For most non-power conferences, this is the last week of regular-season action ahead of conference tournaments starting next week. There are two legitimate non-power conference national championship contenders this year in Gonzaga and San Diego State, and their regular seasons wrap up this week with both already having clinched the top seeds entering their conference tournaments. Here’s a look at two interesting early-week matchups for your College Basketball Betting. Check back for Mybookie odds. Rankings may change Monday.
Top College Basketball Betting Picks of the Week February 24th 2020
NC State at North Carolina
- When: Tuesday, 9 PM ET (ESPN)
NC State (17-10, 8-8 ACC) is an NCAA Tournament bubble team. It lost at home to No. 8 Florida State on Saturday, 67-61. NC State led 32-27 at the half, but Florida State quickly took control of the game in the second half. Two MJ Walker free throws with 16:54 remaining gave Florida State its first lead since 13:25 remained in the first half and the Seminoles never trailed again.
NC State closed to within two, 50-48, on a Markell Johnson lay-up with 10 minutes remaining, but could get no closer as Florida State responded with a 7-0 run to push the lead out to nine. The Seminoles’ big advantage was at the free throw line where FSU finished the game 18-of-29 and NC State was 9-of-13.
UNC (10-17, 3-13 ACC) lost its seventh in a row Saturday, 72-55 at No. 11 Louisville. The Heels played short-handed as starting forward Garrison Brooks missed the game due to an illness and reserve Justin Pierce sat out with a sprained left ankle. Brooks, the team’s second-leading scorer, was a game-time decision, Roy Williams said, due to his temperature. It was the first college game Brooks has missed in three seasons. He had played in 99 consecutive games and made 62 straight starts. Carolina scholarship players have missed 85 games due to injury this season, the most in the Roy Williams Era. The previous high was 64 in 2008-09.
As bad as the Heels are, they look for the sweep of the Wolfpack. On Jan. 27 in Raleigh, the Heels won 75-65. Garrison Brooks had 25 points and 11 rebounds to help UNC earn a seventh straight road win in the longtime series between nearby schools. Brooks was dominant much of the night inside, helping UNC shoot 49% and lead by as many as 11 points after halftime. The Heels were without star freshman Cole Anthony as well as senior Brandon Robinson but still got Roy Williams his 31st win in 35 games against the Wolfpack during his 17 years with the Tar Heels. D.J. Funderburk scored 18 points to lead the Wolfpack, who shot 42% and made just 4 of 20 3-pointers. Season leading scorer CJ Bryce was scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting.
Georgetown at No. 19 Marquette
- When: Wednesday, 8:30 PM ET (Fox Sports 1)
Georgetown (15-12, 5-9 Big East) has fallen off the NCAA Tournament bubble with back-to-back losses. It was 74-68 at a horrible DePaul team on Saturday. Terrell Allen led a trio of Hoyas in double figures with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting alongside a perfect 6-for-6 performance from the charity stripe. Jamorko Pickett finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. The Hoyas shot 36.8 (21-57) percent from the floor.
Marquette (17-9, 7-7 Big East) lost its third in a row Saturday, 84-72 in Providence. The Friars held a double-digit lead for all but 39 seconds of the game’s last 26:29. Trailing 71-50, the Golden Eagles scored seven points in a row, but they could get no closer.
Markus Howard scored 38 points for Marquette. Howard shot 10 for 25 from the field and had just one assist while committing four of the Golden Eagles’ 18 turnovers. Howard is the all-time leading scorer in league games in the 40-year history of the Big East Conference. He’s Top 40 in all-time points nationally. The all-time leading scorer in NCAA history is LSU’s Pete Maravich, who netted an amazing 3,667 points in just three years and without the 3-point line.
Marquette beat Georgetown 84-80 in D.C. on Jan. 18. Howard, the nation’s leading scorer, totaled half of Marquette’s total points and Koby McEwen hit four free throws in the final nine seconds. Howard was 14 of 31 from the field, including 6 of 14 from distance, and 8 of 12 from the line for his 42 points. McEwen was just 1 of 6 from the field and missed all three of his 3-point attempts as well as his first two from the free throw line for Marquette but in the final seconds of the game he was 4-for-4. Mac McClung finished with 24 points and Omar Yurtseven added 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead Georgetown.
College Basketball Betting Expert Picks
Bet Marquette and NC State on your College Basketball Betting.
