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College Basketball

NCAA Basketball Thursday’s Betting Preview and Odds for Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East Tournament Matchups

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
5 minute read
March Madness Betting Central

Come Thursday, things start to get interesting during Championship Week with many of the top teams in nation returning to action in their conference tournament.

Three games of interest on Thursday’s betting board start with a Big Ten matchup between the Purdue Boilermakers and the No. 19 Ohio State Buckeyes. In the Big 12, the No. 22 West Virginia Mountaineers take on the Oklahoma Sooners. Later Thursday night, action in the Big East pits the Marquette Golden Eagles against the No. 16 Seton Hall Pirates.

Big Ten Tournament Matchup
Purdue Boilermakers vs. No. 19 Ohio State Buckeyes

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2020
TV-Time: Big Ten Network, 6:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Location: Indianapolis, IN.

Opening Odds: Ohio State -1 ½, Total 128 ½

Betting Matchup

Second round action in the Big Ten Tournament features Purdue as the No. 10 seed looking to avenge an earlier 68-52 road loss to Ohio State as a 5 ½-point underdog. The Boilermakers finished the regular season with just two straight-up victories in their last seven games while posting a 2-4-1 record against the spread.

The total went OVER in seven of their last nine outings. Purdue is 16-15 SU overall and 13-17-1 ATS.

The team averaged 68.2 points per game behind forward Trevion Williams (11.5 PPG) and guard Eric Hunter (10.6 PPG).

It has been a wild ride for the Buckeyes all season long at 21-10 SU (19-12 ATS) ,but with six wins (SU and ATS) in their last eight games, they bring some momentum into this tournament as the No. 7 seed. The total has gone OVER in seven or their last nine outings.

Ohio State has three players in double figures on the year led by Kaleb Wesson (14 PPG). The junior forward was held to eight points in 35 minutes during a season-ending loss to Michigan State.

Betting Trends

-- The Boilermakers are 3-8-1 ATS this season when closing as underdogs and they went 1-2 ATS in three neutral-site games.

-- The Buckeyes have covered in 17 of 25 games as favorites this season and the total has gone OVER in three of their last four games giving points.

-- Despite the earlier loss, Purdue has a 5-2 SU edge in its last seven games against Ohio State. The series is tied 5-5 ATS over the last 10 meetings with the total going OVER in four of the last five games between the two.

Big 12 Tournament Matchup
No. 22 West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Oklahoma Sooners

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2020
TV-Time: ESPN2, 9:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Sprint Center
Location: Kansas City, Missouri

Opening Odds: West Virginia -3 ½, Total 134 ½

Betting Matchup

West Virginia finished the regular season 21-10 SU and an even 15-15-1 ATS. It also went an even 9-9 SU in Big 12 play to earn the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament. The Mountaineers ended the season on a high note with a stunning 76-64 victory over Baylor. They closed as slight 1 ½-point favorites at home.

West Virginia dropped a pair of games against Oklahoma SU and ATS by a combined 21 points with the total staying UNDER in each game.

Emmitt Matthews scored a season-high 18 points and freshman Oscar Tshiebwe added 16 points and 12 rebounds to pace the season-ending win over Baylor.

The Sooners (19-12 SU, 14-16-1 ATS) were also 9-9 SU in conference play but favorable tiebreakers moved them to No. 3 in the tournament bracket. They went 3-1 SU and ATS over their last four games including an 11-point road win against West Virginia as eight-point underdogs on Feb. 29. The total stayed UNDER in four of their last six outings.

Oklahoma erased a 19-point deficit with Austin Reaves scoring 41 points in a season-ending 78-76 road win against TCU.

Betting Trends

-- The Mountaineers have a SU 5-5 record in their last 10 games as favorites with a 3-6-1 record ATS. The total has stayed UNDER in eight of those 10 games.

-- The Sooners have won their last three games SU and ATS closing as underdogs but they are an even 8-8 ATS in 16 games this season getting points.

-- Oklahoma has won three of its last four games against West Virginia both SU and ATS. The total has stayed UNDER in seven of the last 10 meetings.

Big East Tournament Matchup
Marquette Golden Eagles vs. No. 16 Seton Hall Pirates

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2020
TV-Time: FOX Sports 1, 9:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Madison Square Garden
Location: New York, New York

Opening Odds: Seton Hall -2 ½, Total 150 ½

Betting Matchup

Marquette’s current SU three-game losing streak started on Feb. 29 with an 88-79 loss to Seton Hall as a three-point home favorite. It also lost to the Pirates by 14 points on the road in early January. The Golden Eagles (18-12 SU, 17-13 ATS) slipped to sixth in the Big East after losing six of their last seven games SU.

They were 2-5 ATS with the total going OVER in four of their last five games.

Senior guard Markus Howard has averaged 27.8 PPG game this season and he has topped that average in each of his last five starts.

The Pirates (21-9 SU, 17-12-1 ATS) played their way out of an outright Big East regular season title with a SU 3-3 record in their last six conference games. They finished in a three-way tie with Creighton and Villanova at 13-5 but tiebreakers dropped them to No. 3.

Seton Hall went 4-8-1 ATS over its final 13 contests with the total going OVER in five of the last seven games.

Senior guard Miles Powell has scored an average of 21.0 PPG this season and he had 28 points in the recent meeting against Marquette.

Betting Trends

-- The Golden Eagles went 2-1 ATS in three previous neutral-site games this season but they failed to cover in four of nine games closing as underdogs.

-- The Pirates are also 2-1 ATS in neutral-site games but they fall to just 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games closing as favorites.

-- With the season sweep, Seton Hall has won its last four games against Marquette SU while covering in the last five. The total stayed UNDER in three of the previous five meetings.

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