A promising college basketball weekend is upon us, and it begins Friday night. Just because there aren’t a ton of games on the schedule doesn’t mean there aren’t a few matchups that have caught our eye. As you prep for the weekend, check out some of our favorite betting lines for Friday’s college basketball action.
Yale (11-6) at Princeton (14-5)
These are arguably the two best teams in the Ivy League, especially since Yale is still 4-0 in league play. The Bulldogs went toe to toe with teams like Purdue and Minnesota during the non-conference season and have won three of their first four Ivy League games by big margins. Of course, their only road game in conference play was a close call with Columbia. As for the Tigers, they are coming off a loss to Cornell last weekend. They are also 0-4 against the spread in conference play and 7-12 ATS overall. With the spread in this game being small, it’s safe to back Yale to stay unbeaten in conference play despite this looking like a tough road game on paper.
Pick: Yale -2.5
Butler (9-12) at Georgetown (13-8)
The Bulldogs are having a rough season, going just 2-8 in conference play thus far. But with wins over SMU, Northwestern, and Mississippi State early in the season, the Bulldogs are better than their record might indicate. They’ve played a tough schedule and have played two tight games with UConn. The Bulldogs also have some high-volume shooters that make Butler a dangerous team if the shots are falling. Meanwhile, the Hoyas have lost six of their last seven games, as their season is starting to spiral out of control. Last time out, Georgetown lost by 25 points to St. John’s at home, scoring just 41 points. Jayden Epps has completely disappeared in recent games while leading scorers Thomas Sorber and Micah Peavy have been inconsistent as well. That makes it impossible to trust the Hoyas, even as home favorites.
Pick: Butler +3
Akron (15-5) at Kent State (13-7)
Akron hits the road on Friday hoping to stay perfect in conference play. The Zips are 8-0 inside the MAC while ranking top 20 nationally in both points and assists. Surprisingly, Akron only has three double-digit scorers, as the Zips are deep and balanced offensively, so they’re not overly reliant on the same one or two players to carry them every night, which is a big reason for their success. Yet, Kent State is a slight home favorite despite being just 4-4 in league play. The Golden Flashes have underperformed thus far but have put together some strong performances. A 19-point road win over Toledo earlier this month shows how good Kent State can be when everything comes together. But while this will be a challenging game for the Zips, Kent State’s inconsistency makes them hard to trust.
Pick: Akron +1.5
Indiana (14-7) at #10 Purdue (16-5)
This figures to be the game of the night in college basketball, as these in-state rivals clash. Other than a puzzling home loss to Ohio State last week, the Boilermakers have been an unstoppable force since Christmas. They thrashed Michigan 91-64, making them 8-1 straight up and 7-2 against the spread in their last nine games since a late-December loss to Auburn. Outside of the Ohio State loss, Purdue’s four home wins during that stretch have come by an average of 24.5 points. On the contrary, the Hoosiers are in the midst of a slump, losing four of their last five games. To be fair, Indiana’s only win during that stretch came as an 8-point road underdog against Ohio State. While Indiana has some size inside that could give Purdue some trouble, the Hoosiers don’t have a quality win this season and have suffered double-digit losses against quality teams like Illinois or when playing on the road against mid-level Big Ten teams like Iowa and Nebraska. Those results don’t bode well for Indiana’s hopes against the Boilermakers on Friday.
Pick: Purdue -12
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