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College Basketball

Friday – Session 1

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
5 minute read
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Next up is a matchup between Cal State Fullerton and Purdue. Session 1 continues with the Thundering Herd of Marshall tangling with Wichita State and it comes to an end in a clash between Georgia State and Cincinnati.

West Region (Charlotte, NC)
No. 10 Providence vs. No. 7 Texas A&M (CBS, 12:15 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: Texas A&M -3 ½, 138 ½

Betting Matchup

Providence made a run to Big East Tournament Championship before coming up short against top-seeded Villanova 76-66 as a 13-point underdog. The most impressive victory was against Xavier in the semifinals with a 75-72 win as a seven-point underdog. The Friars posted a 5-1 record against the spread in their last six games with the total staying UNDER in four of those contests.

The Aggies were in the middle of the pack in the SEC at 9-9 straight-up. Their stay in the conference tournament was limited to a 71-70 loss to Alabama as 3 ½-point favorites. Texas A&M comes into this tournament at 2-5 ATS in its last seven games and it has lost four of those games SU. It has averaged 75.0 points per game behind six different players averaging at least nine points per game.

Betting Trends

-- The Friars have failed to cover in 13 of their last 16 nonconference games and the total has stayed UNDER in five of their last seven NCAA Tournament games.

-- The Aggies are 1-4 ATS in their last five games in this tournament and the total has gone OVER in seven of their last 10 games.

-- This will be the first meeting in this Big East/SEC tilt.

East Region (Detroit, MI)
No. 15 CS Fullerton Titans vs. No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers (TruTV, 12:40 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: Purdue -21, 145

Betting Matchup

The Titans earned a berth in the Big Dance with their successful run to the Big West Conference Tournament Championship. They were fourth in the standings in the regular season at 10-6 before going on a 3-0 run both SU and ATS. The clincher was a 71-55 romp over UC Irvine as 2 ½-point underdogs. The total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in 13 of their last 15 games.

Purdue was tied with Ohio State for the second-best record in the Big Ten at 15-3. Its run at the tournament title ended in the championship with a 75-66 loss to Michigan as a four-point favorite. This snapped a SU five-game winning streak, but going back to late January, the Boilermakers have failed to cover in 11 of their last 13 games with one contest ending as a PUSH.

Betting Trends

-- The Titans have gone 4-1-1 ATS in their last six neutral-site games and the total has stayed UNDER in 13 of their last 16 games played at a neutral site.

-- The Boilermakers are 5-2 ATS in their last seven NCAA Tournament games and the total has gone OVER in 11 or their last 15 nonconference games.

-- These two teams have never played one another in recent memory.

East Region (San Diego, CA)
No. 13 Marshall vs. No. 4 Wichita State (TNT, 1:30 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: Wichita State -12, 166

Betting Matchup

The Thundering Herd made a run to the Conference USA Tournament title as the No. 4 seed in the field. They finished conference play at 12-6 SU after beating the top-seeded Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 76-67 as 11 ½-point road underdogs in their regular season finale. Marshall toppled Western Kentucky 67-66 to win the C-USA Tournament as a 5 ½-point underdog.

Wichita State’s first season in the AAC ended with a 14-4 SU record, which was tied with Houston for second place. The Shockers bowed-out of the conference tournament with a 77-74 loss to the Cougars as three-point favorites. They failed to cover in seven of their last eight outings and the total has gone OVER in 13 of their last 15 games. Wichita State is averaging 83.0 PPG.

Betting Trends

-- The Thundering Herd have covered in six of their last seven games at a neutral site and the total has gone OVER in their last six games played on Friday.

-- The Shockers are 4-1 ATS in their last five matchups against C-USA and the total has stayed UNDER in their last five NCAA Tournament games.

-- This will be the first meeting between the two.

South Region (Nashville, TN)
No. 15 Georgia State vs. No. 2 Cincinnati (TBS, 2:00 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: Cincinnati -14, 129 ½

Betting Matchup

Georgia State earned its invitation to the Big Dance with a 74-61 victory over Texas-Arlington in the title game of the Sun Belt Tournament. The Panthers covered as two-point favorites to run their current winning streak to four games both SU and ATS. Sophomore guard D’Marcus Simonds led the team in scoring this season with 21.1 PPG and he scored 27 points his last time out.

The Bearcats pulled off the daily double by winning both the AAC regular season title as well as the conference tournament. They snuck past Houston 56-55 in that title game to extend their current winning streak to seven games. After failing to cover as 4 ½-point favorites against the Cougars, they dropped to 2-4 ATS in their last six contests. Cincinnati has four different players averaging at least 11 PPG.

Betting Trends

-- The Panthers have gone 4-1 ATS in their last five games played at a neutral site and the total has stayed UNDER in their last six neutral-site games.

-- The Bearcats are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games in this tournament and the total has stayed UNDER in seven of their last eight games at a neutral site.

-- These two teams have never played one another before.



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