NCAA Basketball Predictions, Odds & Best Bets (4/2)

Can the Huskers take down UCF?

If you’re like me, you are absolutely YEARNING for the real College Hoops to return on Saturday with the Final Four in San Antonio. However, before we get to those games, we have a couple on the slate for Wednesday’s action. Let’s dive in to both College Basketball Crown matchups and see if we can find any best bets!

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NCAA Basketball Best Bets – April 2nd, 2025

Butler vs Boise State: College Basketball Crown

Boise State faces Butler in the College Basketball Crown Quarterfinals

Tyson Degenhart and Boise State have made the most of the College Basketball Crown

Best Bets: Boise State -8 (-115) BetOnline

While we know there won’t be any defense being played in this tournament, Butler will speed things up, giving Boise the necessary possessions to cover this number. The Bulldogs defense isn’t any good. They are 3rd worst in forcing turnovers, but they get to the free throw line at a phenomenal rate. Butler also shoots over 36% from deep as a team with over 41% of their shots coming from downtown.

The offense is playing into the Top 100 in possessions per game recently, really finding ways to speed the game up. Boise won’t necessarily like this style of play, but they have the personnel to compete in this fashion. The Broncos also get to the free throw line a ton, and they are also Top 100 at crashing the offensive glass. I think we could see tons of free throw attempts as two teams who draw plenty of contact face off.

Boise’s perimeter defense drops from 194th to 282nd in their last 10 contests, letting their foes shoot over 37%. For the sake of basketball, I hope we see more defense in the later rounds of this tournament. However I do think the Broncos roll to a victory tonight over Butler.

Nebraska vs Georgetown: College Basketball Crown

Can Georgetown advance to the College Basketball Crown Semifinals?

Ed Cooley and Georgetown are in Las Vegas for the College Basketball Crown

Best Bets: Georgetown +9.5 (-105) BetOnline

This is just too many points for Nebraska to give, especially outside of Lincoln. The Huskers didn’t even get invited to the Big Ten tournament, and after resting for over three weeks put up 86 points against a bad Arizona State team.

While I’m not going to sit here and preach that the Hoyas will play their hardest defensively, they are much better on that side of the ball than the Husker’s former foes. Can you say wake up call?

Nebraska shot a ridiculous 50.8% in their first game against the Sun Devils. I trust the Hoyas defense to at least show up a little and keep this a competitive game. The spread seems way too large for my liking, even though I did not think Georgetown would make it to this round of the tournament. Ultimately, I’ve got to side with the Hoyas as I doubt lightning strikes twice for the Husker’s shooters, and I hope a little more defense is played than the first round.

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