Best Bets for NCAA Men’s Basketball – Monday, March 9

Monday, March 9, 2026 - College basketball conference tournaments are underway, there have been no shortage of upsets and shocking results already, and in so me cases the results from the regular season have not translated to this do-or-die format.

With a  limited slate of game on Monday night, there are two conferences that have reached the semi-finals stage that stood out as potential money makers: the Coastal Athletic Conference and the Horizon League. Here’s what we’re playing:

Towson vs Hofstra (8:30 ET) – Under 131.5 (-105, FanDuel)

The Towson Tigers rediscovered their defensive identity in the final month of the CAA regular season and it served them quite well. They surged to a strong finish and won two games in the conference tournament to reach the semis, including dominating College of Charleston, one of the favorites, on Sunday and holding them to just 56 points in the process. 

Towson plays at a slow pace and will be even more content to bog this game down playing their third game in as many nights. Hofstra is not a run-and-gun team either, ranking 312th out of 365 teams in pace of possession. Towson is dominant on the boards and can prevent second-chance shots and will probably lean into a bigger and more methodical lineup here. Towson has gone under the total in eight of its last 10 games. 

Tyler Texada, the 2024 CAA player of the year who struggled this season to find a scoring touch, has scored 65 points the last two games. Look for Hofstra to take his easy looks away and force more action in the paint. Hofstra’s scoring tailed off down the stretch, and the arena where theses games are being played in Washington, DC has been conducive to unders over the years.

Detroit Mercy vs Robert Morris – Robert Morris -5 (-110, Bet365)

Robert Morris was the best team in the Horizon League the final month of the season and that’s likely to carry over into their third meeting of the season with Detroit Mercy. Robert Morris pretty easily discarded with Wright State, the top seed in the Horizon, along the way last month and is playing with great confidence. 

They have covered eight straight games, all by 3.5 points or more. They covered both earlier meetings with Detroit Mercy (wins by 73-62 and 85-77), looking better in a lower scoring and higher scoring affair. 

Detroit Mercy had more total turnovers than assists in those two games and also suffered on the boards. Robert Morris has fresher legs and has won eight straight games, all by at least six points. The neutral setting shouldn’t be a problem for them after winning four of their last five road games in conference play.