On Friday, March 21, day two of the first round of the NCAA Tournament will be played.
There are 16 more games occurring between 12:15 pm ET and 10:10 pm ET.
The winners of these games will play in the Round of 32. That round begins on Saturday, but the winners of the Friday games will play Sunday.
(Photo by Stew Milne/Getty Images)
Below, I’ll check in on three NCAA games today and offer up my best point spread bet for each,
Let’s dive in.
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College Basketball Best Bets Today: UConn, Robert Morris, And More
College Basketball Best Bets Today:
- UConn -5.5 (-110) at DraftKings Sportsbook
- Roberts Morris +22.5 (-114) at FanDuel Sportsbook
- Mount St. Mary’s +32.5 (-110) at FanDuel Sportsbook
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UConn vs Oklahoma Best Bets
UConn -5.5 (-110) at DraftKings Sportsbook
Kicking off my list of the best college basketball bets today are the back-to-back defending champs, the UConn Huskies.
The winner of this game will go on to face the winner of Florida and Norfolk State.
UConn is 14th in adjusted offensive efficiency with 121.9 points per 100 possessions.
Their defense is a bit lackluster, allowing 102.4 points per 100 possessions.
Their opponents, the Oklahoma Sooners, are close in adjusted offensive efficiency, putting up 118.9 points per 100 possessions.
Like UConn, they’re not the best defensively, but they're better than UConn, allowing 100.9 points per 100 possessions.
These teams are also close in KenPom’s Net Rating, with UConn at No. 35 and Oklahoma at No. 38.
Oklahoma is 13-0 this season in non-conference play.
They also have two great players, Jeremiah Fears and Jalon Moore, who average 17.0 and 16.0 points per game, respectively.
However, I can’t shake the level of players UConn has. They have Alex Karaban, Solomon Ball, and Liam McNeeley.
All three players average at least 14.4 points, and they’re all completely healthy and heading into the tournament.
I also like UConn’s big men far more than Oklahoma. The Sooners average 32.1 rebounds (307th) per game, while UConn averages 35.6 (128th).
Additionally, UConn leads the nation in blocks per game with 6.4, while Oklahoma is at just 2.3 (319th).
I wish this number were a bit better than 5.5 points, but UConn’s bigs will do enough to help them cover this number. It’s still one of my favorite college basketball bets today, though.
Alabama vs Robert Morris Best Bets
Robert Morris +22.5 (-114) at FanDuel Sportsbook
For the first time since 2014, the Alabama Crimson Tide and Robert Morris Colonial will face off.
Robert Morris is coming off a Horizon League title.
The Colonials are also 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 games.
This squad is ranked 171st in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 107.1 points per 100 possessions, and 131st in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 107.1 points per 100 possessions.
As for Alabama, they’re one of the best offenses in the country.
Alabama scores 126.5 points per 100 possessions (fourth) and gives up 96.7 points per 100 possessions (32nd).
Both teams average 12.8 turnovers per game, are nearly identical in blocks per game (Alabama at 4.5; Robert Morris at 4.4), and shoot the 3-ball equally the same (Alabama 35%; Robert Morris 34.9%).
Of course, the level of competition for Alabama and Robert Morris is quite different, but Alabama’s defense has been tough to watch all season.
On a per-game basis, Alabama gives up 81.4 points per outing, which is 350th in the nation.
Alabama will win, of course, but I think Robert Morris will keep it close enough. They’ll lean on Horizon League Player of the Year, Alvaro Folgueiras, who averages 14.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
Duke vs Mount St. Mary’s
Mount St. Mary’s +32.5 (-110) at FanDuel Sportsbook
Of the college basketball games today, no team has a thicker line than Duke’s monstrous 32.5-point margin against Mount St. Mary’s.
We know Duke will win with a game like this, but it’s a matter of by how much.
Spoiler alert: I’m going with Mount St. Mary’s because 32.5 points is an insane line.
Mount St. Mary’s is a No. 16 seed, but I have to take this line—you can’t pass up 32.5 points.
Duke’s first-half point margin is plus-10.5. Over their last three games, it’s at just plus-3.7.
Yes, this was during the ACC Tournament, and most of that was without Cooper Flagg.
Flagg will be back and active for this one, but I wonder if they’ll take it easy considering the matchup.
Mount St. Mary’s does do well in the defensive rebounds category, averaging 25.3 per game (28th).
I do worry about their turnovers (14.8 per game), but both teams are 201st worse in possessions per game.
So, between Flagg coming back and maybe having slightly limited usage, the line itself, and the pace these teams play at, Mount St. Mary’s will squeak out a cover and be one of my best college basketball picks of the day.
If looking for March Madness tournament schedules, matchup breakdowns, and expert picks, head to our
March Madness section.
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