Today's picks: Why the 76ers will cover against the Nuggets, plus more NBA and college basketball for Monday, March 14

Jonathan Coachman is joined by expert sports bettors Mike McClure, Allan Bell and Larry Hartstein on The Early Edge podcast. They give you their best bets for the NBA and college basketball for Monday, March 14.

Coach starts things off with the SportsLine Play of the Day, which is in the NBA: The Spurs (+4) to cover against the Timberwolves (8:30 p.m. ET). "The Spurs have been a team that, at times, has played pretty well," he says. "Minnesota has been playing better, but they play no defense. The Spurs cover in 59 percent of our simulations. We'll take them, plus the four (points)."

McClure is up next with an NCAA Tournament pick. He likes No. 4 seed Providence (-2) to cover against No. 13 seed South Dakota State in the first round of the Midwest Region on Thursday (12:40 p.m. ET). "(The Friars) have a little bit of a size advantage, they definitely have the experience advantage in terms of playing together," Mike says. "South Dakota State shoots the 3-ball really well, which is fine, but it's a very high variance approach - as we see with blowouts all the time in the NBA, with focus on shooting the 3-point shot. … This is a great spot to back Providence. The better team should win this game."

Bell follows with a pair of plays. The first is in the NBA, as he likes the 76ers (-2) to cover against the Nuggets (7:30 p.m. ET). "Both teams, quite frankly, are just looking to get wins and get things right, back on track," he says. "I think Philadelphia can do that. Denver hasn't covered in four straight games. Philly, they've covered in three of the last four against Denver. I think being at home is going to give them a little bit of a boost."

Allan's other pick is in the NCAA Tournament. He likes No. 7 seed USC (-1.5) to cover against No. 10 seed Miami in the first round of the Midwest Region on Friday (3:10 p.m. ET). "Miami is just four guards. They have to be shooting electric to win this game. … If Miami misses any shots, which they're going to do, USC is going to own the glass, own the paint, completely own that game. We're getting it at a low number, so I'll take the team that will double up in rebounds.

Hartstein wraps things up with a play for the NCAA Tournament First Four game between Texas A&M-CC and Texas Southern on Tuesday (6:40 p.m. ET). You can only see the pick here.

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