Daily Dunk: College Basketball Best Bets Today (Trust Seton Hall at Home vs. Xavier)

College basketball action continues on Wednesday night with a handful of notable conference games surrounding the NCAA Tournament bubble.

It's a pivotal matchup in the Big East between Seton Hall and Xavier, with both teams desperate for a win over the other in hopes of furthing its standing come Selection Sunday, and I believe one team is far better suitied to handle the other.

Elsewhere, Richmond has emerged as an NCAA Tournament threat after a hot start in conference play, can the team build on its momentum with a home win and cover against Massachusetts?

Here's my look at two games on the hardwood on Tuesday.

College Basketball Season Long Record: 103-76-5 (+21.42U)

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Best College Basketball Bets Today

• Xavier vs. Seton Hall (-137)
• Massachusetts vs. Richmond (-3.5)

Xavier vs. Seton Hall Prediction and Pick

Xavier got the better of Seton Hall early on in Big East play, winning 74-54 at the Cintas Center, but I think Seton Hall evens the score at the Prudential Center on Wednesday.

Looking at that first result, the Musketeers cooked from beyond the arc, shooting 10-of-20 while Seton Hall couldn't make a shot from the perimeter, hitting only two of 15 shots from deep. The four point home favorite covered with ease, but I think we see a bit of a correction with the location shifting to Newark.

Both offenses struggle, each outside the top 275 nationally since the start of conference play, but we have seen Xavier's defense slip on the road, where the team is 2-5 straight up with one win coming against basement dwelling DePaul. For what it's worth Seton Hall is far better at home, going 7-3 straight up with wins over the likes of UConn (by 15), Marquette and St. John's.

The Pirates have struggled on offense, but the team does a ton of damage on the glass, 19th nationally in terms of rebounding percentage. In a game that can quickly turn into a rock fight, I'll trust the team that can create more opportunities to outlast the opposition at home.

Lastly, Xavier needs to run to create its offense. The team is top 10 nationally in terms of transition rate, which flies in the face of what Shaheen Holloway wants to do. The Pirates like to slow games down, ninth in Big East adjusted tempo per KenPom. Xavier is 283rd in half court points per possession per ShotQuality, if this game becomes a slog, I'll side with the home team.

PICK: Seton Hall ML (-137)

Massachusetts vs. Richmond Prediction and Pick

Richmond is building up an NCAA Tournament case by blitzing the Atlantic 10 this season, even notching a win over Dayton at home a few weeks back. The team is at home to face UMass on Wednesday in what should be a favorable matchup for the Spiders.

The Minutemen turn teams over at an A-10 high 21% in conference play this season, according to KenPom but there is no team that is safer with the rock than the Spiders, who have the nation's lowest turnover percentage at below 13%.

Richmond's offense plays through six-footer Jordan King (43% three-point shooter) and seven-footer Neal Quinn (one of the best passing big men in the country), and should be able to lift UMass' normally stout interior defense that is top 30 in the country in terms of field goal percentage allowed at the rim.

Meanwhile, the Minutemen are incredibly reliant at getting inside and generating second chances. The team is 259th in three-point percentage nationally, but offsets some of its miscues from the perimeter by ranking 10th in offensive rebounding rate. However, Richmoand is the best defensive rebounding team in the A-10 and also play a compact defense that alows a 41% three-point rate.

UMass is going to be forced to shoot over this Richmond defense and will struggle to win on the offensive glass, giving Richmond plenty of opportunities to win this one by multiple possessions.

I'll take the more reliable team at home to cover this modest spread.

PICK: Richmond -3.5

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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