkansas Moneyline (-125) at South Carolina, 1p.m. ET
- Texas Tech/Kansas Over 144.5 (-110), 2p.m. ET
- Furman +3.5 (-110) at Wofford, 2p.m. ET
- Nicholls +1.5 (-114) at Stephen F Austin, 6p.m. ET
- Arizona/Iowa State Over 152.5 (-110), 9p.m. ET
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change | Frank Sciarroni is 3-5 ATS in CBB.