Friday evening is everything we love about Champ Week, as we have a third meeting between arch rivals in the ACC Tournament and four top-25 matchups at 7 p.m. ET alone.
With that mind, our staff is providing you with their best bets for this window of games.
Read below for three NCAAB best bets, picks, odds and predictions for Friday evening on March 14.
(Check out our parlay option below, even though this isn’t our official recommendation for these picks.)
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College Basketball Best Bets for Friday Evening
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college basketball betting staff is targeting from today’s slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
| [teammatchup link=”#1″ firstfullname=”Marquette Golden Eagles” firstlogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaab/100/marq.png” secondfullname=”St. John’s Red Storm” secondlogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaab/100/sju.png”][/teammatchup] | 6:30 p.m. | |
| [teammatchup link=”#2″ firstfullname=”North Carolina Tar Heels” firstlogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaab/100/nc.png” secondfullname=”Duke Blue Devils” secondlogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaab/100/dukd.png”][/teammatchup] | 7 p.m. | |
| [teammatchup link=”#3″ firstfullname=”BYU Cougars” firstlogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaab/100/byu.png” secondfullname=”Houston Cougars” secondlogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaab/100/hou.png”][/teammatchup] | 7 p.m. | |
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Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game.
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[anchor name=”1″][/anchor]
[subheader sizedown=”false” text=”Marquette vs. St. John’s”][/subheader]
[gameheader haspick=”true” picktext=”Under 143.5″ league=”ncaab” awaylogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaab/100/marq.png” awayname=”Marquette Golden Eagles” awayslug=”marquette-golden-eagles” homelogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaab/100/sju.png” homename=”St. John’s Red Storm” homeslug=”st-john’s-red-storm” date=”Friday, March 14″ time=”6:30 p.m. ET” network=”FOX” bookname=”BetRivers” bookprimarylogo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/698811_BetRiver@1x.png” bookreviewslug=”betrivers”][/gameheader]
Friday night at the Garden. The Big East Tournament semifinals always make for a magical night, but with Rick Pitino involved, the moment feels even bigger.
Add in the drama of the last between these two teams, and New York City will be at a fever pitch. Last Saturday, St. John’s edged Marquette at the buzzer in overtime, 86-84, on a Zuby Ejiofor bucket. A rematch six days later should breed high tension.
These two are structured similarly, tempo-wise. Both want to hit the gas pedal on offense, bolting into the open floor whenever possible. St. John’s ranks 20th nationally in average possession length on offense, per KenPom, while Marquette lands 25th.
On the other hand, both defenses grind the game to a halt with disciplined half-court pressure, taking away early looks and forcing long possessions. Defensively, the Red Storm rank 334th in average possession length (meaning opponents play late into the shot clock), and Marquette is 361st.
In the previous two matchups, that’s slowed the game down. The first meeting had 68 possessions (134 total points), while the second had 78 in overtime (69-possession pace in regulation). With this being a high-stakes tournament clash, the pace could slow to 65 possessions or so.
The matchup also feeds towards the under. Marquette tries to force jump shots due to its lack of size inside, and the Johnnies’ shooting issues are well-documented. On the other end, the Golden Eagles have struggled with St. John’s incredible positional size and length.
The total is five points lower than it was six days ago. While that may feel extreme, the pace tends to slow in the postseason, and both teams are playing on back-to-back days.
This one could turn into a rock fight.
Pick: Under 143.5 (Play to 139)
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[anchor name=”2″][/anchor]
[subheader sizedown=”false” text=”North Carolina vs. Duke”][/subheader]
[gameheader haspick=”true” picktext=”UNC +7.5″ league=”ncaab” awaylogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaab/100/nc.png” awayname=”North Carolina Tar Heels” awayslug=”north-carolina-tar-heels” homelogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaab/100/dukd.png” homename=”Duke Blue Devils” homeslug=”duke-blue-devils” date=”Friday, March 14″ time=”7 p.m. ET” network=”ESPN” bookname=”FanDuel” bookprimarylogo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/122955_FanDuelSportsBook@1x.jpg” bookreviewslug=”fanduel”][/gameheader]
Fortune has smiled on UNC here, as the Tar Heels will almost certainly get a chance at a resume-topping win against a Cooper Flagg-less Duke squad.
The generational star sprained an ankle against Georgia Tech on Thursday afternoon, and Jon Scheyer didn’t sound optimistic about his status for Friday.
That explains the line here. Duke closed -10 in Chapel Hill six days ago, so if you give 3.5 or 4.0 for home in that spot, the market is saying that Flagg is worth at least six points.
That is an incredible amount for one player, but Flagg is a unique case. He’s the highest-rated player per EvanMiya, and he leads the country in both Win Shares Per 40 Minutes and Box Plus/Minutes per Sports Reference.
That valuation may not even be enough to account for all the ways he impacts the game.
He did just that in both games against UNC. Though he didn’t score a ton (“only” 18.0 PPG), he stuffed the stat sheet: 8.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 3.0 blocks per game.
And that does even measure his prowling help defense or his ability to set the tone of the game.
For UNC’s part, the Heels are playing quite well lately. They’re 7-1 against the spread in their last eight games; the only non-cover was against these Blue Devils last Saturday (by a basket). The offense has come alive, and the rotation has meshed well down the stretch.
UNC is also playing for its NCAA Tournament life. While that may not be any kind of motivational edge — Duke will clearly be trying quite hard against its arch rival — but it does mean that UNC will fight until the final buzzer and will play the foul game for as long as needed.
The back door could be open.
Pick: UNC +7.5 (Play to +7)
[anchor name=”3″][/anchor]
[subheader sizedown=”false” text=”BYU vs. Houston”][/subheader]
[gameheader haspick=”true” picktext=”BYU +7″ league=”ncaab” awaylogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaab/100/byu.png” awayname=”BYU Cougars” awayslug=”byu-cougars” homelogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaab/100/hou.png” homename=”Houston Cougars” homeslug=”houston-cougars” date=”Friday, March 14″ time=”7 p.m. ET” network=”ESPN2″ bookname=”Caesars” bookprimarylogo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/256064_caesars_800x200.png” bookreviewslug=”caesars-sportsbook”][/gameheader]
There’s a theme here: fading another likely No. 1 seed, favored by a touchdown, with a vitally important frontcourt piece likely sitting out with an injury.
For Houston, that injury belongs to J’Wan Roberts, the Cougars’ fifth-year lefty forward. He’s a vital source of creation and interior scoring, whereas the rest of Houston’s big men are more finishers.
Without him, Houston becomes even more reliant on perimeter shooting. BYU can compete in that department; the Cougars buried 18-of-36 from deep in their quarterfinal win over Iowa State.
Even with Roberts in the lineup, Houston hasn’t been as sharp lately. Kelvin Sampson’s team is just 1-5 against the spread in its last six games, consistently letting underdogs hang just inside the number.
BYU, on the other hand, is scorching hot. The Provo Cougars have won nine straight games, and they’re 8-1 ATS over that span.
The real burning question here, though, is whether BYU can erase the memory of getting annihilated in Houston back on Jan. 4. The red Cougars won 86-55, pouring in 16 triples and dominating the rebounding and turnover battles.
BYU is a completely different team now, though, playing with far more confidence, optimized rotations and a fully healthy Egor Demin.
Houston is never complacent. But with how well BYU is playing, I’ll take the points in this Big 12 semifinal.
Pick: BYU +7 (Play to +6)
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