Friday Plays For The NCAA Tournament

Now that college basketball's first day has come and gone we turn our attention to the second full day of basketball action. I personally remember the days of having basketball streaming on one screen and me typing up things for work on the other. It didn't get much better than that because you'd randomly hear a coworker shout out in excitement and only those following the games would actually know why. Hopefully this article helps you find a reason for excitement during today's slate.

USC vs. Michigan State, 12:15 ET

I very rarely will bet against Tom Izzo. Today will not be one of those days. Michigan State had a strange start to the season. They were a bit overlooked in my opinion then they were able bo compete against Gonzaga (a team that turned out to be overrated) and they beat Kentucky. They turned in a respectable performance against Alabama, and have done a nice job overall of putting together a solid season. The loss to Ohio State in the conference tournament was a bit baffling but it ultimately didn't harm them all that much. USC has a talented team and they certainly have the capability of pulling off an upset in this game. The crowd will likely be more in favor of Michigan State than USC, so that does cause a bit of concern if you're going to back the Trojans. In order for them to win, they will need to have their guards hit the outside shots and I think that Michigan State has the defense to stop that from happening. I like the Spartans in this one at -1.5.

Providence vs. Kentucky, 7:10 ET

Kentucky is one of those teams that most people seem to hate for no real reason. I suppose if you don't like the 1-and-done era, they could be considered the poster college for that, but I personally like the school and Coach Cal. In this particular game, I like them a lot. Providence shouldn't be underestimated by any means. They put together a nice campaign with a 21-11 record and even went 13-7 in the Big East. The big issue is that they are not playing well right now. They've lost their past three games and four of their past five. Their only victory came against the underperforming Georgetown team. Kentucky has to be happy they are seeing anyone but Vanderbilt as their last two losses came against that team. This is a good matchup for Kentucky though as I think their frontcourt should have the edge in this game and that will likely be all we need for them to cover the 5 point spread. I'm taking Kentucky -5 in this one.

A few other smaller plays for today's 16-game slate: Vermont is a good team, but Marquette should easily beat them, I'm not sure why the line is moving in favor of Vermont, but I'll take the Golden Eagles -10.5. Arizona State and TCU should have a fast pace and the game will likely go over 141.5. Iona and UConn also should go over the 141 total.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on Twitter: @futureprez2024