College Basketball Picks

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

It’s far from the biggest game on Saturday’s loaded college hoops slate, but arguably the best situational spot on the board comes in the AAC tournament, where we’ll see the Tulsa Golden Hurricane take on the Wichita State Shockers in the second game of the semifinal round. South Florida is the clear top team in this league, but Wichita State has been a pleasant surprise, finishing with a 13-5 record in the American and closing the season on a 6-game winning streak to secure the #2 seed in this tournament. The Shockers have beaten this Tulsa team recently, and they even have a win over South Florida on the road back in January, one of only 2 games that the Bulls have lost at home all season. On the other side, while Tulsa is in the midst of an excellent 25-6 season, the Golden Hurricane are operating at a significant disadvantage in this game — and it stems from a game they just played.

While Wichita State had a bye to the semifinals in this tournament, Tulsa played its first game against North Texas on Friday, and it resulted in a triple overtime thriller with plenty of back-and-forth action. These 3 extra periods resulted in the key players on the Golden Hurricane logging major minutes, with multiple starters even clearing 50 minutes played in what was a slugfest from start to finish. Now, Tulsa will have to play a fresh and rested Shockers team less than 24 hours after winning such an emotionally and physically taxing game. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be shocking if this Tulsa team ran out of gas at some point in the second half, especially since the Golden Hurricane have a real challenge on their hands against one of the better defenses in this conference. These teams have been basically identical over the last month, so I will back the Shockers in as good of a situational spot as we’ll see this weekend.

Tulsa vs Wichita State prediction: Wichita State ML (+105) available at time of publishing. Playable to -105.

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

The Big 12 championship features the top 2 teams in the conference, as the Houston Cougars face the Arizona Wildcats. These teams are loaded, hungry and poised for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament — but first they will face off for the conference title. Houston easily dispatched Kansas last night, while Arizona had to win with a dramatic buzzer-beater against a tremendous Iowa State squad. Arizona won the only regular-season meeting, taking down Houston 73-66 in Houston (and star freshman Koa Peat missed that game for Arizona). I expect the Wildcats to win the rematch, and I will take them to cover -2.5.

The first matchup was not a flawless performance by the Wildcats, but they still got the win. Houston won the battle on the boards, and it held the ‘Cats to just 3-for-12 shooting beyond the arc. Arizona won that game by forcing turnovers, scoring in transition and scoring in the paint. I expect those advantages to remain. Houston’s calling card is its elite defense, but over the course of the season, Arizona actually checks in a notch higher in that department. We would really be splitting hairs here, as the Wildcats and Cougars rank #3 and #5 defensively (per KenPom), but the point remains that we can’t overlook the Arizona defense. I expect the Cougars to have a hard time against a team they can’t bully. Give me Arizona to take the crown in Kansas City.

Houston vs Arizona prediction: Arizona -2.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

The San Diego State Aztecs and the Utah State Aggies will face off on Saturday evening in Las Vegas for the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship. Utah State is the #1 seed and will make the NCAA Tournament even with a loss, but San Diego State likely needs to win this game to make the Big Dance. The Aztecs got a massive win over New Mexico last night, but another test will await them on Saturday. San Diego State cruised by Utah State in the last matchup and I expect the Aztecs to get it done again.

San Diego State boasts one of the best defenses in the country and defense travels well in neutral-site games. Utah State has been very effective offensively from two-point range, but San Diego State does a great job at defending the paint. Since February 1, San Diego State’s defense is ranked #3 nationally in 2-point percentage and is ranked as the #29 overall defense in the country at Bart Torvik. They held New Mexico and Colorado State to just 33 percent from the field in their last 2 wins in Las Vegas and should be able to flex their muscles defensively again here. The Aztecs have the most Mountain West Tournament titles in the history of the league, and I am backing them to get another one on Saturday. Take San Diego State to win.

San Diego State vs Utah State prediction: SDSU ML (+101) available at time of publishing. Playable to -1 spread.

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

The Big East tournament has produced fairly chalky results to this point, and that has led to the top 2 seeds squaring off in Saturday’s title game. The UConn Huskies have dispatched of Xavier and Georgetown with relative ease, while St. John’s took care of Providence and Seton Hall in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds respectively. These have been the top teams in this weaker version of the Big East all season long, and we should be in for an entertaining final. While St. John’s will certainly be comfortable playing in Madison Square Garden in this one, I can’t help but side with the team that is not only excellent in short turnaround situations, but has a higher floor and ceiling on offense.

