- Arizona is a -16.5 point favorite against UCF.
- Houston is an -8.5 point favorite against BYU.
- Duke is an -18.5 point favorite over Florida State.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – We are in full swing of March college basketball with conference tournaments heating up. There are some notable games throughout the day on Wednesday with some top ranked teams in action.
We’re looking at three picks on legal sports betting sites for the day, featuring two Big 12 matchups and an ACC tournament game.
Arizona Handles UCF
UCF Vs. Arizona
- Moneyline: UCF (+1500) vs. Arizona (-3600)
- Spread: Arizona -16.5
- Total: 161.5
While UCF has proven that they can score with anyone in the country (82.2 ppg), this will be their fourth game in six days, and fatigue could certainly play a factor in Arizona running away with this one.
Arizona already has a +18 average scoring margin on the season and are coming into this one having won six straight, with two of their last three being by 16+ points.
UCF, as high powered of an offense as they are, has had some eye-opening losses to non-tournament teams, including West Virginia twice, Baylor, and Oklahoma State twice. They’re coming off of an overtime win against Cincinnati in the first round, however, they had to muscle through a 12-point deficit to do so.
Between the Knights’ inconsistency and fatigue and Arizona’s top-10 scoring margin against opponents, it’s hard to fade the Bearcats here.
- Pick: Arizona -16.5
BYU Plays Tight With Houston
BYU Vs. Houston
- Spread: Houston -8.5
- Total: 148.5
It’s time for BYU to put their money where their mouth is against Houston, and they seem to be getting hot at the right time. Both teams are coming into this one having won three straight.
While Houston did win 77-66 against BYU in their regular season meeting, this was a much closer game on paper. BYU did have the lead for part of the second half before Houston ultimately ran with the game.
BYU has a +7.4 average scoring margin over Houston on the season, which could certainly play a factor on Texas betting sites.
- Pick: BYU +8.5
Can The Seminoles Continue Their Hot Streak?
Florida State Vs. Duke
- Moneyline: FSU (+1100) vs. Duke (-2500)
- Spread: Duke -18
This is not the same Florida State team that started 0-5 in ACC play, and college basketball odds makers have yet to realize that with this spread. They’ve gone 11-3 since that dreadful start and 7-1 in their last eight games leading up to this one. They’re also catching Duke in a somewhat vulnerable spot as they’ve lost Caleb Foster for the remainder of the season.
It’s also worth noting that the three losses on that 11-3 stretch for Florida State came by just a combined 14 points.
Something else to note, since Duke’s 82-81 loss to Texas Tech earlier in the season, they’ve been absolutely smoking the competition with an 18-1 record, and 16 of their 18 wins coming by 7+ points. One of the two games that came by less than a 7-point margin was Florida State, where they walked away with just a 4-point win.
