Top 3 College Basketball Odds, Picks & Predictions: Sunday (3/9)
Welcome back to another Sunday of college basketball picks and predictions. It’s the final day of the regular season while mid-major conference tournaments are in full swing. Let’s find some winners as we dive into three intriguing matchups.
The Atlantic Sun championship game between Lipscomb and North Alabama headlines our college basketball picks today. Plus, we dish out predictions for Houston Christian vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the Southland Conference tournament and then an American Athletic Conference matchup featuring North Texas vs. Temple.
Note that all betting lines are accurate as of this writing, but shop around for the best odds. Enjoy these college basketball picks and predictions for Sunday, March 9.
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Sunday's Best College Basketball Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
North Alabama vs. Lipscomb (-4.5) - O/U 144.5 (-110/-110)
The Atlantic Sun Conference tournament wraps up Sunday with an intriguing championship game. After surviving in overtime in the semifinals, No. 1 seed Lipscomb will host No. 2 seed North Alabama for this title matchup. Let's see which team will punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Lipscomb and North Alabama split their two regular-season matchups - each winning at home. The most recent one came less than a month ago when Lipscomb won by 12 points in the same arena where today's game will be played. That's notable for a few reasons.
The Bisons definitely get a boost by hosting this championship matchup. They've won seven straight games at home by an average of 15.4 PPG. Lipscomb has also won by double-digits in five of its last six home games, including that aforementioned victory over North Alabama.
North Alabama, meanwhile, went 5-4 on the road in league play this year. The Lions are also just 2-5 against the spread (ATS) as road underdogs this season, failing to cover three straight. It's a tough spot having to play a title game in a true road environment - especially after they were at home for the first two rounds of the conference tournament.
This is Lipscomb's championship to lose. The Bisons have been the best in the conference all season. They're the only Atlantic Sun team among the NET's top 100. Their offense ranks top 25 nationally in effective field-goal percentage, turnover rate, two-point shooting, and free-throw percentage (per KenPom).
ASUN Player of the Year Jacob Ognacevic is a mismatch and will be against North Alabama's smaller frontcourt here. Senior guards Will Pruitt, Joe Anderson, and Gyasi Powell are all averaging double-digits as well. Ognacevic is the star but the supporting cast is plenty dangerous. The Bisons also shot 39.1% from three in conference play.
Lipscomb's defense is elite as well. It led the league in points allowed per game (67.2), opposing field-goal percentage (42.6%), opposing three-point percentage (30.9%), and opposing free-throw percentage (66.9%). The Bisons also rank first in the ASUN in defensive rebounding rate.
North Alabama could have issues offensively to keep this one close. The Lions have some talented scorers, led by Jacari Lane, and boast the best offensive turnover rate in the entire country. However, they struggle to shoot it. The offense ranks ninth in the ASUN in three-point shooting percentage, seventh in two-point shooting, and eighth in free-throw shooting.
Furthermore, Lipscomb comes in with revenge on its mind. The Bisons lost at home to North Alabama in the conference tournament a year ago. They should be motivated to avenge that loss with a convincing home victory today to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time under head coach Lennie Acuff.
Pick: Lipscomb -4.5 (-120)
Houston Christian vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (-6.5) - O/U 137.5 (-110/-110)
The Southland Conference tournament gets underway today. Let's focus on one of the league's first-round games as fifth-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi takes on eighth-seeded Houston Christian. The matchup points to one side winning comfortably.
Houston Christian barely snuck into the Southland's postseason bracket after going 9-11 in conference play. The Huskies went just 2-8 straight up and 3-7 ATS over the final 10 regular-season games as well. Their only victories in the past month came at home against New Orleans and Stephen F. Austin - two of the league's worst teams.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, meanwhile, went 12-8 in league play with double-digit victories in both of its last two games - including a 33-point win last time out. The Islanders have been one of the Southland's top squads over the past few years. They recently earned the conference's auto bid in 2022 and 2023.
On that note, Corpus Christi should come in extra motivated after losing in overtime to go one-and-done in last year's conference tournament. That was despite a 14-4 conference record as the Southland's second-best team behind McNeese State. The Islanders will be dialed in after falling flat a year ago.
Texas A&M-CC is the conference's best at scoring inside, shooting 53.3% from two-point range. Meanwhile, Houston Christian ranks 11th in the league and 313th nationally in two-point defense, per KenPom. The Huskies also allow two-pointers at the third-highest rate in the entire country while the Islanders rely on two-pointers at the sport's sixth-highest rate.
Simply put, Corpus Christi prefers to score inside and it's good at it. Houston Christian struggles to defend the paint and funnels scoring inside. It's an ideal matchup for the Islanders' offense to be efficient offensively. The Huskies are also the worst offensive-rebounding team in the conference.
A&M-CC should control the paint, especially with a notable size advantage. Islanders forward Garry Clark is the Southland's best player, according to KenPom, and he can take this game over. Corpus Christi's deep rotation of 9-10 players will also test Houston Christian's thin bench here.
Pick: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi -6.5 (-110)
North Texas (-5.5) at Temple - O/U 135.5 (-110/-110)
On this final day of the regular season in the American Athletic Conference, let's turn our attention to Temple hosting North Texas. The Mean Green are clearly the better team in this matchup and should win. Still, the home underdog Owls are live to make this interesting.
Memphis wrapped up its AAC outright regular season title with a win on Friday. That means North Texas has virtually nothing to play in this last game ahead of the conference tournament. The Mean Green are locked into the No. 2 or 3 seed, depending on UAB's result today.
Temple, meanwhile, currently sits eighth in the league standings but can move up to sixth or seventh if things break right today. That would mean avoiding juggernaut Memphis in a potential quarterfinal matchup of the AAC tourney. The Owls would have to win today, of course, for any of that to come to fruition.
Again, North Texas is better than Temple in a lot of ways. Yet, the Owls have the offensive upside to keep things close at home. They're averaging 79.4 PPG this season (third in AAC) while shooting a league-best 39.2% from three-point range against conference opponents. Temple also gets to the free-throw line at the highest rate in the AAC and boasts the league's third-best offensive efficiency in conference play, per KenPom.
The Owls also play at a quick tempo overall. This will be a literal change of pace for North Texas, which ranks 362nd nationally in tempo. Temple can speed things up enough to catch the Mean Green off guard. If North Texas does slow things down, though, that naturally favors an underdog with fewer possessions to work with.
The Temple offense could get an added boost today with Jamal Mashburn Jr. possibly returning to the lineup. He's day-to-day after missing the last month of games but may be back for Senior Day. Either way, the Owls have still been scoring plenty without him.
If Temple can get hot from three and draw enough fouls, an upset might be brewing in Philadelphia this afternoon. For what it's worth, the Owls are 3-0 ATS as a home underdog this season. They also covered as road dogs at North Texas earlier this year.
Pick: Temple +5.5 (-110)