Today is one of my favorite days of the entire sports calendar. Yes, I very much love the four days of mayhem that make up the NCAA Tournament's Round of 64 and Round of 32, but conference tournament season was always huge for anyone growing up near Tobacco Road in North Carolina, like myself.
One of my favorite past times in my 20s was cutting out of work a little early on the Friday of conference tournament week and posting up at a favorite watering hole early enough to get a prime seat to take in the night's action.
Of course, as a married father of two, that opportunity doesn't exist at the moment, but you shouldn't let it stop you from doing the same tonight.
With this in mind, I dug through the Action Network's PRO betting tools to unearth tonight's sharpest college basketball picks, which include a mix of high-profile games, like Virginia Tech vs. UNC, and under-the-radar matchups, like New Orleans vs. Southeastern Louisiana.
So without further ado, here are the five smartest bets for Friday night's college basketball conference tournament slate.
College Basketball Picks & Predictions for Friday
*Odds and betting data as of Friday afternoon
Mississippi State vs. Tennessee Pick
6 p.m. ET | SEC Network
I happened to catch this one in real-time while looking at my live odds page, so I had to include it in this piece.
