Many tickets (11 to be exact) will be punched on Saturday, with the ACC, Big East and Big 12 playing their conference championship games.
Meanwhile, there's semifinal action going on in the Big Ten and SEC. A few players I have my eye on are John Blackwell, Donovan Dent and Darius Acuff Jr.
Let's dive into my top three college basketball player props and NCAAB picks for Saturday, March 14.
College Basketball Player Props for Saturday, March 14
- John Blackwell Over 19.5 Points (-110, bet365)
- Donavan Dent Over 8.5 Assists (-115, bet365)
- Darius Acuff Jr. Over 23.5 Points (-105, BetMGM)
John Blackwell Over 19.5 Points
vs. Michigan | 1 p.m. ET
John Blackwell attended Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He was a three-star recruit and received nine Division I offers, but Michigan wasn't one of them. While he wasn't highly touted, it's personal for him when he plays the Wolverines for that reason.
Blackwell has scored at least 16 points in each of his past three games against Michigan. He's averaged 20 points in those games, which includes 26 in Ann Arbor in January. The Badgers handed Michigan its only loss at Crisler Center this season and afterwards, Blackwell yelled, "This is my city!"
While Saturday's matchup is in Chicago, he enters this one hot as well. In the Badgers' first two Big Ten Tournament games, he scored 34 points against Washington and 31 in an overtime win against Illinois. He's averaged 20.8 points over his last 10 games and has cleared this line in six of them.
The Wolverines pose a formidable challenge, as they rank second in adjusted defensive efficiency. However, they've allowed 20 points to guards Bennett Stirtz, Jeremy Fears Jr. and Bruce Thornton in their last three games.
Additionally, Blackwell made four of the Badgers' 15 triples in the first meeting.
They'll need a similar effort on Saturday if they're going to advance to the Big Ten Tournament title game.
Pick: John Blackwell Over 17.5 Points
Donovan Dent Over 8.5 Assists
vs. Purdue | 3:30 p.m. ET
In the second Big Ten semifinal, Purdue will take on UCLA in a battle of the nation's top point guards.
The Bruins eked out a two-point victory in the first meeting in Westwood. The incredible thing about that game was that they only scored 69 points but Donovan Dent had 13 of the team's 21 assists.
Lately, he's been dealing once again.
Averaging 7.8 assists per game on the season, Dent has recorded eight assists or more in each of his past seven outings. In that span, he's dished out 76 assists against just five turnovers. He's recorded 12 assists in each of UCLA's first two Big Ten Tournament against Rutgers and Michigan State.
Dent leads a UCLA offense that ranked 21st in adjusted offensive efficiency during the regular season. UCLA has been surging of late, winning six of its past seven games.
Dent has a career-high assist rate — one that ranks seventh in the nation — and he's had 12 assists in four of his past seven games.
While we only need nine in this game, that gives us a look on his alternate lines as well.
Pick: Donavan Dent Over 8.5 Assists
Darius Acuff Jr. Over 23.5 Points
vs. Ole Miss | 3:30 p.m. ET
Darius Acuff Jr. is one of the finalists for the Bob Cousy Award given to the nation's best point guard, an award he should be a heavy favorite to win.
The freshman from Detroit is ninth in the country in scoring at 22.7 points and 17th with 6.4 assists per game. He's scored 20 points in 15 of his last 20 games.
While his scoring lines have long moved past 20, lately it hasn't mattered.
On Friday, in his SEC Tournament debut, Acuff led the Razorbacks to an 82-79 win with 37 points, five rebounds and five assists. It was his third 30-point game in his past 10 matchups. In that span, he's averaging 27.8 points per game while shooting 48% from the field and 45% from downtown.
On Saturday, he gets an upstart Ole Miss team that's trying to steal an NCAA Tournament bid after a rough regular season. In January, Acuff had 26 points against the Rebels in Oxford. On Saturday, 24 should be well within his reach, especially given his volume.
On Friday, he played the whole game after getting a week and a half to rest a nagging ankle injury. He's played at least 33 minutes in every SEC game this season and has taken 15 field goals in 16 of 19 SEC games.
Given his efficiency, that should help him get 24 points on Saturday, and possibly 30 as well, which is +325 on BetMGM.
Pick: Darius Acuff Jr. Over 23.5 Points
