Free Pick | NCAA | Saturday | March 8

Nelly’s won with an outright underdog on Friday and we won Thursday’s 2/3 with a 2-0-1 or a 3-0 result!

We’ve hit 80% in 7* top plays this season – get Saturday’s top play or a 2/3 for the final big Saturday of the regular season!

#627 Niagara +3.5 over Rider 1:00 PM CT

Niagara snapped a five-game slide with a comeback overtime win at Saint Peter’s on Thursday night. The Purple Eagles are just 6-13 in MAAC play but nine of those losses have come by seven or fewer points. One of those close defeats came 68-65 hosting Rider in January with a comeback bid falling just short for Niagara in a game the visiting Broncs had a 17-6 edge in made free throws. Rider won by 28 points Thursday hosting Canisius, but the Broncos have five MAAC home losses this season. The statistical profiles are similar for these teams with close-game fortune the difference in the standings as Rider has six MAAC wins by seven or fewer points. Niagara is 5-1 ATS in the past six games when dogged by at least three points while Rider is just 1-3 ATS as a favorite in conference play this season. Niagara is 2-0 ATS in the past two trips to Lawrenceville with a S/U win and Niagara is nearly six percent stronger than Rider in 2-point scoring success for a major contrast. Niagara is a slightly better 3-point shooting team as well as the visitor should have a good opportunity to shoot well on Saturday. Rider did post a late February win at Merrimack that impresses on the late season run but that was simply an incredible shooting game for the Broncs while above the season norms and they still only won by five points. Beating up on a Canisius team that is among the worst in the nation on Thursday didn’t provide a meaningful result and Niagara has shown the ability to compete well in almost every game.