Thursday’s conference tournament slate is about to kick it into another gear and us sports bettors are ready for the college basketball tidal wave that is about to hit us.
There are north of 50 games starting at 11:30 AM EST going well into Friday morning.
Here are two bets I made on a loaded slate of tournament contests.
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
BetQL has predictions for every college basketball game through March Madness. Sign up now and become a smarter bettor with BetQL!
Georgetown (+7.5, 139.5) vs. Villanova - 12 PM EST
I’m going back to the Hoyas with this huge number against a banged up Villanova team.
After looking like a lock to be on the two line come Selection Sunday, Jay Wright’s Wildcats are slipping fast, splitting their last six games, but that’s underscoring the real issue for Villanova.
Senior guard Collin Gillespie tore his mcl last week and the team is likely not going to have the secondary ball handler Justin Moore for the Big East Tournament with a sprained ankle.
Nova leans on seven guys to begin with, so this is a patchwork roster against a Georgetown team that has been able to hang tough with them this season.
The Hoyas led by double-digits at halftime of their first meeting back in December before melting down in the final minutes to blow a cover. The Hoyas were also able to cover +14 against Nova on the road in early February.
Patrick Ewing’s team imposed their will on Marquette Wednesday afternoon, but didn’t shoot the ball well. For a team that shoots over 37% from deep in Big East play this season, the Hoyas hit on just four of their 19 three-point shots.
I expect some positive regression in this department against a Nova defense that is 243rd in the country in three-point defense.
Nova is incredibly short handed and doesn’t have the defense to shutdown the Hoyas' offense, Georgetown should keep this game close.
Pick: Georgetown +7.5, play to +7
Oklahoma (+3, 138) vs. Kansas - 6:30 EST
Similar to Villanova, this is a fade on a team that runs a short rotation and the loss of production can’t be overstated.
Kansas is going to be without big man David McCormack for the Big-12 Tournament due to COVID-19 contact tracing. This is a massive loss for the Jayhawks, who are outside the nation’s top 300 in bench minutes.
McCormack leads the team in usage rate and also makes up 30% of the team’s shot attempts, not to mention his rebounding on both ends.
Oklahoma is still going to be a bit outsized on the perimeter against the likes of Kansas’ wings Jalen Wilson and Ochai Agbaji, but Sooner big men Brady Manek and Kur Kuath should be more comfortable on the floor without having to worry about McCormack.
While Kansas boasts a top 10 defense in the country, per KenPom, I trust Oklahoma’s Big 12 best turnover percentage to generate clean offense and get enough stops against a Jayhawks team that may be a bit shaken without their reliable big man on the floor.
This game is closer to a pick in my opinion with the loss of McCormack, so I’m happy to grab +3.
Pick: Oklahoma +3, play to +2
Reed is a native of New Jersey and graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a die-hard Brooklyn Nets fan and always believes the spread has a chance of covering. You can follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach for more commentary.