Ricky Dimon
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And then there were 3… That’s right; there are only 3 days to go in the pre-March Madness college basketball season: today, tomorrow and then Selection Sunday. Remaining conference tournaments are either in the quarterfinals or semifinals on Friday, so there are a whole host of games on the schedule and basically all of them are extremely important. It looks like one of the most fun slates on the entire 2022-23 college basketball calendar, and certainly worthy of some best bets. Let’s take a look at my 3 plays for Friday.
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Northwestern ML over Penn State (-115)
In a logjam behind Purdue in the Big Ten, Northwestern finished second. Preseason projections had the Wildcats 13th. They have been the conference’s most surprising team and that should continue en route to the tournament semifinals. Similarly surprising Penn State is standing in the Wildcats’ way on Friday. The Nittany Lions are no pushovers, but this is a great opportunity for the ‘Cats. Penn State won on a buzzer-beater in overtime less than 2 weeks ago, but Northwestern’s excellent defense limited Jalen Pickett to only 7 points. It’s going to be tough to beat the Wildcats twice in a row, especially if Pickett is once again kept in check. I see Northwestern getting revenge and continuing the Cinderella season.
Be sure to check out our full Penn State vs Northwestern predictions
UCLA -6 over Oregon (-110)
I wasn’t sure about the Bruins’ Pac-12 Tournament prospects at the start of the week because I think they have higher aspirations. This team has a good chance to win it all. After surviving a relatively tough opener against Colorado on Thursday, however, they might as well just go all the way in their own conference. Right? UCLA is missing Jaylen Clark, but its vaunted defense won’t suffer much in his absence. Oregon’s N’Faly Dante sustained an injury against Washington State, so his status is unclear. Dante may be able to play but even if he does will probably be less than 100 percent. Six points aren’t a lot; UCLA should win and cover. The Bruins won by a bigger margin in each of the 2 regular-season matchups.
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Arizona State +8 over Arizona (-110)
It’s March, it’s a rivalry game and it has the makings of a defensive struggle. All of that leads me to believe that this matchup in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals could be closer than expected. Although Arizona State lost to Arizona at home during the regular season, that was way back in December. The Sun Devils just beat the Wildcats on the road on February 25, so they will certainly be confident in their chances on Friday.
This is a good matchup for ASU on paper, too. Arizona is led by its frontcourt duo of Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo, but Arizona State is one of the best low-post defensive teams in the country. The Sun Devils rank #4 in the country in field-goal percentage defense at the rim according to Hoop-Math. They also force a bunch of turnovers, and the Wildcats’ guards often cough it up. Give me the points.
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