Monday's College Basketball Best Bets: Picks for Two Massive Matchups in the Pac-12 and ACC

Monday's College Basketball Best Bets: Picks for Two Massive Matchups in the Pac-12 and ACC

Arizona State vs Arizona Prediction

Arizona State vs. Arizona odds

Arizona State has had a fairly disappointing season this year by their standards as they come into this game with a 7-13 record, but in their last game they put on a performance for the ages in a triple-overtime win over UCLA, who was ranked No. 3 in the country.

The Sun Devils were 11-point underdogs in that game, but they controlled it for the most part, never trailed by more than 7 and had an 11-point lead at one point as well. They also played quite well in the first matchup against Arizona as the game was tied at halftime and they didn't trail in the game until the first 3 minutes of the second half.

Arizona eventually pulled away late with a 13-2 run, but Arizona State covered their 22-point spread rather easily. Even though Arizona State played the Wildcats tough, I think we will see a very different start to this game, especially in the first 20 minutes. This is the perfect letdown spot for Arizona State after 3 rather strong performances in a row, covering against Arizona, USC, and UCLA.

Arizona had trouble knocking down shots in the first matchup as Tubelis, Mathurin, and Kriisa combined to shoot 9-33 in that game. I expect a much better effort offensively from them here and think they will come out highly motivated from the opening tip. Arizona has been really solid in the 1H of games so tonight I am rolling with the Arizona Wildcats 1H -6 at -110.

Arizona State vs. Arizona Betting Line Movement

Arizona State vs. Arizona Pick

• PICK: Arizona 1H -6 @ -110 (Bet $110 to win $100)

Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh Prediction

Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh odds

These 2 teams faced off on Saturday with Pitt hosting and VT eventually came away with a 5-point win but failed to cover the spread at -7 after blowing a 27-point second-half lead.

College Basketball is a game of runs but even that is a bit excessive from what we are accustomed to seeing. In that game, Pittsburgh outscored the Hokies, 49-27, in the second half with an offensive outburst from their two best players. Femi Odukale had 25 points and Jamarius Burton had 21/6/4.

Tonight's game will now be held in Blacksburg with Virginia Tech hosting, but I think Pitt will be able to channel some of the second-half energy from the first meeting into a strong start here. Pittsburgh, for the most part, has struggled on offense this season but has played much better on that side of the ball over their last two games, scoring 75 and 71 points. I think Pitt will have high confidence coming into this game after nearly erasing a 27-point deficit and outscoring Virginia Tech by 22 in the second half. With that being said, my pick for this game is going to be Pitt 1H +7.5 -115 as I think the Panthers can at least keep this game close in first half and have the capability to go into halftime with a lead.

Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh Betting Line Movement

Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh Pick

• PICK: Pittsburgh 1H +7.5 -115 (Bet $115 to win $100)