The 2024-25 men’s college basketball regular season goes out with a bang on Saturday, March 8.
The slate features three top-25 matchups, and that does not include Duke vs. North Carolina. The Tobacco Road rivalry remains a fixture in college hoops, but it has faded a bit since Roy Williams retired in 2021 and Mike Krzyzewski called it quits a year later.
Below are the highlights of what’s on tap exactly one week before Conference Championship Saturday:
Note: all times ET.
- noon — No. 6 St. John’s vs. No. 20 Marquette (FOX) + No. 19 Kentucky vs. No. 20 Missouri (ESPN)
- 2:30 p.m. — No. 7 Alabama at No. 1 Auburn (ESPN)
- 6:30 p.m. — No. 2 Duke vs. North Carolina (ESPN)
- 10 p.m. — No. 3 Houston vs. Baylor (ESPN)
March 8 Best NCAAM Prop Bets, Betting Preview
Let’s briefly run through our favorite prop and sides bets for each of the games highlighted above.
All odds come from DraftKings as of late Friday afternoon.
How to Bet St. John’s vs. Marquette: Odds, Props, Best Bets
Betting odds:
- spread: Marquette -1.5 (-110); St. John’s +1.5 (-110)
- moneyline: Marquette -125; St. John’s +105
- total: 140.5 (o-110; u-110)
In a rematch of a battle in Madison Square Garden that SJU won 70-64 on February 4, the Johnnies are slight road dogs. The biggest reason coach Rick Pitino’s team won Round 1 of this matchup was the offensive glass: St. John’s grabbed a remarkable 18 of its 35 misses, which was too much for the Golden Eagles to overcome.
I’m going with St. John’s as the slight road dogs, as I expect its rebounding advantage to once again prove the difference (Marquette is No. 157 in offensive rebounding and No. 249 in defensive rebounding, per Bart Torvik’s T-Rank).
Best bets:
- SJU ML (+105 at DK) — 1 unit
- SJU F Zuby Ejiofor Over 7.5 rebounds (-114 at FD) — 0.5 units
How to Bet Kentucky vs. Missouri: Odds, Props, Best Bets
Betting odds:
- spread: Missouri -4.5 (-110); Kentucky +4.5 (-110)
- moneyline: KY +180; MIZZ -218
- total: 170.5 (o-110; u-110)
The high-scoring SEC rivals meet for the first time on Saturday in what should be a track meet. Both these teams have found themselves in one high-scoring shootout after another in recent weeks. Missouri has lost three of its last four and two in a row, while UK is 3-2 in its last five, with losses to top-10 Auburn and Alabama.
With Kentucky coming off an easy 95-74 win over LSU and Mizzou fresh off back-to-back losses to Vanderbilt and OU, I’m going with the hotter team at the moment to cover as 4.5-point dogs.
Best bets:
- UK +4.5 (-110 at DK) — 1 unit
- UK G Koby Brea Over 12.5 points (+100 at FD) — 0.5 units
How to Bet Alabama vs. Auburn: Odds, Props, Best Bets
Betting odds:
- spread: Bama +7.5 (-108); Auburn -7.5 (-112)
- moneyline: Bama +275; Auburn -345
- total: 177.5 (o-110; u-110)
The Tide have spent most of the year ranked in the top 10 in the country, but they’re just 2-4 in their last six games amid a brutal late-season schedule. Their losses to No. 4 Tennessee and No. 5 Florida in the last week say more about the strength of the Vols and Gators, but they don’t bode well for Saturday’s trip to Auburn.
The Tigers, who beat Bama 94-85 in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 15, are coming off just their second loss of the season, and I don’t recommend betting against Johni Broome and Co. on Senior Night at Neville Arena. The big man has been bottled up in his last two games, but I expect him to have a massive night after going for 19 points and 14 boards against Bama earlier this month.
For my best bet here, I’ll take Bama to start strong, as they offer some value at +105 to win DraftKings’ “Race to 10 Points – 1H.”
Best bets:
- Bama Race to 10 Points – 1H (+105 at DK)
- Auburn F Johni Broome Over 11.5 rebounds (+102 at FD) — 0.5 units
How to Bet Duke vs. North Carolina: Odds, Props, Best Bets
Betting odds:
- spread: Duke -11.5 (-110); UNC +11.5 (-110)
- moneyline: Duke -575; UNC +475
- total: 157.5 (o-110; u-110)
Duke has been running its opponents off the court throughout ACC play, and the Tar Heels were no exception in Cameron Indoor on Feb. 1. Carolina, has since gotten hot at the right time, albeit against poor competition, with six straight wins against Syracuse, NC State, Virginia, Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech.
The strong recent play by Carolina needs an asterisk given how bad those opponents have been this year, but I nevertheless think that between their hot streak and the energy from the home crowd, we’ll see UNC start this one off strong after falling behind 47-25 at halftime in Cameron.
First-half spread markets were not available at publishing time, but if you can find UNC on the first-half spread tomorrow, that’s worth a look. For now, though, let’s go with the over as our best sides bet.
Flagg’s props are unsurprisingly unfavorable, for the most part, but his points + assists number (Over 24.5 points + assists is available at -104) is actually enticing for a player who had 21 points and seven dimes in the first meeting and averages around 20 points and 4 assists per game).
Best bets:
- Over 157.5 points (-110 at DK) — 0.5 units
- Cooper Flagg Over 24.5 points + assists (-104 at FD) — 1 unit
How to Bet Houston vs. Baylor: Odds, Props, Best Bets
Betting odds:
- spread: HOU -4.5 (-110); BU +4.5 (-110)
- moneyline: HOU -205; BU +170
- total: 130.5 (o-110; u-110)
Anyone on the East Coast who makes it up for Houston-Baylor should be in for a physical slugfest. The Cougars are once again one of the most physical teams in the country, and their battle with Baylor should be a good one after they beat the Bears 76-65 at home on February 10.
On second thought, should we really expect Baylor to hang with Houston after losing by 11 while shooting an incredible 58 percent (including 9-for-15 on 3-pointers) against the best defensive team in the nation in the first meeting?
Based on how the Cougars have played defense not only this year, but throughout Kelvin Sampson’s tenure, it’s hard to imagine them allowing the Bears to shoot anywhere near that well again on Saturday.
And remember, Houston still won the first meeting by double-digits after jumping out to a 38-30 lead at halftime.
For now, let’s go with a multi-unit play on Houston to cover as our lone bet for this game (player props not available at publishing time).
Best bets:
- HOU -4.5 (-110 at DK) — 2 units
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