College Basketball Bets
A list of 29 college basketball games appears for Tuesday, but we have some real bangers. This is not a quantity slate, but it is a quality slate, including mammoth games in the ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC, as all of the major college hoops conferences are in action. We’ve also got the Mountain West, A-10, MAC, and Ohio Valley on the slate. This is a big difference from last night, where we had a couple Big Ten games and a lot of hoops from the SWAC and Southland.
This is also a dangerous kind of night for bettors because many will be tuning in or looking at CBB for the first time or maybe second or third times. With college football winding down and the NFL in the playoffs, bettors turn to college hoops for action and that can be a slippery slope if you don’t put in the effort to see what has happened thus far. Fortunately, the links below are a good starting point.
For more college basketball best bets today, check out Greg Peterson’s daily article and Tyler Shoemaker’s TSI Projections/Best Bets on weekdays.
As always, I want to give a shout-out to Bart Torvik (BartTorvik.com), Erik Haslam (Haslametrics.com), and KenPom, as they provide a lot of great data. This season, we’ve also connected with CBBAnalytics.com to access their data and I’ll be working that into my article. Use promo code VSIN for $30 off at CBB Analytics and find your betting edge.
This article will run Monday-Saturday. Lines will be from DraftKings, as they are widely available to readers. Shop around for the best prices.
Check the latest college basketball odds for legal U.S. sportsbooks across the country and our Vegas odds if you share a state with us here at VSiN. Also, give the college basketball betting splits (DraftKings) and Circa CBB Betting Splits a look for these or any other college basketball games today have your interest.
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publish.
Syracuse Orange (-3.5, 148.5) at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
7 p.m. ET
It is January 6. This is Syracuse’s first true road game of the season. The Orange did play three neutral-site games just before Thanksgiving in the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas, but this will be their first time playing in a hostile environment. We’ll see how hostile it truly is, as the spring semester doesn’t start until next Monday, but there should still be a decent crowd in Atlanta for this one.
As it is, despite playing 11 of their 14 games at home, Syracuse is only shooting 30.9% on 3s. Georgia Tech has shot very well from deep and also kept the opposition from making a lot of 3s. The Yellow Jackets are just shy of 36% from 3 and opponents are shooting just 28.1%. Both of these teams are stronger on defense than they are on offense, so that could be a noteworthy advantage for Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets do a good job of keeping teams away from the rim with a 32.2% shot share against on Close Twos. Furthermore, teams are only shooting 51.6% on those shots. Syracuse has allowed just a 54% FG% on Close Twos, but opponents have had more success getting those types of shots off.
One concern I do have is that Syracuse did just add Donnie Freeman back into the lineup and the 6-foot-9 sophomore is a great scorer, but even with him back, the Orange scored just .917 points per possession last game against Clemson. And he even had 18 points! It’ll take some time to work him back in and a different setting could make that even tougher tonight.
Pick: Georgia Tech +3.5 (-112)
Toledo Rockets (-7.5, 158.5) at Northern Illinois Huskies
8 p.m. ET
Some Tuesday MACtion on the hardwood here, as the Rockets wrap up a two-game road trip in DeKalb against Northern Illinois. This is a battle of two poor defensive teams, as Toledo is 277th in adjusted defensive efficiency and Northern Illinois is 324th. The Huskies exacerbate their defensive problems by not taking care of the basketball, as their 23.1% TO% ranks 362nd in the nation.
Even with a 30.1% TO% in their last game against Kent State, Northern Illinois only lost by four on the road. This is a Huskies team that forces the issue well on offense and gets to the line a lot. They also attack the offensive glass with such fervor that it can burn them a bit in transition. Toledo is solid in that department, which could burn the Huskies here, but the Rockets’ poor defensive numbers give me hope that the Huskies can score a bit here.
The Rockets have allowed over 1 point per possession in 11 of their 12 games against Division I opponents. They’ve allowed at least 20 made 2-pointers in 10 of those 12 games and have major problems on the offensive glass. Where Northern Illinois is 55th in ORB%, Toledo is 299th in DRB%.
The other area where Toledo struggles defensively is against the 3. They are 287th in the nation in 3P% defense. Northern Illinois is only shooting 32% on 3s, but they have a 45.5% 3P Rate compared to Toledo’s 33.6% 3P Rate. From a shot volume standpoint, Northern Illinois should take more 3s and could very well balance out the turnover issues with what they’re able to do on the glass.
Toledo also only runs six players deep. Northern Illinois ranks 47th in FT Rate, so the Rockets may have to dig deeper into the bench than normal here.
Pick: Northern Illinois +7.5 (-108)
