The last of the conference tournaments get underway on Thursday with first-round games in the AAC, Big West and WAC taking place. We’ve also thinned out the ranks in the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12, meaning the big boys will hit the hardwood. And that’s just a lead-in to what will certainly be a chaotic weekend.
We’ve seen some shockers already, and not the Wichita State kind, either. Though, the Shockers will make their first AAC Tournament appearance Thursday with a tilt against East Carolina. The real shocker came in the WCC final with Saint Mary’s stunning No. 1 ranked Gonzaga. We will see more ranked teams fall with a number of them playing each other. We have one matchup between a pair of ranked teams in the ACC Tournament with No. 16 Virginia Tech and No. 12 Florida State hooking up in the quarterfinals.
BookMaker.eu will have college basketball odds and live betting options for every game on the Thursday schedule.
College Basketball Schedule for Thursday, March 14, 2019
Akron vs. No. 18 Buffalo, 12 p.m. ET
Providence vs. No. 25 Villanova, 12 p.m. ET (FS1)
NC State vs. No. 2 Virginia, 12:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Indiana vs. Ohio State, 12:30 p.m. ET (BTN)
Arkansas vs. Florida, 1 p.m. ET (SECN)
No. 16 Virginia Tech vs. No. 12 Florida State, 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
TCU vs. No. 15 Kansas State, 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Creighton vs. Xavier, 2:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Nebraska vs. No. 21 Maryland, 2:55 p.m. ET (BTN)
Boise State vs. No. 14 Nevada, 3 p.m. ET (CBSSN)
Missouri vs. No. 22 Auburn, 3 p.m. ET (SECN)
USC vs. Washington, 3 p.m. ET (PAC12)
Louisville vs. No. 3 North Carolina, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
West Virginia vs. No. 7 Texas Tech, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
St. John's vs. No. 23 Marquette, 7 p.m. ET (FS1)
Syracuse vs. No. 5 Duke, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Texas vs. No. 17 Kansas, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
UCLA vs. Arizona State, 9 p.m. ET (PAC12)
Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State, 9 p.m. ET (SECN)
Georgetown vs. Seton Hall, 9:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Oregon vs. Utah, 11:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Thursday Best Bets
St. John's vs. Marquette, 7 p.m. ET (FS1)
The Big East is probably the most turbulent among all the conferences with no clear-cut favorite to win the tournament. Defending national champs Villanova has the edge and the No. 1 seed, but the Cats also lost five times in league play. Marquette was rolling along and had the regular season crown in its grasp until the final two weeks. The Golden Eagles lost four in a row and limp into this matchup against a team that has its number.
The Johnnies won both regular season matchups, handing the Eagles their only league losses until their end-of-season swoon. St. John’s caught UM when it was playing well and still came out on top. Unfortunately for the Johnnies they won just six other league games and were forced to play a first-round contest, beating DePaul. It’s hard to beat a team three times, especially one that is better. I like St. John’s and Shamorie Ponds to keep this one close, but the Eagles are ready to get the monkey off their back making them a best bet.
UCLA vs. Arizona State, 9 p.m. ET (PAC12)
It’s been a rough season for the Bruins, who need to win the tournament title to secure a Dance ticket. And that chore just got more difficult now that David Singleton is done for the tournament with a foot injury. Singleton joins fellow guard Prince Ali on the shelf, severely impacting UCLA’s depth, which isn’t an area of strength anyway.
Arizona State has probably done enough to get an at-large bid, but another victory would surely pad their resume, and the Sun Devils have to be focused against a team that will be shorthanded. ASU will be favored when the line hits the board and that number is likely going higher now that the Bruins are without two ball-handlers. ASU closed the year on a nice run and their balance and depth was a problem for UCLA in the first meeting. It’s only going to get worse for the Bruins.
Syracuse vs. Duke, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)
The entire basketball world is waiting to see if Zion Williamson plays. And if he does, and he’s healthy, the Blue Devils are not only the favorite to win the ACC Tournament they are the likely pick to cut down the nets in Minneapolis. Coach K earmarked the tournament for Z’s return, though nothing official has been announced. And the Dookies sure could use him. They’ve looked ordinary in games without the man-child, going 3-3.
One of those victories was against the Orange and Syracuse is facing some injury concerns of their own. Leading scorer Tyus Battle missed yesterday’s game with a sore back and Jim Boeheim said he’s probably “still two or three days away” from being able to play. Battle averages 17.2 points per game and his absence will be felt. Even if Williamson doesn’t play I’m leaning toward Duke as a best bet on the college basketball betting line.
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