Another exciting college basketball slate is on tap for Friday, with several high-profile matchups across the country. Among the biggest matchups, a Big Ten showdown between UCLA and #20 Purdue has plenty of intrigue. Ahead of tonight’s action, here are my two favorite college basketball player props on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Skyy Clark 2+ three-pointers made (+140)
UCLA has cultivated an aggressive, defensive-first identity under head coach Mick Cronin. That includes a deliberately slow offense, playing at college basketball’s 65th-slowest pace per KenPom. Still, the Bruins do have a decent collection of playmakers, including Skyy Clark. The guard’s numbers this season aren’t remarkable, averaging 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists. However, he’s also shooting 39.3% from three-point range, second-best on the team.
Clark has been on a bit of a heater from beyond the arc recently. Over his last 11 games, the junior has nailed at least two three-pointers seven different times. UCLA’s opponent tonight, #20 Purdue, has done a decent job defending the perimeter. However, opponents have taken more than 40% of their field goal attempts from long distance against the Boilermakers (KenPom). As long as Clark get a handful of good looks from deep, he’s a solid bet here at plus-money.
Ty Berry 17+ points (-110)
We’ll stay in the Big Ten, where Northwestern and Iowa are both desperate for a win. These two squads have dramatic differences in play style; the Wildcats prefer slower, grind-it-out games, whereas the Hawkeyes like to push the pace. In a relatively even matchup, something has got to give. Northwestern enters tonight’s contest shorthanded, with both Jalen Leach (ACL) and Brooks Barnhizer (foot) out for the rest of the season. That places more of a burden on Nick Martinelli and Ty Berry to carry this offense. The latter of the two has thrived with a bigger workload, recording over ten points in nine of his last 12 appearances.
Northwestern’s star guard has been terrific lately, but flirting with 20 points is a tall order. It helps that Iowa has massive issues on defense, allowing the most points per game in the Big Ten (79.5). When these two teams last met in December, Berry tallied 20 points in just 29 minutes of play. That performance occurred with both Leach and Barnhizer in the starting lineup. The Hawkeyes have shown no improvement on defense since then, surrendering an average of 85.3 points over their last three outings. With all that in mind, Berry should get plenty of touches in a potentially high-scoring Friday night shootout.
