The second round of the NCAA tournament begins today with some intriguing matchups, including Duke vs. Tennessee, Arkansas vs. Kansas and Penn State vs. Texas.
While we're covering our regular betting angles, our staff has nailed down three player props to take on Saturday.
So, dive in below to get the top NCAA tournament player props and odds, including one for Northwestern's Boo Buie.
Saturday's 3 NCAA Tournament Player Props
In the table below, you'll find each of our college basketball staff's top player prop picks from Saturday's slate of games. Click on any pick or team logo to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Specific bet recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Duke vs. Tennessee
 2:40 p.m. ET ET Saturday, March 18 CBS  |
Dereck Lively II Rebounds
By Alex Hinton
This Tennessee and Duke matchup has all the makings of a rock fight. They’re two of the best defensive teams in the country, and the total sits at 128.5 points.
Good defense leads to missed shots, which leads to more rebounding opportunities. For that reason, I’m looking at Duke center Dereck Lively II.
The freshman is averaging 6.9 rebounds over his last 10 games. In that span, he's pulled down 12 rebounds twice, including Duke’s opening-round win over Oral Roberts on Thursday.
Duke stifled a potent ORU offense and held it to just 51 points. Lively’s rim protection was a big reason why.
Over those last 10 games, Lively was also hooked three times and finished with six rebounds. The key for him will be staying out of foul trouble. He had four fouls in two of those games that he finished with six rebounds, which limited his minutes.
However, if he can stay out of foul trouble, he should clear this line with ease. He may even crack double digits again.
Pick: Dereck Lively II Over 6.5 Rebounds (+110) · Play to 7
Penn State vs. Texas
 7:45 p.m. ET ET Saturday, March 18 CBS  |
Timmy Allen Rebounds
By Sean Koerner
Allen was eased back into action in the opening round after missing three games due to a knee injury. I’m projecting him for closer to his usual 28-30 minutes, but I’m still showing quite a bit of value on his under.
Penn State plays at a slow pace and ranks eighth in the nation in effective field goal percentage, so there could be fewer chances than usual for rebounds for Allen.
Also, Penn State shoots a ton of 3s, which can create more variance as to who cleans up the defensive glass. That’ll likely hurt Allen.
If he’s not healthy enough to return to a full-time role, that also creates value on the under.
We’re projecting Allen for closer to 5.5 rebounds, with a 65% chance of staying under 6.5.
Pick: Timmy Allen Under 6.5 Rebounds (+110)
Northwestern vs. UCLA
 8:40 p.m. ET ET Saturday, March 18 TNT  |
Boo Buie Points
By Doug Ziefel
Fading the Wildcats' leading scorer may sound like a risky proposition, especially after he just went off with 22 points in their opening-round matchup. However, Buie and the Wildcats are in for a big step up in competition against the Bruins today.
UCLA comes into this matchup as the No. 1 team in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency, and while it may be missing its best defender, you can be sure it won't let Buie beat it.
Buie does a majority of his work inside the arc, but that is where the Bruins' defense excels. They're 42nd in 2-point percentage allowed and 21st in close-range 2-point percentage.
In addition to Buie having a tough matchup, this total may also be a tad too high for him. He's gone under in 18 of 33 games this season, which gives us implied odds of -120.
Lastly, our Action Labs projections have him slated for 15.5 points, which is a solid edge at the current price.
