The common season slate is paper skinny on Friday evening — outdoors of Dayton vs. Saint Louis — so which means we’re specializing in the convention tournaments.
Six mid-major leagues are in motion on Friday night, together with the West Coast Conference.
Our workers has six finest bets, with one coming from every convention set to take the hardwood. Dive in now and get the highest NCAAB convention event odds and finest bets for Friday under.
Friday’s 6 NCAAB Conference Tournament Best Bets
The group logos within the desk under characterize every of the matchups that our school basketball workers is concentrating on from Friday’s convention event slate. Click the group logos for one the matchups under to navigate to a particular wager mentioned on this article.
Murray State vs. Drake (MVC)
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As I mentioned within the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Preview the No. 2 seed Drake Bulldogs have a substantial amount of motivation coming into this 12 months’s MVC Tournament.
Last season, the Bulldogs had been outlasted by Loyola Chicago within the championship recreation, 64-58.
This season, head coach Darian DeVries returned 67.1% of the minutes from that group, making Drake the Twenty seventh-most skilled group within the nation, in keeping with KenPom.
Drake’s first take a look at in its redemption tour might be in opposition to a Murray State group it matched up nicely in opposition to within the common season. The Bulldogs gained each common season conferences by a median of 21 factors.
Numerous Drake’s success ought to come on the offensive finish, as Murray State ranks second-to-last within the MVC in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency, permitting 72.6 factors per recreation (238th nationally).
Look for a Drake group that ranks first within the MVC in turnover proportion to profit from each possession in opposition to a Murray State protection that ranks final in turnovers pressured per recreation.
On the opposite finish, Drake will look to eradicate Murray State’s capacity to catalyze its offense on the offensive glass and on the charity stripe. The Racers rank third within the MVC in offensive rebounding proportion, however Drake’s protection ranks second in offensive rebounding proportion allowed (20.8%).
This lack of ability to create second probabilities might be detrimental to a Murray State group that ranks eighth within the MVC in efficient subject objective proportion.
Additionally, Murray State has relied on its journeys to the free-throw line to attain 20.1% of its factors, the best charge within the MVC.
This is necessary to notice, as Drake has been efficient at defending with out fouling. The Bulldogs permit their opponents to attain simply 15.8% of their whole factors from the charity stripe, the fifth-lowest charge within the MVC.
With these benefits on each ends of the ground, search for Drake to make an announcement.
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North Dakota vs. Denver (Summit)
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By Ky McKeon
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks ended the Summit season on a tear. Once 1-10 within the league, UND has gained and lined 5 of its final seven contests.
During that stretch, the Hawks hosted Denver for a rematch of a mid-January loss. UND held the Pioneers to measly 0.93 factors per possession and by no means trailed on its option to a 23-point drubbing.
Denver has struggled within the latter half of Summit play. An damage to beginning ahead Tyree Corbett has stored him out of the lineup since Jan. 26, and since then, the Pioneers are simply 3-6 total.
Rumor is one other key participant, Tevin Smith, was not too long ago bitten by the damage bug. His standing for tonight’s recreation is unknown, however ought to he sit, Denver loses its most versatile and arguably finest all-around participant.
Stylistically, North Dakota has the dimensions and energy to fight Denver’s most well-liked methodology of scoring — being bodily, hammering the offensive glass and incomes journeys to the foul line.
Denver is the Summit’s second-best offensive rebounding group, however North Dakota is the league’s second-best defensive rebounding squad. In their newest battle, UND was glorious at holding Denver off the glass, holding the Pioneers to only a 24% offensive rebounding charge.
On the opposite finish, UND bombs away from 3. No group within the 3-happy Summit has the next 3-point try charge than the Hawks, and Denver packs it in defensively. Only one Summit squad has allowed the next charge of 3-point makes an attempt than the Pioneers in convention play.
Go with the warmer group, the more healthy group and the group with the extra favorable matchup on this opening-round Summit Tournament contest.
VMI vs. Chattanooga (SoCon)
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By Scott Schaeffer
Following a 12 months that culminated in a SoCon Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament look, Chattanooga has had a massively disappointing season.
As a bottom-four seed (7), the Mocs will now be pressured to win 4 video games in 4 days if they’ve plans to defend final 12 months’s title run.
The main cause for Chattanooga’s lackluster season is probably going the damage to star middle Jake Stephens that occurred close to the start of SoCon play.
Stephens figured to have one of many highest utilization charges of any participant within the nation this season earlier than injuring his hand in opposition to Furman.
An attention-grabbing observe in relation to this contest is that each Stephens and Chattanooga head coach Dan Earl would have been on the alternative sideline if this recreation occurred a 12 months in the past. When Earl accepted the head-coaching position with the Mocs, he introduced Stephens with him from VMI.
Stephens has been training within the lead as much as this recreation and can reportedly do every part he probably can to play in what would probably be his ultimate recreation.
Whether or not he’s finally capable of play doesn’t have an effect on my inclination to put the seven factors within the first half with Chattanooga.