UConn hasn’t been the most consistent offense in the world, but the Huskies are a team that has shown an ability to raise their level of play come March, and this is also the healthiest that they’ve been all season to this point. Danny Hurley’s group isn’t an elite shooting team from beyond the arc, but they are an extremely efficient halfcourt offense and they’re a tough team to guard on short rest because of all of their unique sets and off-ball motion. St John’s is obviously very familiar with what UConn will run in this game, and while the Red Storm have an excellent defense (ranked 12th nationally in adjusted efficiency), it’s hard to see Rick Pitino’s team having much success on the other side of the ball. The Red Storm don’t have much in the way of an offense outside of the paint, and that showed in their abysmal 40-point showing against UConn just a few weeks ago. While I don’t expect a repeat of that season-worst performance on Saturday, it’s difficult to trust St. John’s very poor 3-point shooting (ranked 334th in 3-point percentage) against an excellent defense in a game of this magnitude.

UConn vs St. John’s prediction: UConn -2.5 available at time of publishing. Playable to UConn -3.

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

The Toledo Rockets took care of business on Friday against #8 seed UMass, which dumped previously unbeaten #1 seed Miami (OH) in the first round. The Rockets are looking for their 20th victory of the season, although it needs to win the MAC for any chance at an NCAA Tournament shot. It cooled off UMass 77-67 on Friday as a 2.5-point favorite, and it is now 4-1 ATS in the past 5 games. Toledo’s offense has rolled up at least 77 points in both MAC Tournament games and in 6 of the past 7 outings since Feb. 24. Toledo played Akron just once during the regular season, falling 91-81 on the home floor of the Zips — although the Rockets covered as +12.5 underdog. In fact, Akron has won 4 in a row in the series while covering 2 of the past 3.

Akron was considered the MAC Tournament favorite even before Miami was dispatched. It hasn’t been sharp, topping Buffalo just 73-70 in the first round as a -12.5 favorite while beating rival Kent State 75-68 as a -6.5 favorite on Friday. Still, Akron has won 9 straight while going 4-1 ATS in the past 5 games. Based on Akron’s 10-point win in the only meeting this season and the fact that it has been on a winning streak, let’s lay the points.

Toledo vs Akron prediction: Akron -7 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable to -8.

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

We get a pair of 20-13 teams meeting each other at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama for the Conference USA Tournament final with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. It is the #6 seed Owls facing the #4 seed Bulldogs, as the C-USA bracket has been a series of minefields. These teams met twice in the regular season, with the home team winning each battle — so there isn’t much to glean from that. Louisiana Tech did cover each of the meetings, including a 58-55 win in Kennesaw as a 6.5-point underdog on Feb. 21. Kennesaw State has won 3 of the past 4 head-to-head outright.

Kennesaw State surprised #2 seed Sam Houston 79-73 on Friday as a 1.5-point underdog, and it beat Western Kentucky 96-87 in the first tournament game on Thursday (also as a 1.5-point underdog). That’s a stark contrast from how the Owls finished the regular season, as they were 3-10 ATS in the final 13 games. Louisiana Tech has also won a pair of tournament games outright as a 1.5-point underdog, topping Middle Tennessee 80-69 and Missouri State 69-66. Unlike Kennesaw State, though, the Bulldogs have covered in 4 straight, 7 of the past 8 games and 13 of the past 17 — including 2 against the Owls.

Kennesaw State vs Louisiana Tech prediction: Louisiana Tech ML (+101) available at time of publishing. Playable to -110.

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

While this matchup might not have much effect on NCAA Tournament seeding, an ACC title is still on the line on Saturday night in Charlotte, North Carolina when the 2 best teams in the conference in Virginia and Duke square off at 8:30 PM ET on ESPN. Virginia went through NC State and Miami to get here, and the latter didn’t require much of a sweat. The Hoos picked apart the Hurricanes 84-62, earning their 13th win in 14 games. Guess who that lone loss came against? That’s right – the Duke Blue Devils. 

That first meeting was ugly, as the Blue Devils cruised to a 77-51 win at Cameron Indoor thanks to a +0.42 points per possession delta. Virginia just couldn’t get anything to fall, connecting on just 7 of their 35 three-point attempts and 45% of shots inside the arc. If you’re a believer in ShotQuality data, then you’d be interested in hearing that the 26-point UVA loss was actually graded 72.6-71.3 in favor of Duke – meaning the Hoos suffered from some pretty unfortunate shooting luck. 

