A 25-game slate is a perfect appetizer for a loaded weekend of college basketball. Read on for our college basketball best bets for Friday based on the top NCAAB odds.
No. 16 Xavier is the only ranked team in action Friday as it travels to face Seton Hall. The Musketeers are in a logjam of three teams (Providence and Creighton the others) tied for second place in the Big East with a 12-5 league record. The Musketeers need a win to keep their slim hopes of a regular-season title alive, as they are two games behind Marquette with three to play.
Here are our college basketball best bets for Friday (odds via DraftKings, PointsBet, FanDuel, and BetMGM; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Check out our top college basketball picks and our best March Madness betting sites.
Friday's college basketball schedule and odds
(odds via DraftKings)
- Xavier (-1.5) vs. Seton Hall
- South Alabama vs. Louisiana (-4.5)
- Marshall (-3.5) vs. Old Dominion
Check out our best March Madness odds and Wooden Award odds.
College basketball best bets for Friday
- Spread: Old Dominion +3.5 (-110 via PointsBet) vs. Marshall ???
- Moneyline: Xavier ML vs. Seton Hall (-120 via DraftKings) ???
- Total: Southern Miss-Texas State Under 136.5 (-110 via BetMGM) ????
- Spread: VCU -8.5 (-120 via FanDuel) vs. Richmond ???
College basketball top picks
Marshall moved into first place in the Sun Belt by virtue of its win at James Madison and Southern Miss's loss at Old Dominion. However, we are backing the Monarchs, who have the advantage of being at home on a quick turnaround.
In many ways, facing Southern Miss was the perfect way to prepare for Marshall. The Golden Eagles press at one of the Sun Belt's highest rates, and the Thundering Herd plays at a top-10 tempo nationally.
Marshall spends the fewest time on offense per possession (14.9 seconds) of any team in the country. Still, Old Dominion held the Thundering Herd to 73 points in the first meeting, Marshall's third-lowest scoring output since the start of January. The Monarchs had a three-point halftime lead in that first road meeting, and we expect them to use their 10th-ranked tempo in league play to limit possessions and turn this game into a grind.
Old Dominion is 10-6-1 against the spread in 17 conference games and is 13-7-1 ATS when having equal rest as its opponent. We are still backing the Monarchs even though the line has unanimously dropped in their favor from +4.5.
Xavier has played the last six games without injured forward Zach Freemantle and has gone 3-3, with all three losses coming within the last four games. However, those three losses were by a combined four points, and two came against the likely regular-season champion (Marquette) and a Final Four team from last year (Villanova). Thus, it is not exactly like the sky is falling on the Musketeers.
Seton Hall is also 1-3 in its last four and has averaged just 57 points per game in those losses. In addition, the Pirates are 0-6 straight-up against the top four Big East teams, with four double-digit losses.
This is a three-star play, as we expect Seton Hall to struggle to keep up offensively with a Xavier team that ranks in the top two in Big East play in adjusted offensive efficiency, effective field-goal percentage, turnover percentage (16.7%), and 3-point percentage (38.6%).
Southern Miss has hit a stumbling block lately, losing two of its last three games after cruising to a 12-2 Sun Belt record. In the two losses (both on the road), the Golden Eagles have averaged just 59 points and shot 14-of-48 (29.2%) from 3-point range. In addition, Southern Miss has forced just 20 combined turnovers in those games, proving that teams that can handle its pressure will limit its offensive ceiling with fewer transition opportunities.
The biggest reason for this being a four-star play is that Texas State is the best defensive-rebounding team in the league (26.6% offensive-rebounding percentage allowed) and ranks 11th or worse in the Sun Belt in 2-point (46.4%) and 3-point percentage (32.1%).
The Under is 5-4 when Texas State has had just one day off, and we look for it to cash once again. We are getting one extra point worth of value at BetMGM, as other sportsbooks have a total as low as 135.5.
It was fair to wonder how Richmond would respond in its first game without head coach Chris Mooney, who stepped away from the team to undergo heart surgery. The Spiders passed their first test, rallying from a 15-point first-half deficit and securing a three-point home win against Saint Louis. However, going on the road to face VCU is another story, and the Spiders cannot afford to fall behind early in a hostile environment.
VCU already owns a 12-point road win at Richmond, as it punished the Spiders on the glass (outrebounded them 37-27). VCU held Richmond to 0.86 points per possession and 28% (7-of-25) from 3-point range. That will not get it done against a Rams team that has allowed an average of 58.2 points over its last five home games.
Richmond has covered just four of its 15 conference games, and we do not expect it to stay within this big number Friday. We are opting for the extra juice at FanDuel to get a better number than the -9 or -9.5 at competing sportsbooks.
College basketball best bets made 2/24/2023 at 6:24 a.m. ET.
Here are our best March Madness betting sites:
- FanDuel: No Sweat First Bet up to $1,000 | Read our FanDuel Review
- Caesars: Earn Up to a $1,250 Bet Credit | Read our Caesars Review
- DraftKings: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our DraftKings Review
- PointsBet: Earn Five Second-Chance Bets Up to $50 Each | Read our PointsBet Review
- BetMGM: Get a Bonus Bet of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review
(21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER)
* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.
Related pages
- Best Online Sportsbooks | Best Sportsbook Promos (U.S. only)