Boise State vs Northwestern Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 16 NCAA Tournament Game (Don't Expect Fireworks)

Boise State vs Northwestern Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Tournament Game
• Boise State (24-9) vs. Northwestern (21-11)
• Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023
• Time: 7:35 PM ET
• Venue: Golden 1 Center -- Sacramento, California
• Coverage: truTV

The 2022-23 NCAA Tournament continues on Thursday, March 16 with a first-round showdown in the West Region between the No. 10 Boise State Broncos and No. 7 Northwestern Wildcats.

Boise State heads into Thursday's matchup following a disappointing 72-62 loss to Utah State in the MWC Tournament semifinals. Meanwhile, Northwestern hopes for a positive result after being eliminated from the Big Tournament by a 67-65 overtime loss to Penn State.

So, which team has what it takes to power through to the next round of the West Region bracket?

Boise State vs Northwestern Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds, and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: BOISE: (+108) | NWSTRN: (-130)
• Spread: BOISE: +1.5 (-102) | NWSTRN: -1.5 (-120)
• Total: 128.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Northwestern enters this contest as a slim favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 7:35 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 128.5 points with both sides sitting at -110 odds.

Boise State vs Northwestern Betting Trends

• Boise State has 16 wins in 32 games against the spread this year.
• The Broncos' ATS record as 1.5-point favorites or more is 9-12.
• Boise State has seen 17 of its 32 games go over the point total.
• Northwestern's record against the spread is 19-13-0.
• As 1.5-point underdogs or more, the Wildcats are 11-4 against the spread.
• Out of Northwestern's 32 games so far this year, 12 have gone over the total.

Boise State Rank	Boise State AVG		Northwestern AVG	Northwestern Rank
166th	72.2	Points Scored	67.7	282nd
34th	64.3	Points Allowed	62.5	19th
89th	33.2	Rebounds	32.1	157th
265th	7.6	Off. Rebounds	8.9	142nd
126th	7.8	3pt Made	7.7	139th
319th	11.2	Assists	12.9	189th
50th	10.6	Turnovers	9.1	7th

Boise State vs Northwestern Prediction & Pick

Northwestern has lost a lot of steam in recent weeks. Its loss to Penn State was the program's fourth defeat in its last five outings. A sputtering offense is one reason for the Wildcats' lack of success over that stretch. While they only average 67.7 PPG this season (T-No. 254), that number has dropped to 63.2 PPG over the last five outings.

I don't expect Northwestern's offense to pick up here. Boise State only surrenders 64.7 PPG (No. 32) while holding opponents to 41.5% shooting from the field (No. 42) and 31.0% from the three-point line (No. 32). The Broncos are also scoring 74.0 PPG over their last three outings — a number that's too much for the Wildcats, who have only scored 70-plus points once since Feb. 2.

Back Boise State taking advantage of a vulnerable Northwestern squad.

Final Score Prediction: Boise State: 65 | Northwestern: 63

Boise State vs Northwestern Best Bet

Though neither team has played flawlessly as of late, I'm still expecting a strong defensive effort from both sides. Boise State and Northwestern possess top-35 scoring defenses this season, surrendering only a combined 127.8 PPG. Furthermore, the under is a combined 36-27-1 for the two sides.

With neither offense playing that well lately, I don't expect many points to be scored on Thursday.

Bet: Under 128.5 Points (-110)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.