This game environment will be a bit different on Saturday, as Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba remain out for Duke. Because of that, the Blue Devils are playing with a very condensed rotation that runs only 7 deep. Virginia’s depth situation couldn’t be any more different, as the Cavaliers played 9 guys for at least 10 minutes in both tournament games thus far. Only 1 player saw more than 28 minutes in either game: Dallin Hall. Meanwhile, the Boozer brothers played 37 minutes each on Friday after Cameron played 39 on Thursday, and Isaiah Evans has played 71 combined minutes across the 2 games as well – which might affect his legs and hence his productivity as a three-point shooter. After all, he was 0-of-7 from deep Friday after going 7-of-16 in 39 minutes the day prior against Florida State. 

Duke loves to slow games down in the second half, and that will be on display even further Saturday night with a limited rotation and no rest. Less possessions make the points more valuable, especially if the Hoos come out hot. Expecting Virginia to regress back to the mean offensively in a neutral-court setting against a depleted team missing its premier rim protector and veteran floor general is enough for me to take the points with Virginia here – even if I missed the best of the number. 

Virginia vs Duke prediction: Virginia Cavaliers +7.5 (-114) at the time of publishing. Playable to +6.5. 

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

The Big West championship comes down to a battle between the top 2 teams all season long, as the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors face the UC Irvine Anteaters. Hawaii is playing in its final season in the Big West, and it took out Fullerton last night after most of the nation went to bed. Irvine also rolled easily last night, seeking their first tournament bid since 2019. These teams split the regular season meetings, each winning at home; Hawaii won by 1, while Irvine won in overtime. Expect a battle, but I’ll take the Anteaters at -2.

Hawaii won comfortably last night despite going just 3-for-22 from behind the arc. The Warriors did it by dominating inside. They won the rebounding battle by +26, and they outscored the Titans in the paint by 20. The problem tonight, however, is that they are unlikely to repeat that dominance inside. In the last meeting, Irvine had a +14 rebounding edge and won the battle in the paint by 34 points. That’s a lot. And that game saw Hawaii hit more 3s than normal just to stay in it. The earlier matchup saw some similar discrepancies inside. I don’t think the Bows can overcome that — and they just aren’t strong enough shooters from deep to live outside. I’ll take the Anteaters to punch their ticket.

Hawaii vs UC Irvine prediction: UC Irvine -2 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -3.5.

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

#2 seed Cal Baptist will face #1 seed Utah Valley in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament final. Cal Baptist is coming off an impressive performance against #3 seed Utah Tech, shooting 50% from the floor and out-rebounding the Trailblazers 37 to 28. As for Utah Valley, it barely escaped with a win over UT Arlington — taking the lead with just 19 seconds left thanks to a pair of clutch free-throws. 

Cal Baptist is playing some great basketball right now and Dominique Daniels Jr. is coming off a monster 41-point performance. Daniels Jr. leads the Lancers with 23.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, and if the Wolverines want to win this game, they’re going to need to find a way to slow Daniels down. The Lancers don’t have the same type of depth as the Wolverines, which could make it difficult for Cal Baptist to keep this game close if Daniels Jr. struggles from the floor. The Wolverines have been the most balanced team in the WAC this season, averaging 80 points per game while allowing 68.6. Cal Baptist is averaging 73.3 points per game while allowing 67.8. Utah Valley is also extremely efficient from the floor, making 50.5% of its shots compared to the Lancers’ 43.3%. However, Cal Baptist does hold a slight edge on the glass.

If the Lancers want to pull off the upset, they’ll need to slow down Utah Valley’s interior presence and rely on Daniels Jr. to continue his strong play. In recent games, the Lancers have been playing slightly better defensively compared to the Wolverines, which could open up the door for Daniels Jr. and his team to take an early lead. Look for Cal Baptist to continue playing well — and while it may not win this game, it should be able to keep it close to the very end. 

Cal Baptist vs Utah Valley prediction: Cal Baptist +3 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

It’s the American East final as the #2 seed Vermont Catamounts get ready to take on #1 UMBC Retrievers. These 2 teams met twice during the regular season, with the Catamounts winning one and the Retrievers winning the other. Heading into this matchup, we can expect a defensive battle. During the regular season, the Catamounts ranked second in the conference by giving up 68.4 points per game; the Retrievers ranked first, allowing 67.3 ppg. Offensively, UMBC has the slight edge at 76.3 points per game compared to Vermont’s 73.8. 

