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The 10th-seeded Boise State Broncos (24-9) and No. 7 Northwestern Wildcats (21-11) battle in a West Region first-round game of the NCAA Tournament. The contest at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento will tip off at 7:35 p.m. ET (truTV). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Boise State vs. Northwestern odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Boise State sports an efficient defense and a good shooting touch from distance. The Broncos, after a 12-2 run in a 14-game stretch from Jan. 3-Feb. 22, stumbled at the finish line going 2-3 in their last 5. But even in that stretch, BSU is shooting 39.8% from 3-point range.
Northwestern, similarly, had a strong late-winter run that faded in recent weeks. The Wildcats went 8-2 from Jan. 23-Feb. 19, but are just 1-4 since. Still, NU went 12-8 to tie for 2nd-place in a powerful Big Ten Conference.
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Boise State vs. Northwestern odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 8:38 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Boise State +100 (bet $100 to win $100) | Northwestern -130 (bet $130 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Boise State +1.5 (-108) | Northwestern -1.5 (-112)
- Over/Under (O/U): 128.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Boise State vs. Northwestern picks and predictions
Prediction
Northwestern 67, Boise State 65
Moneyline
Three of Northwestern’s recent 4 losses were by margins of 4 points or less. Two of those losses were in overtime. Look for a bounce-back from a Wildcats team that could show some regression to form in shooting numbers — helping in both cases — on offense and defense.
Late-season improvements in offensive rebounding and perimeter defense figure to serve NU well in this spot. But look for a bit more value than what’s offered up here. PASS, but consider a line watch: Northwestern is worth some partial-unit action at -125 or better.
Against the spread
Better value can be found on the total and perhaps on the moneyline. PASS.
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Over/Under
The Over is 4-2 across Boise’s last 6 games.
Look for a decent number of 3s and shots near the rim in this battle. Not enough to way past the overall slower-than-average pace but enough to tip this game into the 130s.
BACK THE OVER 128.5 (-108).
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