Best College Basketball Picks Today: Conference Tournaments Begin This Week

We have officially entered the first week of March, which means that conference tournaments (and the “madness”) are beginning.

On Monday, two of the top four teams in the country, Duke and Houston, will face off in conference battles with Wake Forest and Kansas, respectively.

Can Wake Forest or Kansas pull off an unlikely road win?

Keep reading our best college basketball picks today below to find out whether we can expect any upsets!

Wake Forest @ No. 2 Duke Odds

Find the latest odds for the Wake Forest vs Duke NCAAM matchup in the table below. Click the odds and bet on your favorites at some of the best sportsbooks available today!

PICK: Duke -20.5 (-114) at FanDuel

If Duke had already wrapped up the ACC regular season title, then this game could have very likely been a close one.

However, the Blue Devils still have a lot to play for, especially with Clemson holding the tiebreaker and sitting only one game behind them.

Duke has been the best team in the country by a wide margin over its last three outings, beating Miami (FL), Illinois, and Florida State by an average of nearly 40 points.

The Blue Devils’ offense has continued to improve exponentially in the past few months, making them a dominant force on both ends of the floor.

Unfortunately for Wake Forest, it simply does not have the offensive firepower (137th in adjusted offensive efficiency) necessary to keep this one close, especially at Cameron Indoor.

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Wake Forest Prediction

The Demon Deacons kept their first game against Duke competitive, losing by merely seven points at home due to their stout defense (45th in adjusted defensive efficiency).

However, Wake Forest was absolutely obliterated on the glass, losing the rebounding margin by 17 rebounds; the Deacs also gave up 14 offensive rebounds to Duke on their home floor. It won’t get any easier on the road.

Additionally, Duke’s 16 turnovers were an outlier, as the Blue Devils have averaged just seven turnovers per game since that outing.

Duke Prediction

Surprisingly, despite a 17-1 record in ACC play, the Duke Blue Devils have not yet locked up the regular season conference title.

In fact, in order to leave nothing to chance, the Blue Devils will need to win this matchup against Wake Forest and their last road game against rival North Carolina.

Luckily for Duke backers, the Blue Devils have won 22 of their past 23 games and have beaten their past three opponents by nearly 40 points per game while shooting roughly 52% from the field, 45% from 3-point range, and 82% from the charity stripe.

Kansas @ No. 4 Houston Odds

Check out the latest odds for the Kansas vs Houston clash listed below. Click the odds and bet at some of the best NCAAM betting sites available today!

PICK: Houston -9.5 (-110) at FanDuel

Kansas has been really bad away from Allen Fieldhouse this season but even worse recently, dropping three of its past four road games.

In fact, the Jayhawks’ only road win in that span was against the Colorado Buffaloes by seven points; the Buffs are merely 2-16 in conference play this season.

While the Cougs have already locked up the conference title and the top seed in the Big 12 Tournament, this Kelvin Sampson-led squad is not the type that will take the floor with anything less than a complete sense of urgency.

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Kansas Prediction

What an underwhelming season it has been for the Kansas Jayhawks, the 20th-best team nationally, according to KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin metric.

The Jayhawks were the top-ranked team in the preseason, but despite their offseason acquisitions (and player retention), they have failed to be an elite team on the offensive end of the floor.

The Jayhawks rank merely 60th in adjusted offensive efficiency, struggling to find any sort of consistency on that end, especially when they are away from their home floor.

Houston Prediction

Who could forget the double overtime thriller in which the Cougs were able to beat Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse earlier this season?

Houston has continued to prove it is not only a contender but a favorite to win the NCAA Tournament behind its top-ten offense and top-three defense (KenPom) in the country.

The difference between this Houston squad and previous teams is their exceptional 3-point shooting and ability to protect the ball as well as any team nationally.

It should come as no surprise that the Cougs have again won a Big 12 conference title.