UMBC hasn’t lost a game since January 29, and that lone defeat came against Vermont. In that matchup the Catamounts shot 41% from the floor, and a big reason for their win was holding UMBC to just 33% shooting. These 2 teams are fairly even on paper, but even though Vermont has a slight edge in depth, this Retrievers team is very talented. Gus Yalden is the Catamounts’ best player, but he has struggled in tournament play. If Vermont wants to keep this game close, Yalden has to find his groove — but that won’t be easy when you have Jose Roberto Tanchyn protecting the paint and controlling the glass. UMBC has a marginal rebounding advantage in this matchup, but it also has the edge on both ends of the floor. The Retrievers just dominated UMass Lowell 91-69, shooting 54.1%. Vermont only put up 63 points against NJ Tech, shooting 41.8. This Retrievers team is playing significantly better than the Catamounts, so look for them to find their groove early offensively while shutting down the Vermont and punching a ticket to the Big Dance.

Vermont vs UMBC prediction: UMBC -3 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

The Vanderbilt Commodores and the Florida Gators will meet in Nashville on Saturday for the semifinals of SEC Tournament. Vanderbilt is coming off a nice win against in-state rival Tennessee and should have a nice home crowd in this one, too. The Commodores are enjoying a historic season, but they have a tough task against the Gators. Florida has won 12 straight games and is playing better than any team in the country. I am going to ride the hot hand and back Florida to cover the spread.

The Gators should dominate the paint. I expect them to win the rebound battle and impose their will on the Commodores. According to KenPom, Florida is ranked #2 nationally in offensive rebound percentage; Vanderbilt’s defense is ranked #210. Florida is the much bigger team and is ranked #12 in average height; Vanderbilt is ranked #208. Florida’s big men should be too much for Vanderbilt here, so let’s roll with the favorites to cover. The Gators are quite simply one of the best teams in the nation.

Vanderbilt vs Florida prediction: Florida -8 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

The Wisconsin Badgers are in the semifinals after upsetting Illinois in yesterday’s matchup, and they will need to find a way to get past this talented Michigan Wolverines team if they want to play in the championship match tomorrow. The Badgers shot 42.4% from the floor against Illinois, squeezing out a 91-88 win in overtime. The Badgers got to the charity stripe 30 times in that matchup, making 25 of those attempts — which ultimately helped Wisconsin seal the deal. Offensively, the Wolverines have the edge — averaging 87.9 points per game compared to the Badgers’ 83.5. Defensively, Michigan holds a significant edge; they are giving up 69 points per game compared to the Badgers’ 76.2 during the regular season. However, Wisconsin’s offense has been on fire of late — averaging 88.2 points per game over the last 5 games.

The Badgers will need to find a way to score inside as they go up against 2 physical big men in Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. Wisconsin attempted 41 3-point shots against Illinois, making just 10 of them (24.4%). The Wolverines do a great job at protecting the perimeter, holding opponents to 29.7% from deep this season. However, the last time these 2 teams faced each other, the Badgers upset then-#2 Michigan 91-88. The Badgers will take plenty of shots from deep, but they need Nolan Winter to dominate inside and be able to out-rebound Lendeborg and Johnson Jr. to prevent the Wolverines from getting second-chance looks. The Badgers are very talented and should be able to do enough offensively to keep this game within single-digits. 

Wisconsin vs Michigan prediction: Wisconsin +12 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The #5 seed Charlotte 49ers dispatched the #4 seed UAB Blazers in their home city, ruining the possibility of all 4 of the top seeds facing off over the weekend. Now, Charlotte gets to shoot its shot against the top seed South Florida. Charlotte won 83-78 as a 5.5-point underdog against UAB, and it is 2-0 straight up and against the spread (ATS) in this tournament while going 6-2 ATS in the previous 8 outings. Of course, one of those 2 non-covers came in the regular-season finale at Yuengling Center in Tampa, an 83-60 loss to South Florida last Sunday. Charlotte had lost the final 3 regular-season games while going 2-7 SU from Feb. 4-March 8, so not many saw a Cinderella run in the conference tournament coming.

