The Colonial Athletic Association championship game is a meeting of the league's No. 2 and No. 4 seeds as Charleston faces UNC Wilmington. Read on for our UNC Wilmington vs. Charleston college basketball picks based on the top NCAAB odds.
UNC Wilmington lost to No. 1 seed Hofstra by 24 points in its only regular-season meeting but sent shock waves through the league when it rallied from 12 points down to beat the Pride in overtime in the conference semifinals. It was just the Seahawks' second win in the last eight games against Hofstra, and now they are in a position to cash in big for bettors who believed in them before the CAA tournament started, as they were +1000 to punch their ticket to the “Big Dance” at the start.
Though Charleston was the No. 2 seed in this tournament after losing the head-to-head tiebreak to Hofstra, the Cougars were enormous -115 Moneyline favorites pre-tournament. Charleston enters on a nine-game winning streak, the nation's eighth-longest active streak. Charleston swept the two regular-season meetings against UNC Wilmington, winning by two points on the road and 32 points in the home rematch a month later.
Here is our best UNC Wilmington vs. Charleston college basketball pick (odds via BetMGM; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
UNC Wilmington vs. Charleston odds
UNC Wilmington vs. Charleston prediction
Charleston's 77-72 semifinal win over Towson was its 30th of the season. And with the Cougars being ranked in the AP poll for the first time in two decades earlier this season, it is fair to assume the NCAA tournament selection committee would reward Charleston with an at-large bid (no team since at least 1993 has failed to earn an at-large berth with 30-plus wins) regardless of Tuesday's outcome. Thus, for a three-star play, give us the more desperate underdogs whose only path to an NCAA tournament berth is to win this game outright.
UNC Wilmington is the most disruptive CAA team defensively, forcing turnovers at the highest rate (21.5%) in league play. The Seahawks' defensive effort in Monday's win over Hofstra should not be understated. The Pride ranked second in adjusted offensive efficiency in conference play this season but mustered just five points in the game's final 9:48.
UNC Wilmington has rallied from 12-point deficits in each of its CAA tournament wins, which is a testament to how it can string together multiple stops consistently on defense.
Hofstra was coming off a 48-point quarterfinal victory over William & Mary, the largest margin of victory in CAA tournament history. If the Seahawks could beat the Pride, they can beat anyone, and 9.5 points are too much to lay to a team that is 5-0 against the spread at neutral sites this year. UNC Wilmington has the experience of playing in last year's final, which should serve it well again Tuesday.
Check out our best March Madness odds and Wooden Award odds.
UNC Wilmington vs. Charleston best odds
| DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars | PointsBet |
| +9 | +8.5 | +9.5 | +9 | +9 |
| -110 | -102 | -105 | -110 | -110 |
Not only are UNC Wilmington backers getting the best number at BetMGM, but they are paying less in juice to do so, making the sportsbook the most attractive location for anyone betting on the underdog. For that price, it may be worth looking at alternate lines at which one could get the Seahawks at +10 or higher and not have to pay much more than standard juice (-110).
UNC Wilmington vs. Charleston odds analysis
Charleston opened as consensus -9.5 point favorites overnight, but any line movement that has occurred since has moved in the direction of UNC Wilmington, which is as low as +8.5 at FanDuel. Fifty-nine percent of all point-spread bets have backed the underdogs.
The O/U opened at 140.5 and experienced interesting line movement. The total is as low as 139.5 at FanDuel but rose as high as 141 at DraftKings. The Over has been a widely popular bet, attracting 80% of all wagers.
UNC Wilmington vs. Charleston game info
Date: Tuesday, March 7, 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: CBSSN
Location: Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington, DC
UNC Wilmington-Charleston pick made 3/7/2023 at 6:44 a.m. ET.
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