College Basketball Betting Preview: Best Bet 3/8

The NBA is on All-Star break, which means we have a little time to kill before things pick back up. Not to worry, though, as we are heading into the best time of the year with March Madness upon us in college basketball. With selection Sunday just one week away, it is officially conference tournament time. There are a ton of games on the schedule each day, so we have a lot of odds to break down in the college basketball betting market.

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College Basketball Betting Preview: Picks, Odds & Trends

CAA Tournament: No. 2 Northeastern (10-8) vs. No. 6 Drexel (10-7)

Monday, March 8, 2021 | 9:30 EST

The CAA is down to the final four teams, with both semifinals set to tip off tonight. The game that I am focused on is the Drexel Dragons taking on the No. 2 seed Northeastern Huskies in a game that is expected to stay close. Vegas has this one as a toss-up with Northeastern sitting as a 1.5-point underdog in the betting market. The total is a pretty low 131, which isn’t surprising considering these two teams like to slow down the tempo. There are a lot of unknowns in this game, but I find myself backing Northeastern in a spot where I believe they should be the favorite.

The CAA dealt with a lot of COVID issues, and as a result, these teams haven’t played a ton. Northeastern was 10-8 on the season and played last night in the quarterfinals after having four straight games canceled to close the season. Yesterday they relied on their defense, holding William and Mary to just 31% shooting and 23% from behind the arc in the 63-47 victory. Guard Tyson Walker led the way with 19 points, and he should be relied on heavily again tonight.

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One thing to keep an eye on is Northeastern played without two starters. One of them is ruled out through the tournament, but the other, Jason Strong, could return tonight and give the Huskies some much-needed depth in the frontcourt. That can only help the situation, and I view that as a luxury more than a necessity when backing Northeastern in this spot.

Drexel got past Charleston last night in a 5-point victory and now are 10-7 on the season. Similar to Northeastern, they have dealt with issues all season, but they are playing good basketball here and certainly are a threat to anyone in the conference. Last night they went nuts from behind the arc, shooting 11-for-18 from 3 which was the key factor in them moving on. Drexel is a solid rebounding team as well, and that is another reason Strong being back for Northeastern would really be a boost. Drexel is a balanced team, with four players averaging in double figures, and they will look to spread the production around tonight against this defense.

Both teams certainly have what it takes to win this game, and the lack of rhythm on the season makes gauging how good these squads are very difficult. The one thing we know is Northeastern is a strong defensive team, and it showed last night, while Drexel also proved it can get crazy hot from the outside. I believe Northeastern will find ways to limit the effectiveness of Drexel’s offense, and if they rebound, Drexel will have serious problems scoring enough points. With Walker and the backcourt ready to go and the possible return of Strong on the inside, Northeastern is primed to take another step toward the automatic bid. As a slight underdog, I will back them in the betting market.

My Pick: Northeastern +1.5

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Author

Ben Rasa

*Ben Rasa (aka Jazzraz)* has been involved with sports and numbers for quite some time dabbling in the poker world , sports wagering and of course finding a home in the DFS world. While he enjoys playing NFL, NCAAF and NBA he has found his best advantage on the links with PGA and the Euro Tour. Jazzraz focuses on GPPs and uses a analytical approach to try and find pricing inefficiencies as well as trying to go against the grain to find those under owned lesser know players that can make the difference in giant field tournaments. You can contact Ben by emailing [email protected].