USF earned the top seed in the American, and it has won 9 in a row since Feb. 4 while covering 4 of the past 5 outings and 6 of the previous 8. The Under is 7-1 in the past 8 outings in case you’re looking for a Same Game Parlay opportunity. Based on USF’s 23-point romp in the regular-season finale, it would be easy to lay the big points with the Bulls. But that’s a lot of points in a conference semifinal, and the 49ers are playing with renewed confidence.

Charlotte vs South Florida prediction: Charlotte +14.5 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable to +13.5.

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

The Cinderella run continues for the Ole Miss Rebels in the SEC Tournament, who can match their regular season conference win total with an upset victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday. To reach the SEC semifinals, Ole Miss won 3 games in 3 days against Texas, Georgia and Alabama, and the Rebels were catching more than 5 points in each of those games. In fact, they were double-digit underdogs against Alabama on Friday. Admittedly, I fell for the trap in my Ole Miss vs Alabama preview and leaned to the Tide in that one, though I did mention the Rebels’ path to success was slowing the game down and winning the three-point variance battle. They didn’t really slow the game down, but they absolutely won the three-point battle, connecting on 42% of their attempts while holding Alabama to 31% on 29 attempts. 

Arkansas was in a battle of its own on Saturday against the SEC’s other Cinderella in Oklahoma. The Razorbacks trailed at halftime, but Darius Acuff’s 37 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals carried the Hogs to victory over a very formidable opponent – even if it wasn’t the best shooting night. The win was Arkansas’ 8th in their last 10, and now they’ll meet the Rebels for a 2nd time after beating them 94-87 in Oxford in early January.

As they like to say, “if you can’t beat ‘em, then join ‘em.” That’s exactly what I’m doing here with Rebels, as 9.5 points feels like too many with the way Chris Beard has his squad playing. Ole Miss actually has the defensive advantage here given their recent level of play, boasting a 102.4 defensive rating (80th percentile) in the postseason – which is far superior to their 111.7 seasonlong baseline (43rd percentile). Compare that to Arkansas, whose defensive rating is nearly 7 points higher than its baseline over the last 5 games. 

Arkansas is the better three-point shooting team, which could ultimately do Ole Miss in here, but the Hogs don’t shoot the ball a ton from deep – sitting 310th in three-point rate. That number has even gone down lately, as the Razorbacks averaged just 17 three-point attempts per game over their last 5. The Rebels will benefit from that, as they don’t shoot a ton of threes either. Instead, expect a good bit of action from the mid-range and around the rim. With less three-point variance, this game figures to be close throughout, especially when you add in the fact that both teams are top-50 in EvanMiya’s Kill Shots Conceded – meaning neither Arkansas nor Ole Miss allow very many 10-0 runs. 

Arkansas is heavily reliant on one player in Acuff, while Ole Miss has a more balanced approach with 3-4 players scoring double-digit points in every tournament game to this point. Could Acuff single-handedly will the Hogs to victory here? Absolutely, but by 10? I’m not so sure. 

Ole Miss vs Arkansas prediction: Ole Miss Rebels +9.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable to +8.  

Stop busting brackets and sign up for the Pickswise March Madness Premium Picks now! Our expert picked Florida at HUGE +4000 odds last year and is up +30.7 units over the last 3 NCAA Tournaments! Get futures picks and daily best bets throughout all of March Madness, all for just $50. Click here to join and get 20% off before Selection Sunday!

The Purdue Boilermakers look to make the Big Ten Tournament final, but the UCLA Bruins stand in the way. The Bruins upended the Michigan State Spartans on Friday night 88-84 as +5.5 underdogs with the Over (141.5) cashing. Donovan Dent went for 23 points, 12 assists and 4 steals with 3 triples, and Trent Perry chipped in with 22 points. UCLA has covered 4 in a row and 6 of the past 7, and head coach Mick Cronin’s team is arguably playing its best basketball of the season.

The Boilermakers suffered a 69-67 loss to the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 20, as UCLA won outright as a 5.5-point underdog as the Under (147.5) cashed. Purdue showed Nebraska the door on Friday, 74-58, and it has won its Big Ten Tournament games by an average margin of victory of 14.5 points. That’s a stark contrast from how the Boilermakers finished the regular season, losing 3 of the final 4 games while going 0-4 against the spread. Purdue is resurgent now that the postseason is underway, but it lost to UCLA in the regular season and the Bruins have a ton of confidence after ousting Sparty.

Purdue vs UCLA prediction: UCLA +7.5 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable to +6.5.