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College Basketball Odds, Picks & Predictions: Thursday (2/20)

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With Maryland being the only AP top 25 team in action on Thursday’s college basketball slate, it provides bettors plenty of opportunities to focus in on the less watched and covered conferences, which may also provide an advantage over the oddsmakers.

Continue reading for a detailed breakdown of our college basketball best bets and top picks for Thursday, February 20.

Go premium to view top prop bets based on Cover Probability, Expected Value & Star Rating >>

    Thursday's Best College Basketball Bets

    (Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

    North Alabama (+210) at Lipscomb (-5.5) | O/U 147.5 (-112/-108) 

    Lipscomb is coming off a disappointing 66-57 road loss at Eastern Kentucky, which brought both teams’ records in the ASUN to 11-4, and denied Lipscomb a chance to move into a first-place tie with North Alabama at 12-3.

    However, this is an excellent opportunity for Lipscomb to avenge a 74-64 road loss at North Alabama on January 23, and Lipscomb has won three straight home games by 54 combined points, which should make all the difference tonight.

    I am not as down on the Bisons as much as others will be, especially since Eastern Kentucky beat them without leading scorer George Kimble for their eighth straight win. Heading into Tuesday’s game, Eastern Kentucky had three of its five most efficient offensive games of the season during Kimble’s three-game absence, as other players like Devontae Blanton have stepped up in a major way.

    Chalk Tuesday’s result up to playing a red-hot Colonels team, and look for Lipscomb to get right at home, especially since it is an impressive 10-5-1 ATS with one day of rest since the start of last season.

    Pick: Lipscomb -5.5 (-118)

    Jacksonville (-1.5) at North Florida (+110) | O/U 157.5 (-112/-108) 

    We stay in the ASUN for the second of our three picks, despite this Jacksonville vs. North Florida tilt having much fewer implications on the conference race than the North Alabama-Lipscomb matchup.
    Jacksonville will have plenty of fans in the building with this game being played in its own city, and it is looking to avenge an 81-78 home loss to North Florida earlier this month.
    Jacksonville comes into this game having lost back-to-back contests and has not endured a three-game losing streak all season.
    The Dolphins should have the edge over the Ospreys in this rematch, as UNF’s defense ranks ninth or worse in league play in several defensive metrics, including effective field goal percentage allowed, adjusted defensive efficiency, offensive rebounding percentage, and free throw attempts per field goal attempt allowed.
    The Dolphins are a perfect 5-0 ATS as road favorites this season, and we expect them to earn a sixth straight cover in this spot.

    Pick: Jacksonville -1.5 (-115)

    USC (+410) at Maryland (-10.5) | O/U 152.5 (-115/-105) 

    USC is 3-3 on the road in Big Ten play this season, but none of those wins have come on a much more extended road trip on the East Coast like it has when facing Maryland tonight.
    Maryland’s strengths in this game play right into USC’s weaknesses, as the Trojans defend the perimeter well (30.5% 3-point percentage allowed in league play) but have an atrocious interior defense. USC allows opponents to shoot 55.8% from inside the arc in league play (15th-worst), which is a death sentence when going against the Terrapins’ talented frontcourt duo of Julian Reese and Derik Queen.
    The Trojans have lost three of four games, including arguably their worst loss of the season when they squandered a 14-point first-half lead at home to Minnesota in their last game.
    Maryland is a much better ATS home team (9-6-1 ATS) than a road team (3-5 ATS) this season, and I expect the XFINITY Center crowd will propel it to another big victory tonight.

    Pick: Maryland -10.5 (-112)

    Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.

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