NCAAB best bets: Putting our stamp on Champ Week

Champ Week is one of the best sports betting weeks of the year. There's nothing better than waking up and seeing a full slate of conference tournament games starting early in the afternoon and spanning all day and night. There are three more conference championship games on Wednesday's slate, and we love spread picks in two of them. 

Conference championship picks

Southland: McNeese State Cowboys -16.5 (-106 FanDuel)

McNeese State (28-3, 17-1) has been a wagon in the Southland Conference all season thanks to its sixth-ranked defensive efficiency. The Cowboys give up only 63.6 points per game and hold their opponents to just 39.5 percent shooting, the fifth-best mark in the country. 

In two games against Nicholls State this season, McNeese State held its conference rival to 33.3 percent shooting and 27.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Cowboys won those contests by 27 and 21, respectively. We're not expecting the rematch to be any different. 

Patriot League: Lehigh Mountain Hawks +8.5 (-110 FD)

If you were here last Wednesday, you're hopefully holding a +1100 ticket on Lehigh to win the Patriot League. It won't be easy to get this one home against a strong Colgate team on its home court, but Lehigh isn't afraid to mix it up with the best team in the league.

The Mountain Hawks lost to the Raiders by only three points in both matchups this season, and they shot an abysmal 18.6 percent from three across those games. Lehigh is on fire from beyond the arc in the conference tournament, so Brett Reed's squad has a real chance to pull off the outright upset if it stays hot from deep.

If you're feeling frisky, you can parlay these conference championship picks on FanDuel for +271.

In the news ...

Panthers trade for WR Diontae Johnson — The Carolina Panthers added a new weapon for Bryce Young this week by trading cornerback Donte Jackson and a pick swap to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Johnson has recorded at least 51 catches in each of his five seasons in the NFL, but he's gone over 1,000 yards only once. The move didn't do much to improve Carolina's chances next season, as the Panthers are dead last on the odds board at 300/1 to win the Super Bowl. 

Five more teams punch their tickets to March Madness — The NCAA Tournament field is starting to fill up as Champ Week rolls on. On Tuesday, five more teams won their respective conferences to punch their tickets to March Madness. Charleston (CAA), Wagner (NEC), Oakland (Horizon), South Dakota State (Summit) and Saint Mary's (WCC) will all be dancing this year. The Big Sky, Patriot League and Southland championship games are set for Wednesday night. 

The PGA Tour heads to TPC Sawgrass for the Players Championship — The best of the best on the PGA Tour will all be in action this week at the best non-major championship on the schedule, the Players Championship. Scottie Scheffler, coming off a dominant win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, is the +550 betting favorite to win his second straight Players, but we like a few players further down the odds board. 

Today's Bark Bets is written by Jack Dougherty