Top College Basketball Picks for Friday, February 18 (2022)
Most of the exciting college basketball action will come tomorrow, but there’s still an opportunity to build up our bankroll tonight! Despite a small slate, we have plenty of intriguing matchups and games with plenty of value. Let’s get right to it!
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Richmond vs VCU: VCU -134
(7:00 p.m. ET)
The Richmond Spiders already lost to VCU at home. It’ll be a little different with them on the road. While they’ll still be “home†because they’ll play in Richmond, they won’t have the Spider faithful to support them. Instead, they’ll play in the Stuart C. Siegel Center, which will be packed with VCU fans from just across the street.
Anyway, both Richmond teams are getting hot and have each won four of their last five games. VCU boasts the much better defense and really doesn’t get talked about enough. The Rams have held opponents to 27.1 percent from three and 44.8 percent from inside the arc while forcing a turnover on 25.3 percent of their opponents’ possessions.
Richmond loves to shoot the three, but they’ll struggle against VCU.
Bet: VCU -134 at FanDuel Sportsbook
Cornell vs Dartmouth: Cornell +100
(7:00 p.m. ET)
The Cornell Big Red have been the much better offense relative to Dartmouth this year. Cornell is shooting an effective field goal percentage of 53.8 percent while hitting 34.2 percent of threes and 56.1 percent of shots inside this season. Cornell also gets to the line at a high rate and is an average free-throw shooting team.
On the other hand, Dartmouth is shooting an effective field goal percentage of 47.3 percent and rarely earns offensive rebounds. Dartmouth is content with going one-and-done most possessions, and that won’t help them keep up.
Cornell is very deep, and they use their bench a lot throughout the game. It keeps everyone fresh and ready to go when their names are called.
Bet: Cornell +100 at Caesars Sportsbook
Maryland vs Nebraska: Maryland -130
(9:00 p.m. ET)
Maryland impressed me against Purdue last Sunday. They suffered a road loss — but by only one point. Sure, the Terrapins got Purdue on its worst day, but Maryland stuck around and had a chance to pull off a huge upset. Now the Terps will take on a Nebraska group that has gone 1-13 in the Big Ten this season.
Nebraska will rarely earn an offensive rebound and the Cornhuskers are shooting just 30.7 percent from deep along and 51.1 percent from inside the arc.
On the defensive side of the ball, Nebraska is allowing teams to log an offensive rebound rate of 31.7 percent and are giving up a 51.3 percent effective field goal percentage. Right now, Maryland just has a knack for getting to the line. Good things happen when they get there, as the Terps are hitting 75.4 percent of their foul shots.
Let’s take Maryland as the road favorite here.
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Jason Radowitz is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him @Jason_Radowitz.