Look for South Carolina, Marquette to cover as underdogs
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Tuesday was a wild night in college hoops. The March aura has reached the various conference tournaments that have already tipped, resulting in hectic and absurd finishes. The Atlantic Sun Conference in particular produced upsets and buzzer-beaters.
You can read our conference tournament previews here. We only have two plays for Wednesday's card, and both feature major-conference regular-season clashes.
Tennessee @ South Carolina (+5.5, O/U 140)
Tennessee has legitimate national title aspirations with its mainstay defensive tenacity and newfound offensive firepower. But this is too many points for South Carolina as a home underdog. The Gamecocks are still positioned to win the SEC regular-season crown, although if Tennessee wins Wednesday night, the Volunteers will likely capture that honor.
South Carolina has shown its early-season success wasn't a fluke. It's battled in a tough conference and is playing its best basketball now: The Gamecocks have reeled off three straight wins and are 12-4 in the conference.
South Carolina defeated Tennessee in late January on the road. Dalton Knecht exploded for 31 points, but the Gamecocks held the Volunteers' supporting cast in check.
This is a difficult spot for Tennessee; its contest against South Carolina is sandwiched between two marquee matchups. The Volunteers earned a gritty road win against Alabama on Saturday and have a showdown with Kentucky this weekend.
South Carolina has successfully defended its home court this season. It's 10-6 against the spread at home and 2-0 as a home underdog. This should be a physical SEC battle that will come down to the wire.
Pick: South Carolina +5.5
UConn @ Marquette (+5, O/U 151.5)
We got burned backing Marquette in these schools' first meeting on Feb. 17. But that was a UConn home game, and Marquette is 11-4 against the spread at home and 5-6 on the road.
Marquette is without its best player, Tyler Kolek, for the rest of the regular season, but this game means much more to the Golden Eagles than UConn. The Huskies have already clinched the Big East regular-season title and have nothing remaining to prove to themselves or the NCAA Tournament committee.
Marquette, meanwhile, wants revenge after its embarrassing effort against the Huskies a few weeks ago. Without Kolek, Marquette will need an intense defensive performance to limit UConn's prolific half-court offense. At the very least, the Golden Eagles' desire should lead to a close game.
Pick: Marquette +5
Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X @soshtry for more betting coverage.