So it begins, the best time to be a sports fan. The best time to be a college basketball fan. The best time to be a part of Degen Nation. This is the Sports Gambling Podcast Network, and THIS IS MARCH. Here at SGPN, we will be ramping up our college basketball coverage giving you all of our college basketball best bets. Here are some of today’s CBB Picks for every big game.
CBB Picks: College Basketball Best Bets For Tuesday, March 1st
Purdue 24-5 (13-15-1 ATS) at Wisconsin 23-5 (16-12 ATS)
Time: 9:00 p.m. EST
TV: ESPN
Line: Purdue -2.5
Total: 144
The biggest college basketball game of the first day in March is unquestionably Purdue at Wisconsin. This game has heavy implications on the Big Ten Regular Season Championship race. With two regular-season games left to play the Badgers currently sit atop the B1G standings one game over both the Boilermakers and the Fighting Illini of Illinois. Wisconsin has a two-game lead over Ohio State as well. With a win the Badgers would clinch at least a share of the title, a loss would create mayhem and open the door for all the teams mentioned above.
Purdue enters Madison, WI. coming off a loss in East Lansing to Michigan State. Is it a big bounce-back spot? The Badgers are 6-2 in the Big Ten at home straight up and 4-4 ATS. The Boilermakers on the road in the Big Ten are 5-4, and 3-5-1 ATS. In Purdue’s last 10 games against Wisconsin, they are 7-3, and 7-2-1 ATS.
It’s hard to believe the nation’s 2nd best 3-point shooting team in the country will be kept in check two games in a row. Boilermakers’ sharpshooter Sasha Stefanovic went 1-6 shooting and only scored two points on Saturday against the Spartans. Don’t forget about the dynamic Center duo between Trevion Williams and Zach Idey. They will have big matchup advantages down low on the offensive end against the Badgers.
Big Ten stars Johnny Davis and Jaden Ivey collide on the court for round two this season. In the first game, Wisconsin came away from West Lafayette, IN with a 74-69 win. I’m playing the revenge spot here with Purdue -3.5. Johnny Davis will get his. The top 3 National Player of the Year candidate scored 37 in the first meeting and averages 20 points and 8 rebounds per game. The Boilermakers’ defense is nothing to boast about, but the Badgers’ offense is one of the streakiest in the nation. They get hot but also have scoring droughts through every game they play. Being that this is the second time the teams will play this year I think Matt Painter and Purdue make some defensive adjustments and even the season series between the two teams.
College Basketball Best Bets: Purdue -2.5
Michigan State 19-9 (14-14 ATS) at Michigan 15-12 (11-16 ATS)
Time: 8:30 p.m. EST
TV: FS1
Line: Michigan -5
Total: 142
Staying in the Big Ten here for one of college basketball’s top 5 rivalries as of late. Michigan State will take the bus trip to Ann Arbor with the goal of completing a season sweep of their in-state rival Michigan. We all know about, “The Slap Heard Around The World,” and Michigan’s head coach Juwan Howard’s suspension. Legendary former St. Joseph’s head coach Phil Martelli has stepped in for the Wolverines as acting head coach. He aided a win in his first game against Rutgers and lost on Saturday against Illinois. The Spartans are coming off an amazing win at home via a Tyson Walker game-winning three-pointer against Purdue. Is this a letdown spot? The WynnBET point spread indicates that is the case.
In the first tilt Freshman Max Christie led the Spartans’ 83-67 winning effort. He shot 75% beyond the perimeter in that game but has been inconsistent throughout the season. Michigan State as a team shot 50% from the field and from 3pt and I just don’t see that happening on the road in the rivalry. The Wolverines C Hunter Dickinson dropped 25 in the loss earlier in the season, expect Spartan head coach Tom Izzo and his defense to double him more often. In turn, this opens up Michigan’s perimeter options. Michigan has five-star Freshman shooting guard Caleb Houstan who shoots 37% and point guard Devante Jones who has been coming on as of late but look out for Brooks. In the Illinois game, the Covid Senior SG Eli Brooks was kept quiet with only four points. The 39.5% 3pt shooter averages 12 PPG and could show up big in his last career game against MSU. The Wolverines are desperate for a win to move them off of the NCAA Tournament bubble, it comes Tuesday night.
