Betting
Best Bets for NCAA Men’s Basketball – Thursday, March 5
The NCAA tournament is approaching, with conference tournaments in full swing. Thursday night offers profitable betting opportunities. Tulsa vs. East Carolina: Over 155.5; Bucknell vs. Navy: Navy -16.5. Navy has been a profitable team, covering 12 straight games. Tulsa is a strong offensive team, while ECU struggles defensively.
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Thursday, March 5, 2026 — The NCAA tournament is just around the corner, and conference tournaments are heating up this week. It’s the perfect time to make calculated wagers in college basketball, and several profitable trends stand out for Thursday night.
Teams are in do-or-die mode as tournament play continues, while others are still fighting for seeding with their conference tournaments set to start next week.
Three games in particular stand out on a crowded Thursday gambling card, featuring teams with strong chances of being among the 68 to take part in the NCAA tournament later this month.
Tulsa at East Carolina (7pm ET) - Over 155.5 (everywhere)
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are always looking to run-and-run, they’ve been a dead over team for much of the season and they enter this game having been off for over a week. Fresh legs. Ample scoring potential.
Tulsa is over in three of its last four games and 10 of its last 15. Tulsa is over in eight of 11 road games this season, and when the total is between 155.5-160.5 this season Tulsa is 7-1 to the over. Eastern Carolina is over in five of its last seven games.
The Golden Hurricanes have the top EFG offense in the American Athletic Conference, while ECU is 10th in the conference in EFG defense; Tulsa is leading the AAC shooting nearly 40% from the three-point arc, while ECU is 10th in the conference defending the three ball. There could be 160 or more in this one.
Bucknell at Navy (7pm ET) – Navy -16.5 (-118, DraftKings)
Navy was the most profitable team to bet in the entire NCAA the final five weeks of the regular season. They covered 12 straight games, and even when they clinched the Patriot League title and locked up the one seed in the conference tournament, they continued to pound opponents.
The Midshipmen covered all 12 of those games by at least two points and they covered 10 of the 12 by six points or more. No sweat. They host Bucknell tonight; Bucknell struggled with lowly Army for 30 minutes in their play-in game.
Navy beat Bucknell by 21 at home earlier this season and won by 16 on the road. Navy has covered eight straight Patriot League home games. Bucknell has covered three of its last 10 road games. Navy is the far better rested team, having last played Saturday, and is 19-5-1 ATS with 2 or more days off this season.
La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.