Daily Dunk: Best College Basketball Bets Today (Predictions for Santa Clara-Saint Mary's, Towson-Hofstra, and More)

Welcome to conference tournament week! Many of the smaller conferences across the country are wrapping up their tournaments in the next couple of days, while the bigger conferences are about to begin theirs. That leaves us with a plethora of fantastic matchups for us to bet on.

The Daily Dunk had an A+ performance last week, posting winning records on five of the six days, as well as two 3-0 sweeps. Let's see if we can put forward another strong week, starting with my three best bets for Monday's action.

Best College Basketball Bets Today

East Tennessee State -1.5 (-110) vs. Furman via FanDuel
Hofstra -4 (-110) vs. Towson via Caesars
Saint Mary's -3.5 (-115) vs. Santa Clara via DraftKings

Betting $100 Every Day for a Year: Day 64

$30: East Tennessee State -1.5 (-110)
$30: Hofstra -4 (-110)
$30: Saint Mary’s -3.5 (-115)
$10: Shane Pinto OVER 0.5 Goals (+285)

Yesterday: 2-2 (-$5.53)
YTD: 116-124-1 (-$69.13) pic.twitter.com/hGshkx7bnz
— Iain MacMillan (@IainMacBets) March 9, 2026

Furman vs. East Tennessee State Prediction

The winner of today's SoCon Championship Final will earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament and I'm surprised to see the East Tennessee State Buccaneers set as just 1.5-point favorites against the No. 6 seed.

The Buccaneers are better in virtually every area across the board. They rank 36th in effective field goal percentage, 87th in defensive efficiency, and 141st in effective possession ratio. By comparison, Furman ranks 54th, 161st, and 238th in those three metrics.

It's also worth noting that Furman is a 3-point shooting team, but East Tennessee State ranks inside the top 100 teams in the country in perimeter defense, keeping teams to shooting just 32.7% from beyond the arc.

Pick: East Tennessee State -1.5 (-110)

Towson vs. Hofstra Prediction

Not only is Hofstra the better team, but this game is a stylistic nightmare for Towson. The Tigers rank inside the top 100 in two-point shot rate, with almost 65% of their shots coming from two-point range, and now they have to face one of the best defensive front courts in the country. Hofstra ranks third in opponent two-point field goal percentage, keeping teams to shooting 44.1% from down low.

Add in the fact that Towson is already a horrific shooting team, ranking 343rd in effective field goal percentage, and we have a game that could end up in a blowout in favor of the Pride.

Pick: Hofstra -4 (-110)

Santa Clara vs. Saint Mary's Prediction

I remain a non-believer in Santa Clara, a team many people believe deserves an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. They come into this game ranking just 81st in defensive efficiency, while Saint Mary's ranks 16th, one of the best defensive teams in the country. The Gaels are also 31st in effective possession ratio.

The Saint Mary's front court is going to have a big game tonight, as the Broncos can't defend the interior. Santa Clara ranks 233rd in opponent two-point field goal percentage.

I'll lay the points with the Gaels in tonight's WCC semifinal.

Pick: Saint Mary's -3.5 (-115)

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!