College Basketball Picks

The Atlantic 10 championship is slated for Sunday afternoon, with the Dayton Flyers facing the VCU Rams. Every bubble team in the country is rooting for the Rams, not wanting Dayton to steal an extra bid. The Flyers dispatched Saint Louis is a wild final 20 seconds. VCU, on the other hand, has cruised fairly comfortably through this tournament, especially considering they started the week as a team firmly on the bubble. I like the Rams to finish the deal on Sunday afternoon, and I will take VCU -3.

VCU has won both meetings this season with Dayton. They blasted Dayton at home, then beat the Flyers in Dayton late in the season, 68-62. The second meeting played directly to the statistical profiles of the teams. Dayton had a slight edge on the boards and in fastbreak points, but the Rams were able to make a few more 3s and, most importantly, limit Dayton’s 3s. That is something the Rams do very well, and as long as that holds up, they should take home the A-10 crown.

Dayton vs VCU: VCU -3 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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It’s Championship Sunday in Music City, USA, as an SEC Champion will be crowned at 1:00 PM ET on ESPN just before the 2026 Men’s NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday show at 6:00 PM ET on CBS. The SEC title game pits a highly entertaining matchup between the #3 seed Arkansas Razorbacks and #4 seed Vanderbilt Commodores. On paper, the Hogs had a perceivably easier path to get here, having to go through Oklahoma and Ole Miss compared to Vanderbilt’s path consisting of Tennessee and Florida. 

That said, it was Arkansas that was involved in a pair of 1-possession games against the Sooners and the Rebels – the latter went to overtime – while the ‘Dores beat their in-state rivals by 7 and decimated the defending national champions in a complete performance in the semifinals on Saturday 91-74. These teams met just once during the regular season, and Arkansas dominated right from the opening tip in a 93-68 win in which Vandy never held a lead. For what it’s worth, it was Vanderbilt’s worst-rated defensive showing of the season from an efficiency standpoint, while it was their 3rd-worst offensively. 

I’m expecting that script to flip in this game, as Vanderbilt has displayed a much higher ceiling than they showed in that first meeting on both ends of the floor all season long. Look no further than Saturday’s blowout – yes blowout – win over the Gators. The Commodores dropped 1.42 points per possession on one of the nation’s best defenses, converting on almost 59% of twos and 48% of threes while turning the ball over just 8 times. On the other end, they held the Gators to 1.16 points per possession despite 20 offensive rebounds, and they forced 14 turnovers along the way.

The begging question is, can the Commodores repeat that performance just a day later? I think they can, though maybe to a slightly lesser degree from an efficiency perspective. Arkansas is outside the top 100 in adjusted defensive efficiency and outside the top 300 in effective field goal percentage allowed over the last month, as the Hogs leave a bit to be desired around the rim and in the paint. That’s less than ideal against Vanderbilt’s elite rim-attacking guards in Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles. Defensively, the Commodores have shown an ability to effectively limit opposing transition opportunities against top talent, where Arkansas loves to attack. Furthermore, Tanner and Miles are 2 of the best defensive guards in the SEC per EvanMiya’s defensive performance rating, which is absolutely ideal against Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas. 

Playing in a venue that’s walkable from their own campus while also in a revenge spot against an Arkansas team that played in overtime yesterday handed them arguably their ugliest loss of the year, I’m looking for the Vanderbilt Commodores to cap off their amazing season with a conference title and head into the NCAA Tournament brimming with confidence. 

Vanderbilt vs Arkansas prediction: Vanderbilt Commodores ML (-137) at the time of publishing. Playable to -150.

The Purdue Boilermakers and the Michigan Wolverines will meet inside the United Center on Sunday for the Big 10 Championship game. Michigan will look to win their second straight conference tournament title on Sunday and carry that momentum into a second straight second weekend appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Purdue has had peaks and valleys this season but is looking like one of the best teams in the Big 10 this week with three straight wins in the league tournament. The Boilermakers have looked better this week, but Michigan is one of the best teams in the country, so I am backing them here.

Michigan -6.5 is my best bet of the game because they should dominate the game inside and score on Purdue with minimal resistance. The Wolverines are one of the best offenses in the country and the Boilermakers have struggled to stop their opponents. According to KenPom, Michigan’s offense is ranked #9 in effective field goal percentage and #3 two-point percentage while Purdue’s defense is ranked #232 in effective field goal percentage and #238 in two-point percentage. Michigan should have their way inside and prove why they are one of the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament.

*Michigan -6.5 available at time of publishing. Playable at -8*