College Basketball Bets
Over 100 college basketball teams will take the floor on Wednesday, as we have 55 games on the docket, including St. John’s vs. UConn. Keep in mind that the northeast is still having some weather issues, which are going to force some changes to the schedule and we’re getting to the point in the season where those logistics get a little bit messy.
This is a something for everyone card, as we have the Mountain West, ACC, Big East, SEC, West Coast, Big Ten, A-10, Horizon, Missouri Valley, Summit, SoCon, American, Sun Belt, Patriot, A-Sun, and MEAC all in action. With conference tournaments rapidly approaching, try to take some time to examine those lower leagues and see if you can find some good betting angles. We’ll be covering all 31 conference tournaments, so we can help with that.
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 VSIN30 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.
Omaha Mavericks (-1.5, 153.5) at South Dakota Coyotes
7 p.m. ET
Are we starting to see a bit of a run out of the Mavericks? Last season’s Summit League Conference Tournament champs have won six of their last eight, dropping a couple games on a North Dakota swing in between a couple of three-game winning streaks. This is a road revenge spot for Omaha after losing to South Dakota 68-64 back on Jan. 21, but that game probably should have gone a lot differently.
Omaha had their worst offensive showing in conference play with .886 points per possession, but still had every chance to win the game. They were 1-of-19 from 3, getting outscored by 21 points from beyond the arc. But, the Mavericks were 24-of-37 on 2s, only gave up three offensive rebounds, and forced 17 turnovers.
It was simply a terrible shooting night that led to that outcome and that’s a big reason why we’ve seen a little bit of a line move towards the Mavs in this one. Even with that ghastly performance on their ledger, the Mavericks are still fourth in the conference in 3P% at 37.2%, so that really was a true outlier. This is the No. 2 team in abused defensive efficiency in the conference, due in large part to an opponents’ 3P% of just 31.2%. Omaha is third in eFG% offense and defense in the nine-team conference.
South Dakota rallied together in that first meeting, which was the first game that they played without leading scorer Isaac Bruns (20.9 PPG). Since then, they’ve gone just 3-5 and have lost three in a row, including .854 PPP in their last game against Oral Roberts. The surging Mavericks should get their revenge tonight.
Pick: Omaha -1.5
Georgia Southern Eagles at James Madison Dukes (-5.5, 152.5)
8 p.m. ET
The complex format of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament makes every seed line gained extremely valuable. Given that every team has lost at least six conference games, tiebreakers are going to be hugely significant. After a really slow start to the season with a 2-6 SBC record, James Madison is making moves, sitting 8-8 now with two home favorite roles in hopes of strengthening their spot in the field.
Head coach Preston Spradlin has to be pleased with the team’s defensive efforts of late, allowing .947, .991, and .970 PPP over the last three games. Last time out, James Madison was 2-of-15 from 3 and still beat Georgia State by 15 points. Georgia Southern is going in the other direction, as they started 5-1 in conference play, including a 96-92 overtime win over JMU. They are 7-9 in league action now.
The Eagles are only shooting 54.1% on Close Two shot attempts and 31.7% from 3 against Division I opponents. They are ninth in 2P% and 13th in 3P% in conference play with an inflated offensive efficiency rank of fourth because they don’t turn the ball over. They’re 11th in eFG% offense. Meanwhile, James Madison is second in eFG% offense and tops in the conference in eFG% defense. Statistically, this team should be better than 8-8 in SBC play, but a low TO% and four losses by five or fewer points have kept them from reaching their potential.
The Dukes have scored at least a full point per possession in 15 of their 16 conference games. They’ve held opponents under a point per possession six times. I think they’re rounding into form at the right time with a good head coach and a pretty strong statistical profile by conference standards.
Pick: James Madison -5.5
