College Basketball Best Bets Today, March 3rd

We're back with an early (and possibly updated as the day goes on) best bets column.

Conference Tournament's are in full swing now with some day time college basketball in the Sun Belt Tournament. We have a play on two games there, so let's waste no time and get into it.

Odds courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook

Column Record: 79-76 (-1.45 Units)

Texas Arlington (+3.5) vs. Louisiana Lafayette

Neither of these teams are particularly great, the Mavericks are 11-17 on the year while the Ragin' Cajun stands 13-14, but UT-Arlington swept the regular season series between the two.

Now, they are catching a wounded ULL team on a neutral floor that are set to be without their highest usage player, Kobe Julien. Without him, the already porous Ragin Cajun turnover marks are going to grow against a havoc driven UTA defense.

ULL has a bottom 20 turnover rate nationally and is second worst in the Sun Belt. Meanwhile, Greg Young's team is top 100 in the country on the defensive side of the ball and fourth in league play.

I like the dog here with their ability to keep teams out of the paint, led by big man Kazaro Rojas and think this one is ugly, but close throughout.

PICK: Texas Arlington +3.5, play to +3

Parlay: Arkansas State/SMU (-125)

Chalky yes, but I like both of these teams to grab a victory in the early evening portion of Thursday's hoops slate.

Arkansas State should be able to take care of business against UL-Monroe after a late barrage of three's from the Warhawks led to a one-point victory on the road back in February. The Red Wolves have the best player on the floor in Norchard Omier, who took home Conference Player of the Year honors and former Arkansas guard Desi Sills.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati is drawing dead this season and have a tough turnaround after losing by double digits to Houston on the road this past Tuesday. Now, they are in Fort Worth to play SMU, who can't afford a slip up in their pursuit of an NCAA Tournament berth.

Cincy won at home against SMU by 17 earlier this season and the Mustangs will surely look to get some revenge in Moody Coliseum, where they are undefeated this season.

PICK: Arkansas State/SMU ML Parlay (-125)

Detroit (+4) vs. Northern Kentucky

Sometimes in Conference Tournament week, all you need is the best player on the floor. That's what I'm riding with here with Antoine Davis. The senior guard is top 10 in minutes percentage, possession rate and shot percentage. Lastly, he is third in the country in points per game.

As for the game, he'll be going against a Northern Kentucky team that the Titans have defeated twice already this season. With that in mind, NKU has won their six other games during that eight game span with the Titans the only team that foiled their winning streak.

I'm going to go with the season long trends and trust the best player on the floor in Davis to put together a strong game and keep this within two buckets. The first game closed with NKU +4 and the ladder with Detroit as a 1 point home favorite. I believe there needs to be some sort of upgrade here and I'll side with the underdog to stay close. I see the Titans as live for an upset in the always crazy Horizon League Tournament, but will stay safe with the points for now.

PICK: Detroit +4, play to +3.5

Central Florida (-1.5) vs. Tulane

I was able to grab this +1 last night at open, make sure to check out my betstamp so you can see that, but I still like UCF up to -3 as I anticipate the Green Wave will be without hihg usage guard Jalen Cook.

With no Cook, who is in the 96th percentile in usage rate according to CBBAnalytics.com, the Wave are going to be down their best ball handler against a strong UCF defense at turning their opponents over. These are the top two defenses and the Knights have their own issues, but are still in the mix for a double bye in the AAC Tournament next week. Not to mention, UCF has been off since last Wednesday, giving them plenty of time to prep for the Wave in a must win spot.

PICK: UCF -1.5, play to -3 if Cook is announced out

College Basketball Best Bets

• Ohio State-Michigan State OVER 138.5

You can find all of Reed's bets HERE!