College Basketball Best Bets: Michigan -5
Providence 24-3 (16-11 ATS) at Villanova 21-7 (14-12-2)
Time: 6:30 p.m. EST
TV: FS1
Line: Villanova -9.5
Total: 134
On Saturday head coach Ed Cooley, the Rhode Island native, and Providence College locked up their first-ever Big East regular-season championship. Friars fans stormed the court and it was a hell of a scene in the Dunkin Donuts Center. Basketball still has to be played and now Providence has to go on the road to big bad Villanova. Listen to the Sports Gambling Podcast episode today to hear the context of this analysis but, “With a win, if the right things shake out, they (Providence) can get a one seed,” says @TheColbyD. “Sure, but they (Providence) already took care of their business,” @KramerCentric rebuttals, and Dant responds, “I know I’m on Villanova too.” Nova already beat the Friars by five on the road this season. Although the line seems very high and you want to take Providence, that is exactly what Vegas wants you to do.
In the first meeting on February 15th, Villanova had three guys score 20 or more points. Cooley and Providence can make adjustments but there is still a big looming question, How motivated will he and his guys be for this game? Not motivated enough to slow the trio of Collin Gillespie, Justin Moore, and Eric Dixon who beat them down in February. We also don’t know if Al Durham 13.3 PPG will play so we love Nova even more in this spot. There will be nothing better than being able to hear Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery on the call during a Villanova Wildcat beatdown
College Basketball Best Bets: Villanova -9.5
Arizona 25-3 (15-11-2 ATS) at USC 25-4 (14-15 ATS)
Time: 11:00 p.m. EST
TV: ESPN
Line: Arizona -5
Total: 150.5
A common theme in today’s article is bounce-back spots, and regular-season conference championships this PAC 12 headliner is no different. After an embarrassing loss, Arizona limps into Los Angeles, CA with a two-game lead in the conference over their Tuesday night foe USC. The Wildcats enter 7-2, and 6-2-1 ATS on the road in the PAC 12. The Trojans 7-2, but 3-6 ATS at home in PAC 12 play. These two squads faced off earlier this season with Arizona winning that game 72-63 in Tucson, AZ.
Tuesday night will be Senior Night for USC and here is an interesting angle for you. Isaiah Mobley and Drew Peterson are the Trojans’ best two players. Mobley plays a lot of Center and Power Forward and Peterson sees most of his time at the 4 or 3 as well. USC only has two seniors and they are backups to Mobley and Peterson. Will head coach Andy Enfield honor his two seniors and give Chevez Goodwin and Isaiah White good minutes, or will it be nothing new and Mobley (14.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG), and Peterson (12.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG) won’t have a chunk of minutes reduced? Either way, I’m siding with the Wildcats’ Euro stars to clinch the conference with a win and cover.
College Basketball Best Bets: Arizona -5
Kansas 23-5 (13-15 ATS) at TCU 18-9 (15-9-3 ATS)
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
TV: ESPN+
Line: TCU +5.5
Total: 150.5
With all these good games in this article I needed to include an underdog, this is the spot. Kansas has three losses in the Big XII and they have all come on the road. The Jayhawks travel to Fort Worth, TX to take on TCU. The Horned Frogs find themselves in the mess that is the NCAA Tournament bubble and they need one more Quad 1 to cement themselves as a tourney win. Kansas has a great perimeter defense but if there was one thing on the defensive side of the ball they are weak at, it’d be points in the paint.
Head coach Jamie Dixon’s small TCU lineup loves to drive the ball. The Horned Frogs are the No. 1 team in the Big XII in point distribution from 2-pointers. Bill Self’s Jayhawk squad is third-worst in that category. TCU has three guys who average 10 PPG led by Mike Miles 15.3 PPG. That and desperation for a win gets the cover in Fort Worth Tuesday night.
The month of March is a magical time. We love to see Cinderellas in the NCAA Tournament like last year’s Oral Roberts, Oregon State, and UCLA teams. The Golden Eagles’ or Beavers’ stories don’t happen if they can’t win the important regular-season games in early March. Games like today play pivotal roles in conference tournament seeding. ORU and OSU needed to win their conference tourneys to get an NCAA Tournament berth. Today’s slate is LOADED and who better to give you bets on the biggest games than SGPN. On Tallysight we had four of the top seven college basketball handicappers ATS to end the month of February and yours truly was on top of the whole list. Let’s gamble on some College Basketball in March!
Buckle up, March is going to be a wild ride. Continue to follow us at SGPN as we look to dominate the realm of college basketball coverage for the next month. For all our picks today and any other day check out our picks page.
