Strong Plays for College Basketball Saturday

Did you get enough drama yesterday? No, me either. This was a great opening couple of days for college basketball and now we have another set of games to bet on today. Purdue going down may have busted your bracket, or perhaps it was Arizona that cost you. I'm here to tell you that this is your opportunity to get some money back. Brackets be damned, we have daily bets to win.

Maryland vs. Alabama, 9:40 ET

It isn't that Maryland has no chance to win this game, but I think a lot would need to go correctly for them to win. I also think there is a distinct possibility that they would need a lot to go right just to cover the spread. Maryland was barely surviving against West Virginia in the opening round game, winning 67-65. Prior to that they weren't playing great basketball either. I would be a bit surprised if they can get it all together against a really talented Alabama squad. In the Crimson Tide's opening game, they coasted to a 21-point victory. (Sorry to all of you that bet on 'Bama covering... the shot made no sense and how it happened was even worse.) Aside from that game, they've looked very good lately. They coasted through the SEC Tournament and they now face a Maryland team that I think will struggle to rebound against them. I'm backing Alabama -8.5 in this one. I think they probably win by 10 or more.

Duke vs. Tennessee, 2:40 ET

I'm a bit surprised about this one - the game opened as a pick'em and Duke has already been pushed up to a -3 favorite. Good reason for it in my opinion, because I don't think Tennessee has a chance to win this game. Now, Duke is a public team, so there is probably some money from that, but I also think the team in better form right now is Duke. They didn't have much of a challenge in the ACC tournament and made light work of Oral Roberts. Tennessee is just 3-2 in their past five games and didn't look comfortable at all during their opening matchup against Louisiana. They eeked out the win, but it wasn't a great game on their end. I think Duke will keep relying on Filipowski and I don't know that the Vols have anyone that is going to really stop him from dominating the game. I'll back the Blue Devils -3.

I want to wait and see if Houston's best players are actually in this game, but they both have said they are going to play. I'll take them -5.5 over Auburn. Also, I'm backing the under in Princeton vs. Missouri. Princeton played really well, obviously, but I don't think these teams both score in the mid 70s for this game. I'll take under 149.

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