NCAA Basketball Predictions, Odds & Best Bets (2/21)

Following Thursday's sweep, let's see if we can keep the hot hand and find some winners with our best bets for Friday's College Hoops slate. There's a big Saturday ahead, but we've still got some sneaky spots to get after.

For all of our Expert NCAA Basketball Picks, check out our page here.

Listed below are my College Hoops best bets for today, but be sure to get all of my picks on my Twitter (@Shaggy_Bets)

NCAA Basketball Best Bets – February 21st, 2025

Sacred Heart vs Merrimack Predictions

Best Bets: Sacred Heart/Merrimack Under 143 (-120) BetOnline

Once again, we are backing a Merrimack under. We are 7-0 when doing so this season, and if you don't know why by now, you clearly haven't been paying attention.

Merrimack is an under bettor's dream. They aren't the best offensively overall, ranking 303rd in the country, but they hold onto the ball and play very slow. This translates to a national rank of 333rd in possessions per game, but they win contests on the other side of the court. Merrimack is 76th overall defensively and 33rd in eFG% Defense in the nation. They swallow teams up and let Budd Clark take over to get some points down the stretch. Now, Sacred Heart likes to play a lot faster, but offensively I'm not scared of what they can do.

These teams already played once, with Merrimack wining by 1 on the road. The total went under 139, ending at 131, and although it has ticked up to 143 in this matchup, I'm not worried. The Warriors will control the pace of the game at home, slow things down, and shut down Sacred Heart's already bad offense.

UW-Milwaukee vs Youngstown State Predictions

Best Bets: Youngstown State -1.5 (-110) BetOnline

If you find a short ML, I'd suggest taking that with the Penguins in this spot at home. Pardon me, this revenge spot at home for Youngstown State as they host the Panthers of Milwaukee. Our hosts lost on the road by 15 as 6 point underdogs earlier in the year, and now are laying a couple points in this rematch. That's a 7.5 point swing in favor of the Penguins, who have been playing noticeably well. They sit just half a game out of 1st place in the Horizon league, and have won four straight and 7 of their L9 since losing to the Panthers.

Milwaukee gets the free throw line and crashes the glass, but they are 330th in turnover rate and sit at just 5-8 against the spread on the road this year. Youngstown ranks 2nd in the conference in pace, 3rd in eFG%, while boasting the top ranked overall defense in terms of efficiency and effective FG% defense. This team is getting hot at the right time, they are fighting for the top spot in the conference, and are 14-11-1 ATS this season.

Give me the Penguins to find some revenge at home.

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For more College Hoops action, check out these pages below.

• NCAA Basketball Expert Picks
• College Hoops Betting Guide
• College Basketball Championship Odds
• March Madness Bracket Projections

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