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College basketball picks, schedule: Predictions for UConn vs. Providence and more Top 25 games on Saturday

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The final weekend of the 2023-24 college basketball regular-season has finally arrived. With Selection Sunday on the horizon, many teams near the cut line have only a few more chances to improve their respective résumés to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Eighteen of the Associated Press Top 25 teams are in action.

The ACC regular-season championship will be on the line when No. 9 Duke hosts No. 7 North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils can clinch a share of the ACC title with a win, while a Tar Heels’ victory secures their first outright regular season title since 2017.

No. 4 Tennessee captured its first outright SEC regular-season title since 2008 earlier this week with a road win over South Carolina. The Volunteers host No. 15 Kentucky on CBS in the final game before the SEC Tournament next week. 

The final ranked-on-ranked matchup of the day is a Big 12 showdown between top-ranked Houston and No. 14 Kansas. Earlier this season, the Jayhawks beat the Cougars 78-65 in their first matchup as Big 12 conference members.

Odds via SportsLine consensus | All times Eastern

8 p.m. | Fox,  fuboTV (Try for free) — In Providence’s first matchup with UConn back on Jan. 31 in Storrs, they kept the game close in a 74-65 loss. The reigning national champions are all but guaranteed a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament no matter what happens, but picking up some style points could go a long way in securing the top overall seed in the bracket. There isn’t a team in the country that wins games more handily than UConn. Expect them to do the same on Saturday. Prediction: UConn -10 — Salerno

12 p.m. | CBS, CBSSports.comCBS Sports App (Free)   FAU has been hot and cold at home this season in terms of covering the spread as a favorite (6-7), but as a single-digit home favorite it has handled business and been up for big games. Saturday qualifies as such. I’ll lay the seven with FAU as it looks to go out on a high note to end the regular season. Prediction: FAU -6.5 — Kyle Boone

2 p.m. | CBS, CBSSports.comCBS Sports App (Free)   Ole Miss has dropped two straight at home and will be motivated to give its fans a positive memory entering the postseason. Look for coach Chris Beard’s club to come out with the energy and offensive firepower needed to squeak out a win over an A&M team that has just three road victories in league play. With SEC Tournament seeding on the line and both teams desperately seeking momentum after playing a tight game in January, this has the makings of a dramatic showdown. Prediction: Ole Miss -1 — David Cobb

No. 15 Kentucky at No. 4 Tennessee

4 p.m. | CBS, CBSSports.comCBS Sports App (Free)  Kentucky had a difficult time slowing Tennessee’s offense in Rupp last month — and it has struggled in general slowing down opponents. However, even with a defense that rates 98th in adjusted efficiency metrics at KenPom, I think it can cover the spread here. Nine points is a big number to give a team that may have two top-three picks. Tennessee has played lights out the last few weeks and Thompson-Boling Arena should be rocking, so I’d take Vols money line, but this could be a closer game than people expect, and another potential shootout like the first game of the series. Prediction: Kentucky +8 — Boone

No. 14 Kansas at No. 1 Houston

4 p.m. | ESPN,  fuboTV (Try for free) — It’s hard to contextualize what Houston is doing in its inaugural season as a member of the Big 12. The Cougars won arguably the toughest conference in the country in Year 1, which is historic. Houston is looking to get revenge after losing to Kansas earlier this season in Lawrence. With how Kansas has been playing recently, this is the perfect spot to do just that. The Jayhawks had lost back-to-back games to BYU and Baylor before bouncing back with a home win over Kansas State earlier this week. Kansas will keep this game close, but Houston’s suffocating defense will be the difference. Prediction: Kansas +10 — Cameron Salerno

No. 9 Duke at No. 7 North Carolina

6:30 p.m. | ESPN,  fuboTV (Try for free) — This game has all the makings of a classic as Duke and North Carolina tangle in a top-10 battle with an ACC title hanging in the balance. The Blue Devils will be motivated to even the series after losing at UNC last month, but this one will likely go down to the wire. Look for the Tar Heels to cover the spread and be in the hunt to win during the final minutes.  Prediction: UNC +4.5 — Cobb

Who will win and cover in every college basketball game? Visit SportsLine to get picks from the model that simulates each game 10,000 times and is up more than $1,200 for $100 players on its top-rated spread picks the past six years. 



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