March is here! It’s the best time of the year in college hoops, and time to start focusing some article in on college basketball bets on DraftKings Sportsbook! This Friday card is insane, with some big time matchups tipping off all day long.
Starting off here with a few early tips that I really like, and adding plays later in the day. I tweeted this out late Thursday night with my first three plays and will be using those numbers to grade my plays, but in this article I’ll use lines at the time of publishing.
Saint Louis vs. St. Bonaventure — 2:30pm ET
Bonnies ML (-120) — 2-units
I got a good number on this one on Thursday in my tweet, playing +2 for 1.5-units. I’m adding another half unit to the money line, as I love this spot for the Bonnies. If you’ve followed me this season, betting the Bonnies has been a rollercoaster. They were the comeback kids early in the season, cashing a lot of second half and live plays, but fell off a cliff mid-season.
A long COVID pause was to blame for some of it, and then the Bonnies got back into a groove, including a pair of wins over the Billikens. Entering this tournament, the Bonnies are on an 8-1 run and 7-2 ATS. The only loss was on the road to VCU without one of their crucial starters. All five pieces to the puzzle need to play big minutes for the success of this team.
The Bonnies knew if they finished strong they could still lock down one of the byes in the A-10 and got there. Now the goal is simple — win three games in D.C. and this veteran bunch will go dancing. Step one if to beat this St. Louis squad that they matchup well with. As long as the starting five is healthy and out of foul trouble, the Bonnies are tough to top. I think they take advantage of this opportunity.
LSU vs. Arkansas — 2:30pm ET
LSU +3.5 (-110) — 2-units
I’m a big SEC fan this season and really like both of these teams. Arkansas has what it takes to make a run, both in this conference and in the big dance. But for now, I think this LSU team is getting healthy at the right time. The Tigers have won six of nine, and three of their last four — the lone loss was by a single point at Arkansas at 5.5-point dogs. They get a revenge spot here on a neutral floor, where they’re 4-0 this season. Nothing bad to say about Arkansas, but feel the spot favors an LSU team that needs it more. I like LSU so much I jumped the gun and played +2 in my tweet, and added another half-unit to +3.5.
TCU vs. Kansas — 7:00pm ET
TCU +8 (-110) — 1.5-units
I thought Kansas might not be fully motivated in this tournament, but they came out and sent a message in their first game. TCU did too through, mounting a massive comeback as underdogs over the Longhorns. The Horned Frogs are playing terrific basketball right now, and just covered a pair of games against Kansas — a home win as dogs and then a narrow four-point road loss. TCU is just a bad matchup for Kansas, and have proven it just last week. I think they keep this one close once again and have a chance to win the game.
Richmond vs. VCU — 8:30pm ET
VCU -3.5 (-110) — 1-unit
I considered playing this one larger, but the number has now moved outside of one possession. I still like VCU and think the Rams are worth a play at this number. Richmond comes in hot off their second-half comeback, but this is a far more difficult matchup. Richmond limps into this one on a 1-5 ATS skid, with a lot of its wins over bad teams. The Spiders are just 1-6 SU as a dog this season, and don’t matchup well with VCU. The Rams have won 11 of 13, and six of the last seven in this matchup. I expect them to roll.
UCONN vs. Villanova — 9:00pm ET
Nova -2 (-110) — 1.5-units
This should be the game of the night. A classic Big East battle at Madison Square Garden between two really good teams. UCONN absolutely stole the last matchup between these teams last month, and now ‘Nova will be out for some revenge in March. This is going to be a grinder, but I expect some of that magic the Wildcats captured in the second half on Thursday to roll into this game. The Huskies had a comfortable wire-to-wire win and looked better in their opening game. But ‘Nova overcame a 17-point second half deficit to St. John’s to advance. Maybe it was a lookahead spot for them, but they corrected themselves the final 15 minutes of the game. I expect them to be sharp in this one.
Virginia Tech vs. North Carolina — 9:30pm ET
UNC -2.5 (-110) — 1.5-units
We’ve been riding this Carolina squad recently, and they’re playing great basketball after a tough season at times. Tech scrapped by in their first game, and then looked really good against Notre Dame — a team they matchup really well with. The UNC matchup is a far more difficult one, dropping the last regular season matchup by eight points, despite being 4.5-point favorites. The Hokies had a pretty soft finish to their schedule, and now get a heavyweight. The Tar Heels come in winners of their last six, and on a 5-1 ATS run. UNC has covered their last two games by a combined 40 points.
Place your college basketball bets at DraftKings Sportsbook and bet online by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game.
All betting odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public contests.
The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).
21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.