college-basketball-predictions-expert-system

College Basketball Predictions: Expert Betting System’s Picks Against the Spread

This isn’t a drill: One of Bet Labs’ expert college basketball models spit out 20 picks against the spread for the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

We’ve been waiting patiently as this particular betting system — which has cashed nearly 60% of previous predictions — only comes around during the NCAA Tournament.

The model started the 2023 NCAA Tournament with a win Tuesday, predicting Pitt’s outright victory over Mississippi State.

It uses a variety of betting trends and factors in important, valuable information to extract top picks against the spread in the NCAA Tournament.

If you’re in the market for a whole bunch of college basketball predictions spanning both Thursday and Friday, look no further than these 20 betting picks from a top-rated model that only accounts for NCAA Tournament basketball games.

Here are the 11 team’s the model likes to cover Friday, after making nine picks Thursday.

College Basketball Friday Predictions

This model system is very intricate. It only recommends betting certain seeds, and it loves using pace of play to determine which team will cover.

Bet Labs’ NCAA Tournament Slow Paced Dogs spotted 9 underdogs to bet in the first round Friday.

According to the model’s theory, “slower-paced teams should be able to keep games closer than teams that like to push the ball up and down the court.”

You can read the model’s full parameters here and easily load the picks to QuickSlip below.

USC (+2.5) vs. Michigan State

Friday, 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS


UC Santa Barbara (+10.5) vs. Baylor

Friday, 1:30 p.m. ET on TNT


VCU (+4.5) vs. Saint Mary’s

Friday, 2 p.m. ET on TBS


Vermont (+10.5) vs. Marquette 

Friday, 2:45 p.m. ET on CBS


NC State (+5.5) vs. Creighton

Friday, 4 p.m. ET on TNT


Iona (+9.5) vs. UConn

Friday, 4:30 p.m. ET on TBS


Providence (+4.5) vs. Kentucky

Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS


Drake (+2) vs. Miami

Friday, 7:25 p.m. ET on TBS


FAU (+2) vs. Memphis

Friday, 9:20 p.m. ET on TNT


Montana State (+8.5) vs. Kansas State

Friday, 9:40 p.m. ET on CBS


Kent State (+4.5) vs. Indiana

Friday, 9:55 p.m. ET on TBS


Thursday’s Picks

Maryland (+2.5) vs. West Virginia

Thursday, 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS

What is QuickSlip?

QuickSlip is an Action Network feature that allows users to automatically pre-load their bet slip at FanDuel Sportsbook.


Furman (+6.5) vs. Virginia 

Thursday, 12:40 p.m. ET on truTV


Missouri (+1.5) vs. Utah State 

Thursday, 1:40 p.m. ET on TNT


Charleston (+5.5) vs. San Diego State 

Thursday, 3:40 p.m. ET on truTV


Illinois (+2) vs. Arkansas

Thursday, 4:30 p.m. ET on TBS


Iowa (+1.5) vs. Auburn

Thursday, 6:50 p.m. ET on TNT


Oral Roberts (+6.5) vs. Duke 

Thursday, 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS


Boise State (+1.5) vs. Northwestern

Thursday, 7:35 p.m. ET on truTV


Penn State (+3) vs. Texas A&M

Thursday, 9:55 p.m. ET on TBS