College Basketball Crown Picks & Predictions: Round 2 (Thursday)
Missing March Madness and all its glory as you twiddle your thumbs waiting for Saturday? Not to worry. We've got you covered with the College Basketball Crown continuing tonight with two 2nd round matchups on tap featuring UCF-Cincinnati and Villanova-USC. It's not exactly the magic of March Madness but it's basketball and that means we can gamble on it and man is that exactly what I'm here for to find the best plays for today's games. Let's jump in.
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Thursday's College Basketball Crown Best Bets
Unless specified otherwise, each bet will be a single unit.
UCF vs. Cincinnati
Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV
Spread: Cincinnati -6.5| Total: 152.5
It's a bit wonky to handicap these games as there's another "care" factor thrown into these matchups. UCF barely squeaked by Oregon State while Cincy pummeled DePaul for both squads' paths to getting here. The Golden Knights are without JJ Taylor, Mikey Williams, Roma's Jucius and, unless something changes, Keyshawn Hall. The last one is big. Cincy's drop defense is going to prove troublesome for UCF's offense, who can't exactly depend on shooting over the Bearcats to keep up in this game. Getting to the rim won't be easy either, and even if they do, Cincy ranks 26th in near proximity defense without fouling, which the Golden Knights have historically leaned heavily upon. Cincy will dominate down low offensively, cleaning up on the offensive glass where UCF ranks 322nd at defensive second-chance conversion percentage allowed. This is an inflated line but I wouldn't be surprised if UCF threw in the towel after the first half. Even if Cincy isn't shooting well, there's still a clear path for them to dominate this game.
Prediction: Cincinnati 79, UCF 70
Best Bet: Cincinnati -5.5 (-118 DraftKings)
Villanova vs. USC
Location: MGM Grand Arena – Las Vegas, NV
Line: Villanova -5.5 | Total: 151.5
While this is a bit more of an exciting game for my liking, USC will be short-handed tonight as well, with only nine scholarship players available for their first bout with Tulane. Their second and third leading scorers, Chibuzo Agbo and Wesley Yates, both missed the first game and I wouldn't expect them to suit up tonight, hence the line jumping from -2.5 to -5.5 in Nova's favor. Villanova will sink back and allow plenty of open threes with opponents getting nearly 39% of their points off the deep look, 11th highest in hoops. But without Yates and Agbo, USC will have to lean heavily on Rashaun Agee to cash it from three. Their offense will be limited, and they don't manufacture much second-chance looks while struggling to take care of the ball. Villanova loves the deep look but USC's perimeter defense is a worthy adversary and they won't have to worry about their lacking transition defense against one of the slowest squads in hoops. There's a path where USC keeps this one close if they can get some long balls to fall but even then, I'd be surprised if this game goes over.
Prediction: Villanova 75, USC 70
Best Bet: Under 151.5 (-110 ESPN Bet)
Ryan Coleman is a featured writer at BettingPros. Follow him on Twitter @ryancoleman_98. For more from Ryan, check out his archive.