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Bellarmine Knights vs. Central Arkansas Bears prediction, pick for NCAAM on Friday 3/6/26

Bellarmine Knights vs. Central Arkansas Bears prediction, pick for NCAAM on Friday 3/6/26

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By: Brendan O'Sullivan

The quarterfinals are here for the ASUN conference as Bellarmine takes on Central Arkansas on Friday, March 6.

These teams split the season series with each club winning on their home floor.

The Bears are 5.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook. The game total is set at 154.5 points.

Here’s my prediction, preview and pick for Friday’s Bellarmine vs. Central Arkansas matchup.

Bellarmine vs. Central Arkansas prediction, preview

Central Arkansas is the No. 1 seed in the ASUN conference tournament, so it has all the pressure here. It finished the regular season with a 20-11 overall record and 15-3 conference record. Of those three losses, one was against Bellarmine.

That’s not a good look heading into a must-win game. The ASUN won’t have an at-large bid this year, so winning the conference tournament is paramount to making the Big Dance.

Bellarmine is the No. 8 seed and. is coming off an 82-79 victory against Jacksonville in the first round. Jack Karasinski scored 31 in the victory and has had a hot hand leading up to this tournament. He’s averaging 29.3 points per game on 56% shooting and 43.5% from deep across the past six games, including the conference tourney opener.

The Knights only won four of the six matchups during this stretch, which raises a question. Can Karasinski’s offensive firepower be enough to keep the Knights rolling in March?

In the two games that Bellarmine played Central Arkansas, the Bears held Karasinski to 17 points in each. He shot efficiently, but 17 points is most likely not going to be enough to take down the No. 1 seed. It worked once, but it took overtime on the Bears’ home floor.

Bellarmine vs. Central Arkansas pick, best bet

Central Arkansas has three conference losses this season. Two of which came within the first four games of the conference schedule. Since then, the team has ironed out its issues and won 13 of its last 14 games.

While one of the three losses was against Bellarmine, it came in early January. The Bears look tournament ready now, and will cover the spread in this win.

Best bet: Central Arkansas -5.5 (-110)

Brendan O'Sullivan

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is osullivanb255) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.