College Basketball Week 16 Betting Picks & Predictions for this Weekend’s Top Matches

The calendar is poised to turn to March, where legends are made, indelible moments are created and coaches vault themselves from obscurity into that next big job. The eyes of the nation will be on squarely fixed on the sport as conference tournaments and eventually March Madness gets underway.

Before the madness begins, there is regular season basketball to be played and there are a number of delectable matchups on tap for this weekend. Many of these games may not be laced with NCAA Tournament implications as most of the teams involved in them are already destined for the Field of 68. However, seeding and positioning is still very much at stake.

In this piece, let’s take a look at three games that should be not only meaningful and important but also exciting and present solid College Basketball betting opportunities.

 

Last Weekend of February Has Strong Slate | NCAA Basketball Lines

 

Battle out West

For years, Gonzaga has dominated the WCC, winning or sharing the conference regular season crown in all but one season since 2000. For those counting at home that’s 21 out of 22 with only St. Mary’s, who captured the 2011-12 regular season crown after sharing it with the juggernaut from Spokane the year previous.

Saturday night, St. Mary’s will have a chance to win the crown outright as the Gaels, who already beat the Zags once this year face off against their arch-nemesis at the Kennel in Spokane. KenPom has GU winning 72-70 and we expect the markets to favor the Zags since they are at home. We expect it obviously to be close but have a feeling this is St. Mary’s year and like Randy Bennett’s team to come away with the victory.

   

Big 10 Battle

Purdue spent time this season as the number 1 team in America but has shown flaws lately. The Boilers host Indiana in a primetime matchup Saturday night in West Lafayette. Hoosiers come in off an 80-65 setback at Michigan State, who was playing its first game since the tragedy on their campus. Purdue arrives 2-3 in its last five, including a 79-74 setback in Bloomington.

In the losing skein, Purdue’s young guards have been exposed as it has lost the turnover battle in each of its last five contests. Matt Painter’s team has not lost at home since early January when Rutgers beat them and they’ve been a much different squad at home.

KenPom has it as a nine-point Boilers win in a game which Purdue has to have if they want to be a number 1 seed. We fancy Purdue here but will wait and see the spread. Anything more than seven and we side with the Hooisers, anything less, it’s Purdue.

  

Tricky Road Spot

UCONN is one of 10 teams ranked in the top 25 going on the road this weekend as they head to the Big Apple and Madison Square Garden to duel with St. John’s. St. John’s still has an outside shot at making the tournament and this is a must win for the Johnnie’s. What many don’t realize is that UCONN dubs itself as NYC’s sixth borough and judging from the secondary ticket market, it could very well be a Huskies home game.

KenPom has this affair as a nine-point UCONN win but strange things happen when a team goes on the road, even if the crowd will be in their favor. We tend to side with home teams in desperation mode in these type of spots and if the number is anything north of eight points, we advise you to invest in St. John’s.

   

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