NCAA Basketball Best Bets: Betting Odds & Predictions Featuring No. 7 Florida, No. 15 St. John’s, and No. 17 Alabama (Feb. 28)

SEC teams are often featured during the college football season due to the conference's overall excellence. With five teams in the AP Top 25 and as many as nine expected to make the NCAA Tournament, the SEC continues to build a rep as a basketball conference, too.

(Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Several of the SEC’s best are playing Saturday. Let’s take a closer look at the games featuring those teams as well as a Big East battle, and figure out the Best NCAA basketball Bets for each one starting with the Gators hosting the Razorbacks.

NCAA Basketball Best Bets & Predictions for Saturday, Feb. 28: No. 7 Florida Gators vs. No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks (via FanDuel)

• Spread: Arkansas +10.5 at -110 | Florida -10.5 at -110
• Moneyline: Arkansas +490 | Florida -710
• TOTAL: O/U 170.5 (-118/-104)

Arkansas is having a solid season at 21-7, 11-4 in SEC games. It has won five of its last six games and has one of the best offenses in the country, averaging 90.3 points per game. In that six-game stretch, it has scored 91+ in four matchups but fell just short in the other two with 88 points in both. However, the Razorbacks have one fatal flaw — they struggle on the defensive end of the court.

They’ve allowed 78.5 points per game this season, ranking them No. 302 nationally and No. 11 in the conference.  The one loss in that six-game stretch saw them set a new season high with 115 points, but they allowed 117 points to an excellent Alabama offense. To beat a team like Florida that averages 86.3 points per game, they will need to do better.

The Gators have too many solid, reliable contributors on the roster for Arkansas to get away with sloppy defensive play. Factor in Florida’s defense, and it could end up becoming a long day for the Razorbacks on Saturday.

Arkansas is led by guard Darius Acuff Jr., who averages 22.2 points per game, followed by Meleek Thomas with 15.2 and Trevon Brazile with 12.7. Thomas Haugh leads the way for Florida with 16.9 points per game, followed by Alex Condon with 14.3 points per game. The OVER is 5-4 for Arkansas against ranked opponents this season and 5-2-1 for Florida vs. ranked teams.

March Madness will be here before you know it, and Ballislife has championship odds plus more NCAA basketball bets on our website.

My Pick: OVER 170.5

• Florida is going to win this game and could very well cover, but the Razorbacks have been putting up at least 70 points in losses. The Gators will not shut them down but will probably hold them to the mid-to-high 80s while scoring 90+ themselves.

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NCAA Basketball Best Bets & Predictions for Saturday, Feb. 28: No. 17 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers (via DraftKings)

• Spread: Alabama +4.5 at -105 | Tennessee -4.5 at -115
• Moneyline: Alabama +170 | Tennessee -205
• TOTAL: O/U 164.5 (-105/-115)

Alabama has taken a similar approach to Arkansas this season by winning with offense and simply outscoring its opponents. The Tide have the No. 1 scoring offense in the country with 92.9 points per game. But like Arkansas, they struggle on the defensive end. Alabama has one of the worst defenses in the country, allowing an average of 83.6 points per game (No. 352 in the nation).

Tennessee tends to play a more balanced game with solid work on both ends of the court (scoring 80.5 points per game while allowing 69.1). They were road dogs in the first matchup but kept the Bama offense from going off, recording a 79-73 upset. Alabama has been a solid road team this year, winning six of eight outright but is 3-4 ATS (in games with a line).

Tennessee, on the other hand, has gone 14-1 at home outright.

Labaron Philon Jr. leads Alabama’s high-powered offense with 21.3 points per game followed by Aden Holloway with 16.9. Four other players average in double figures. As for Tennessee, the Vols are led by Ja’Kobi Gillespie with 18.1 points per game followed by Nate Ament with 17.9 points per game.

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My Pick: OVER 164.5

• The OVER is 15-13 for both teams this season. It’s been 11-7 for Tennessee at home and 6-3 for Alabama on the road. I like Tennessee to win, but there’s no value in the moneyline, and the spread is a little small for my taste. I’d like it if Alabama, with its high-powered offense, had a better OVER record. But this is the second-lowest mark of the season for the Crimson Tide. You can’t trust their defense to do enough to win, but their offense will do its part while the Vols tear up the Bama defense.

NCAA Basketball Best Bets & Predictions for Saturday, Feb. 28: No. 15 St. John's Red Storm vs. Villanova Wildcats (via DraftKings)

• Spread: Villanova +7.5 | St. John’s -7.5
• Moneyline: Villanova +260 | St. John’s -325
• TOTAL: O/U 147.5 (-108/-112)

St. John’s still has a shot at the Big East title but will need to keep winning while hoping someone can hand Connecticut another loss. So, motivation is certainly there for it, not to mention a chance to take the all-time lead in the series vs. its conference rival.

The Red Storm beat the Wildcats earlier this season, 86-79, with the key to the game being St. John’s domination in the paint (42-22). Villanova’s 3-point shooting kept it in the game (11 for 26 compared to 5 for 15 for St. John’s).

St. John’s has been tough to beat at home this season, going 13-2, but went 7-6-1 ATS in games with a line. But Villanova has been a great road team this season, going 8-2 outright and 7-3 ATS. The OVER is 7-3 for the Wildcats on the road, and 5-9 for St. John’s at home (in games with a line).

Bryce Hopkins led St. John’s with 20 points in the earlier game vs. Villanova, followed by Ian Jackson with 17 and Zuby Ejiofor with 17 (who leads the team this season with 15.6 points per game). Tyler Perkins led Villanova in that game with 23 points (leads the team with 13.7 points per game) followed by Devin Askew with 21 off the bench.

My Pick: Villanova +7.5

Both teams are playing well right now, no matter where they play. I’d expect this game to be much closer than the spread indicates. Villanova could absolutely pull off an upset in this game, but if they don’t win, they’ll keep it close.