Thursday is a huge day for NCAA basketball fans and bettors as the top conference tournament seeds are finally in action.
Casual bettors are very likely to gravitate toward top-25 teams and high-profile conferences, even if they’re not providing tonight’s smartest NCAA basketball picks.
Yes, value can come from anywhere, and according to the Action Network’s College Basketball PRO Projections, it’s Niagara vs. Marist (6:30 p.m. ET) and UTEP vs. Liberty (6:30 p.m. ET) offering Thursday’s biggest betting model.
Below we detail where the spread value lies for these two Thursday NCAA basketball picks.
NCAA Basketball Picks Tonight
*NCAA basketball odds as of Thursday morning
Niagara vs. Marist Pick
6:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+
The biggest betting model edge of Thursday’s NCAA basketball slate comes via Niagara vs. Marist in the MAAC Conference Tournament.
The Purple Eagles are 1.5-point favorites against the Red Foxes as of the time of writing.
However, our PRO Projections suggest that spread is a whopping 5.5 points off its true line.
Specifically, Action Network’s betting model projects Marist at -4, which translates to an eye-popping 12.6% edge when compared to the widely available +1.5.
PRO Projections Pick: Marist +1.5
UTEP vs. Liberty Pick
6:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+
UTEP vs. Liberty is similar to the game above. Our data is reporting that the wrong team is favored.
We project UTEP as a 1.5-point favorite against Liberty on Thursday evening, though bettors can currently snag the Miners at +3.5.
The difference between these two lines results in a very beefy 11.8% edge for bettors willing to lock in UTEP for tonight’s Conference USA matchup.
PRO Projections Pick: UTEP +3.5
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