The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament might not resume until Thursday, but there is plenty to bet on mid-week. On Tuesday, we have two games in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and two games in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) for your wagering pleasure.
Here are our best college basketball picks for Tuesday, March 25.
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Tuesday’s Best College Basketball Picks
Last Week: 2-4 (33.3%, (-237) | Season: 9-12 (42.9%, -426) | Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All picks are for 1 unit
Illinois State Redbirds (-225) at Incarnate Word Cardinals (+184) | O/U 148.5 (-110/-110)
The Redbirds (20-14) and Cardinals (10-16) lock horns in the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) at Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. Tip time is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed on ESPNU.
Illinois State bounced back from a 13-point loss to Belmont in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, spanking Presbyterian in its opening CBI game Sunday. Illinois State shot a blistering 60.0% (30-for-50) from the field while going 85.7% (12-of-14) from the free-throw line. Sophomore Chase Walker rolled up 20 points with nine rebounds on a very efficient 8-of-11 shooting from the field, while Ty Pence racked up 17 points off the bench. The Redbirds outrebounded the Blue Hose by six boards while piling up 14 assists to just five for Presbyterian. That helped make a minus-5 turnover margin a little easier to overcome.
Incarnate Word has won and covered both games in the CBI so far, topping Manhattan 92-85 on Sunday as 2.5-point favorites, while destroying Jacksonville 87-71 as 4.5-point underdogs while the Over cashed in both outings. The Cardinals had three players with 21 or more points, led by Davion Bailey with 23 points, including four 3-pointers. Jalin Anderson registered 22 points, but he also had five rebounds, five assists, and five steals in his 40 minutes, hitting an efficient 10-of-15.
Let’s back the Cardinals catching the points, and based on how Incarnate Word has been running wild in Daytona so far, let’s go with the Over, too.
Picks: Incarnate Word +5.5 (-110) & Over 148.5 Points (-110)
Chattanooga Mocs (+138) at Bradley Braves (-166) | O/U 152.5 (-110/-110)
The Mocs (26-9) and Braves (28-8) meet in the Dayton bracket in the NIT Quarterfinals. The game can be viewed or streamed on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Chattanooga probably should have been an NCAA Tournament team, and it appears to be on a mission to show everyone what they were missing. The Mocs were upset 80-77 by Furman in OT in the SoCon Tournament on March 9. It rebounded to wih 109-103 in an epic triple-overtime game in the NIT opener against Middle Tennessee. Honor Huff was just 2-for-9 with six points, but half of those points came on a key 3-pointer in the third extra session, tipping the scales in favor of Chattanooga. Bash Wieland ended up with 31 points with seven rebounds on 10-of-19 shooting, and Trey Bonham had 27 points with 10 rebounds and six assists.
After that, the Mocs topped Dayton 87-72 as a 2-point underdog while the Over (154) cashed on Saturday. Huff bounced back with 26 points, while Bonham was good for 25 points and eight rebounds.
Bradley bounced George Mason on the road as a 6-point underdog on Saturday, 75-67, coming on the heels of a 71-62 win as 4.5-point favorites last Wednesday against ASUN regular-season co-champ North Alabama.
The Braves are 7-1 SU in the past eight games, with the only loss coming to Drake in the Missouri Valley title game on March 10. Bradley is 5-2 against the spread (ATS) in the past seven games, while the Under is 6-1 in that seven-game span.
On the flip side, the Over is 3-1 in the past season for the Mocs, while going 10-3 in the past 13 outings since Feb. 1. Since Jan. 25, Chattanooga is 14-1 SU while going 12-3 ATS in the 15-game span. Let’s back the Mocs catching the points, in the event of a close game, and we’ll avoid the total, with the trends going in complete opposite directions for both sides.
Picks: Chattanooga +3.5 (-110)
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (+136) at Cleveland State Vikings (-164) | O/U 139.5 (-110/-110)
The Eagles (19-14) and Vikings (22-12) meet in the second CBI semifinal game, with a tip time of approximately 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
FGCU dispatched Army 68-65 on Monday night in Daytona, but it didn’t come anywhere close to covering as a 10.5-point favorite as the Under (154.5) cashed. Before that, FGCU’s most recent game was on March 3 in the first round of the ASUN Tournament, losing 71-65 to Queens College (N.C.).
Speaking of Queens, the Vikings showed them the door Monday night, 88-73, keeping FGCU from getting a chance at revenge. The Vikings are 2-1 SU/ATS in three postseason games, with the loss coming in the second game of the Horizon League Tournament against Youngstown State, 56-54.
Cleveland State torched Queens with 61% (37-of-61) from the field, while misfiring just once on nine free-throw attempts. The Vikings were a plus-10 in the rebounding department, while they were a plus-2 in the turnover category. Tahj Staveskie had a game-high 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while Dylan Arnett added 20 points on 10-of-12 from the field, with six boards, three assists, and two steals.
Based on recent common opponents, you have to back the Vikings. While FGCU is playing in its home state, Daytona Beach is very far from campus in Southwest Florida. Plus, being in the Sunshine State didn’t help Jacksonville against Incarnate Word in this tournament.
Picks: Cleveland State -3.5 (-110) & Under 139.5 Points (-110)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @WinWithJoe.
