Top Maui Invitational Betting Picks Today (Best Bets for Ohio State-San Diego State, Cincinnati-Arizona)
By Ben Heisler
Several of the league's top teams in the nation have all trekked out to Hawaii for the start of the Maui Invitational Tournament. Five of the top 25 teams in the country are assembled at the Lahaina Civic Center as "Feast Week" continues.
After the early slate of action between No. 21 Texas Tech and No. 10 Creighton, followed by Louisville vs. No. 9 Arkansas, two more late games tip-off from Maui between a pair of undefeated squads in Ohio State and No. 17 San Diego State, with the later game matching up No. 14 Arizona against Cincinnati.
Here are the odds for the two remaining games on the board, along with our best bets for both.
Top Maui Invitational College Basketball Picks and Predictions Today
- San Diego State -4.5 (-110) vs. Ohio State
- Cincinnati vs. Arizona OVER 157.5 (-110)
Ohio State vs. San Diego State Odds, Prediction and Pick
These are two quality teams matching up in prime time in Hawaii, but I give the edge to the Aztecs late for one key reason: turnovers.
The Aztecs rank right around the top 25 in opponent turnover percentage, which could make things rough for the Buckeyes who come in at 262nd in the country. For as much as Ohio State does well, they still make plenty of careless mistakes, which could end up costly down the stretch. San Diego Sate also boasts the 6th-best steal percentage in the country.
One of the areas that used to kill the Aztecs was free-throw shooting. While they're still not great at it, they're substantially improved at the charity stripe at 71.8%. That's noticeably better than Ohio State, who barely is above 70% on the season.
I expect this game to be close throughout, but turnovers and free throw discrepancy should bode well for the Aztecs to not only win, but cover in Hawaii.
Cincinnati vs. Arizona Odds, Prediction and Pick
We've got a high octane, push the pace barnburner to close out today's games from Maui.
The Wildcats play fast and score in bunches, ranking fifth in adjusted offensive efficiency, No. 1 in effective field goal percentage, No. 1 in 2-point percentage (72.8%), and No. 3 in 3-point percentage (46.7).
Cincinnati would certainly be the best defense Arizona's faced this year, but it's not going to change how they pace the floor throughout the evening, even in a neutral site game away from home. They take lots of shots from all over the court, and make them at a remarkably efficient level.
Meanwhile, at KenPom, Arizona's defense ranks 37th in adjusted efficiency, but Cincinnati is due for some positive regression on offense. Despite coming in 316th from the 3-point line and 314th in effective field goal percentage, they still rank 64th in adjusted KenPom offense in the country. Cincinnati will have plenty of growing pains this year, but they'll make more shots as they run with the Wildcats tonight, knowing they'll need to push tempo to keep up. - Ben Heisler
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.