Our first conference tournament game is tonight between IU Indy and Cleveland State. That is one of 18 games on the docket for Monday, as we have a couple of big ESPN battles with Iowa State vs. Arizona and Duke vs. NC State to go along with small-conference action in the Big Sky, Southland, and MEAC. You can read more on the Horizon League Conference Tournament, as we’re previewing all 31 conference tournaments with at least 48 hours lead time.
As I mentioned last week, keep in mind how conference tournament formats could impact these final regular season games. Not everybody qualifies for the conference tourney in some conferences and seeding advantages are also a big deal, including double and even triple byes.
For more college basketball best bets today, check out Greg Peterson’s daily article and Tyler Shoemaker’s TSI Projections/Best Bets on weekdays.
As always, I want to give a shout-out to Bart Torvik (BartTorvik.com), Erik Haslam (Haslametrics.com), and KenPom, as they provide a lot of great data.
This season, we’ve also connected with CBBAnalytics.com to access their data and I’ll be working that into my article. Use promo code VSIN30 for $30 off at CBB Analytics and find your betting edge.
This article will run Monday-Saturday. Lines will be from DraftKings, as they are widely available to readers. Shop around for the best prices.
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 (DraftKings) and Circa CBB Betting Splits a look for these or any other college basketball games today have your interest.
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publish.
Norfolk State Spartans (-2.5, 156.5) at Morgan State Bears
Embed from Getty Images6 p.m. ET
The first game of the night comes from the MEAC and it also happens to be my first bet of the night. The first game between these two teams on Jan. 26 was wild. Norfolk State led by 14 with under 12 minutes left and led throughout the entire second half before losing on a game-winning shot with two seconds left. It was an unreal collapse from the Spartans, who were a 7.5-point favorite.
Norfolk State had 42 shot attempts at the rim compared to 19 for Morgan State. The Spartans had 16 offensive rebounds to just four for the Bears. The difference in the game was that Norfolk State was just 22-of-42 on those Close Two shot attempts. That made their 4-of-21 from 3 even more hurtful in a game that they absolutely should have won.
Norfolk State is still in the running for the No. 1 seed and regular season title in the MEAC. These two teams are tied in the standings at 8-4 in conference play and they are both chasing Howard. Norfolk State plays Howard later this week. With an odd number of teams in the conference tourney because Coppin State is ineligible, the No. 1 seed gets a bye to the semifinals, while everybody else plays in the quarterfinals, so it’s a big deal.
I think Norfolk State gets their revenge here and then looks ahead to that Howard matchup. They led that first game by 10 with five minutes left and just didn’t finish. That makes for a pretty obvious revenge spot.
Pick: Norfolk State -2.5
Idaho Vandals at Eastern Washington Eagles (-3.5, 149.5)
9 p.m. ET
Today’s game has the chance to feel like a waste of time for Idaho. The Vandals are already locked into the No. 7 seed for the Big Sky Conference Tournament, but still have a standalone road game here against Eastern Washington after playing at home on Thursday and Saturday. This game has no bearing on anything for Idaho and we probably won’t see Kolton Mitchell for the third straight game.
Mitchell, who leads the team in assists and has chipped in 13.6 PPG while shooting 36.4% from 3, has missed the last two games, a resounding win over Northern Arizona and a nine-point loss to Northern Colorado. Mitchell has been the triggerman for 161 3-pointers, the most on the team this season. Without him, it is worth noting that Idaho’s pace has slowed, so maybe Under 150.5 is worth a look in this game as well. With the conference tournament beginning on Saturday, there’s no reason to put Mitchell at risk here.
Eastern Washington has reeled off eight wins in a row, as it seems like head coach Dan Monson finally has his rotations where he wants them. This is a team that rebuilt basically the entire roster from last season and it took some time, but this is the hottest offensive team in the conference right now. Over the last six games, the Eagles have scored 1.223 points per possession or more in five of them. The only one they didn’t was a 12-point road win at Portland State, who is the best defensive team in the conference.
Eastern Washington lost 84-81 on the road to Idaho back on Jan. 3 to fall to 2-12. With their eight-game winning streak, they’re 13-17 and 11-6 in conference play.
It wouldn’t shock me if Idaho head coach Alex Pribble sits others or at least limits minutes here, which should also help Eastern Washington keep rolling right along.
Pick: Eastern Washington -3.5
The post College Basketball Picks for Monday, March 2 from Adam Burke appeared first on VSiN.
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