Top 3 College Basketball NIT Predictions: Tuesday (3/18)

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The NCAA Men’s College Basketball season has reached the best time of the year. We have a pair of First Four games on Tuesday night, while the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) also gets underway. While the First Four games, and NIT contests, aren’t full of bangers, there are still some solid betting opportunities.

Here are our best college basketball picks for Tuesday, March 18.

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Tuesday’s Best College Basketball Picks

Last Week: 3-2 (60.0%, (+82) | Season: 7-8 (46.7%, -189) | Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All picks are for 1 unit

Kent State Golden Flashes (+172) at St. Bonaventure Bonnies (-210) | O/U 135.5 (-110/-110)

The Golden Flashes (22-11) and Bonnies (22-11) meet in the first round of the NIT at Reilly Center at St. Bonaventure, N.Y. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed or streamed on ESPNU.

Backing Kent State takes a little bit of a leap of faith. It has won three of the past four games, but the Golden Flashes have failed to cover in each of the past five outings, while going 5-11-2 ATS in the past 18 outings. The Under has cashed in each of the past three games, while going 4-1 in the past five outings.

For St. Bonaventure, they were pounded 76-59 to bow out of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament against VCU, failing to cover as an 11-point underdog as the Over (133) cashed. Prior to that, it edged Duquesne, an NCAA Tournament team from last season, while covering a 2-point favorite as the Under (130) connected.

At home, the Bonnies won their final two regular-season home games, but they’re just 2-3 ATS in the past five games, and 5-10 ATS in the previous 15 contests. The Over is 4-2 in the past six contests. The Over is also 3-1 in the past four home games, while going 6-3 in the past nine at Reilly Center.

Let’s back St. Bonaventure laying the points, and we’ll go Over on the total.

Picks: St. Bonaventure -4.5 (-120) & Over 135.5 Points (-110)

Wichita State Shockers (+205) at Oklahoma State Cowboys (-255) | O/U 154.5 (-115/-105)

The Shockers (19-14) are happy to make the NIT, while the Cowboys (15-17) turned in a sub-.500 record and Oklahoma State doesn’t figure to be long for this tournament.

Wichita State fired out of the chute as the 8-seed in the American Conference Tournament against top-seed Memphis, but it frittered away a big lead in the second half. While the Shockers covered as 8.5-point underdogs, it lost 83-80 while the Over (147) cashed.

The Shockers are still just 2-4 SU in the past six games, but Wichita State is 4-1 ATS in the past five outings. The Under has hit in three of the past four games, too. On the road, the Shockers have five in a row since Feb. 4, and Wichita State is 6-1 ATS in the past seven outings on the road. The Under is 4-1 in the past five on the road while going 5-2 in the past seven away from home.

The Cowboys were buried in their first game of the Big 12 Tournament by Cincinnati, falling 87-68 as a 6.5-point underdog as the Over (138) cashed. Oklahoma State is just 3-6 SU in the past nine games while going 5-10 SU in the past 15 games since Jan. 21. Oklahoma State is a respectable 8-4 ATS in the past 12 games while going 3-0 ATS in the past three home outings, and 7-2 ATS in the previous nine in Stillwater. The Over is 6-2 in the past eight home games, too.

Wichita State is worth a look catching a healthy amount of points, and we’ll back the Under in this NIT opener.

Picks:Wichita State +5.5 (-102) & Over 154.5 Points (-115)

CSU Northridge Matadors (+230) at Stanford Cardinal (-285) | O/U 154.5 (-106/-114)

The Matadors (22-10) and Cardinal (20-13) meet at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto at 11 p.m. ET. This intra-California game can be viewed or streamed on ESPN2.

Cal State Northridge were cover machines earlier in the season, but it tailed off quite a bit. The Matadors suffered a 78-72 loss against UCSB in the first round of the Big West Tournament, failing to cover as a 3.5-point favorite while the Under (151.5) cashed. CSUN has failed to cover the past three games, while going 1-5 ATS in the past six games, and 2-7 ATS in the past nine outings. The Over has hit in three of the past four games while going 6-3 in the past nine games.

For Stanford, it was tripped up 75-73 by Louisville in the second game of the ACC Tournament, but it covered as a 10.5-point underdog while the Over (144) cashed. The Under hit in the final five games of the regular season, but the Over cashed in both ACC Tournament games for Stanford. The Cardinal are just 3-10 ATS in the past 13 games.

Neither of these teams instill a lot of confidence against the number. Let’s back the Matadors catching more than three buckets while looking to the Over in this NIT opener at Maples.

Picks: CSU Northridge +6.5 (-105) & Over 154.5 Points (-106)

Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @WinWithJoe.