The Mocs have a transparent benefit from each a expertise and training perspective and have possible been looking forward to the convention event as a contemporary begin after what has been a disappointing 12 months.
I’d hesitate to put 13.5 factors with the Mocs on the full-game unfold. Since every recreation may very well be a group’s final in a convention event, squads might not stop as simply as they could within the common season, which would depart the backdoor open for VMI.
Instead, anticipate Chattanooga to return out motivated within the first stanza and lay the seven.
Winthrop vs. Radford (Big South)
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By Matt Cox
We’re hitting the evening shift for our greatest wager within the Big South Tournament. Winthrop and Radford sq. off at Bojangles Coliseum, the place two groups trending in polar reverse instructions will battle to maintain their season alive.
In brief, we’re betting on that double momentum to hold forth with Winthrop.
The stronger angle is a promote of Radford, a group coping with a number of waves of turbulence on the worst time of the 12 months. The Highlanders dropped three of their final 4 video games since head coach Darris Nichols was suspended for a DUI.
It’s been confirmed Nichols will stay suspended for the convention event, as his brother will retain interim head-coaching duties all through the postseason.
However, a part of this current swoon is attributable to Bryan Antoine’s absence — sure, the identical former five-star prospect who flamed out at Villanova.
Antoine may return to motion tonight, however there’s actual threat that his leg damage limits his manufacturing and effectiveness. Antoine has loved a revelation of a season, rising as one of the crucial gifted shot-makers within the league.
Without him, or with out Antoine at his finest kind, Radford will lean closely on DaQuan Smith to hold the load.
Bet Winthrop, winners of 4 straight video games with the added motivation of “double revenge” after shedding to Radford twice within the common season.
UT Martin vs. Tennessee Tech (OVC)
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UT Martin and Tennessee Tech will meet for the second time this season within the semifinals of the OVC Tournament.
In the primary matchup between these two, UT Martin had an offensive explosion from past the arc, leading to a 100-91 victory. The Skyhawks shot an astounding 66.7% from past the arc, greater than double their common of 30.5% in OVC play.
This outdoors taking pictures ought to see some extra regression in opposition to a Tennessee Tech group that ranks second within the MVC in 3-point proportion protection, permitting its opponents to shoot simply 32.4% from the perimeter.
On the opposite finish, John Pelphrey’s revamped Tennessee Tech offense will be capable of assault UT Martin the place it’s most susceptible.
UT Martin is permitting opponents to try 41% of their subject objective makes an attempt from 3-point vary, 299th nationally.
This might be a welcomed sight for a Tennessee Tech offense that’s used to connecting from the perimeter. The Golden Eagles rank twenty ninth nationally in 3-point proportion at 37.5%, leading to 38.8% of their whole factors.
Look for each of those offenses to pattern again in the direction of the imply by way of their outdoors taking pictures capacity.
In addition to this outdoors taking pictures regression, UT Martin is a possible letdown spot after a come-from-behind victory on Thursday evening.
With 3:50 left within the recreation, UT Martin confronted a 10-point deficit and a 3.1% win chance. The Skyhawks then rattled off a 17-1 run to shock SIU Edwardsville, 81-75.
In the top, I belief Pelphrey’s group to make the mandatory changes to win this rematch in opposition to a UT Martin group coming off an emotional victory.
Pacific vs. San Francisco (WCC)
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I’m bucking the consensus with this choose, as San Francisco opened as 7-point favorites earlier than this line ballooned as much as 8.5 or 9 factors, relying on which sportsbook you’re utilizing.
The construction of the WCC Tournament is hellish for decrease seeds, forcing them to win video games day after day, whereas increased seeds are robotically slotted into the superior rounds of the tournaments.
Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga, for instance, don’t must play till the semifinals.
This recreation incorporates a Pacific group that gained within the opening spherical final evening taking part in a San Francisco group that has been off since Feb. 25.
You’d suppose that relaxation differential is baked into this unfold, however within the current previous, that delta hasn’t confirmed to be as vital an element as you’d anticipate.
Teams taking part in the second evening of a back-to-back dealing with a group with four-to-seven days relaxation are 167-172-9 in opposition to the unfold over the past seven seasons in school hoops, per BetLabs.
Straight up, that distinction is evident. The rested groups in that situation have gained 254 occasions to simply 92 losses.
For that cause, I gained’t be so daring to counsel Pacific on the moneyline, although I do just like the Tigers catching this many factors.
San Francisco likes a spread-out offense, constructed to generate seems to be from deep.
The Dons led the WCC in 3-point charge, however Pacific allowed the second-fewest 3-point makes an attempt and the second-lowest 3-point charge within the convention.
The Tigers even have the taking pictures to answer USF’s long-range assault on the opposite finish. Pacific led the WCC and ranks seventh nationally in 3-point proportion.
That makes for a high-variance cube roll each time Pacific takes the ground, so it’s nicely value grabbing this many factors.
