Free Pick | Saturday | NCAA | March 4

Nelly’s Basketball is on a 13-4 run the past eight days with a hot NBA run while going 15-7 the past six Saturdays in college basketball. Play 2/3 today or get a 7* tonight. Better yet join for March Madness with Nelly’s going 30-14 in college basketball in March 2022 while 15-5 in NCAA Tournament and NIT selections.

Free Pick Saturday #694 Villanova +3 over Connecticut 6:30 PM CT

Connecticut is only 12-7 in Big East play and will have to hope for an upset loss from Creighton or Providence Saturday to climb into the top four in the tournament bracket. The Huskies won its home finale in a blowout Wednesday but have gone just 3-5 S/U in the past eight Big East road games. Villanova hasn’t lived up to its past standards as a consistent national force, but right now the Wildcats are playing their best basketball of the season. The Wildcats have won six of the past seven including four straight home wins including a notable win over Creighton by double-digits last weekend. Villanova is the top free throw shooting team in the nation while posting a very low turnover rate for familiar traits for the program even in the transition under Kyle Neptune. While the Wildcats are just 10-9 S/U in Big East play, they have been a top six offense and defense in the conference while Connecticut is not a top two team on either side of the ball despite grading as the best team in the Big East in most ratings. Home court has mattered a lot in this conference with 62 percent of hosts winning S/U and the home team has won six consecutive games in this series. Hassan Diarra seems likely to sit out a third straight game for the Huskies and UConn is just a .500 road team while this is still a rare home underdog number for the Wildcats.