NCAA Tournament Picks: Oklahoma State vs Liberty 3/19/21 College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Oklahoma State Cowboys battle the Liberty Flames Friday in the college basketball NCAA Tournament First Round at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum as March Madness rolls on.

The Liberty Flames have won 12 straight games and are fresh off an ASUN title. The Liberty Flames are averaging 74.9 points on 49.1 percent shooting and allowing 58.9 points on 40.4 percent shooting. Darius McGhee is averaging 15.6 points and 4.4 rebounds while Chris Parker is averaging 10.3 points and 2.1 rebounds. Elijah Cuffee is dishing 1.7 assists and Blake Preston is grabbing 6.4 rebounds. The Liberty Flames are shooting 39.2 percent from beyond the arc and 76.8 percent from the free throw line. The Liberty Flames are allowing 30.4 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 31 rebounds per game.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys enter the tournament winning eight of their last 10 games. The Oklahoma State Cowboys are averaging 76.7 points on 46.6 percent shooting and allowing 72.3 points on 41 percent shooting. Cade Cunningham is averaging 20.2 points and 3.6 assists while Avery Anderson III is averaging 11.7 points and four rebounds. Isaac Likekele is dishing 3.7 assists and Kalib Boone is grabbing 5.6 rebounds. The Oklahoma State Cowboys are shooting 33.8 percent from beyond the arc and 71.1 percent from the free throw line. The Oklahoma State Cowboys are allowing 32.2 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 35.2 rebounds per game.

The Flames are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The Cowboys are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 Friday games and 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games overall. The over is 3-0-1 in Flames last 4 overall. The over is 34-16-3 in Cowboys last 53 overall.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys are a team that can make a deep tournament run because they’re led by one of the best players in the country, and we’ve seen in the past what having one elite player can do in the past. However, the Liberty Flames are one of the more balanced teams in the tournament, as they shoot a high percentage from everywhere on the court and they’re third in the country in points allowed per game. You can question the schedule strength, but Liberty is a good team. I’ll take the points.