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College Basketball Odds & Best Bets Today: Schedule, Picks for Friday

Mike Spector

Last Updated: January 6, 2023 4:41 AM EST • 2 min 62 sec read.

College basketball best bets.
College basketball best bets.

Though there are just 14 games on Friday’s college basketball slate, the point spreads suggest several games should go down to the wire. Read on for our college basketball best bets for Friday.

Friday’s college basketball action is dominated by games from the Ivy League, MAC, and MEAC, with a big Pac-12 rivalry game mixed in featuring Stanford and California. 

Here are our college basketball best bets for Friday (odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, and Caesars Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Check out our college basketball best bets.

Friday’s College Basketball Schedule and Odds

(odds via DraftKings)

  • Akron vs. Ball State (-1.5)
  • Penn vs. Cornell (-4)
  • Quinnipiac vs. Rider (-2)
  • Stanford (-8) vs. California

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College Basketball Best Bets for Friday

  • Spread: Ball State -1.5 (-110 via DraftKings) vs. Akron
  • Moneyline: Brown (-118 via FanDuel) vs. Harvard
  • Total: Stanford-California Under 125.5 (-110 via FanDuel)
  • Upset: Detroit Mercy (+145 via Caesars) vs. Wright State

College Basketball Top Picks

Spread: Ball State -1.5 (-110) ⭐⭐

Ball State enters on a six-game winning streak and is a perfect 5-0 on its home floor this year. Meanwhile, Akron has won six of seven games but beat two non-Division I teams and has just one win on the season outside of Quad 4.

Ball State puts relentless pressure on defenses, attempting the fifth-most free throws per field-goal attempt. And the Cardinals should have success from the perimeter, as they make 39.5% of their 3-point shots (ninth-best in Division I) and are facing the 297th-ranked 3-point defense.

DraftKings is one of the only sportsbooks offering a number as low as -1.5 along with standard juice (-110) to back the favorites.

Moneyline: Brown (-118) ⭐⭐⭐

Brown missed a golden opportunity on Monday to knock off the Ivy League favorite at home (Penn), but one has to be impressed by sophomore point guard Kino Lilly’s performance. Lilly scored 28 points and went 5-for-9 from deep, while the rest of his teammates combined to shoot 1-for-14 from beyond the arc.

Harvard has just one player averaging double-figure points and ranks outside the top 300 in two of the most important offensive categories: turnover rate and 3-point shooting.

Outside of the Penn loss, Brown has covered the spread in seven of its previous eight home games, and we are following that trend to suggest it is in for a big home win.

FanDuel is the only sportsbook that has lowered from the -120 opening Moneyline odds.

Total: Stanford-California Under 125.5 (-110) ⭐⭐⭐

Before its New Year’s Eve win and 80-point eruption against Colorado, California had averaged just 58.3 points in its previous nine games. The 80 points scored against Stanford is even more of an anomaly considering the Golden Bears played without leading scorer Devin Askew (16.1 points per game). Considering he has missed three of the last five games, we assume he will not be active Friday.

Thus, California will have difficulty scoring against a Stanford defense that ranks in the top 60 in adjusted defensive efficiency and forces turnovers at the highest rate (23.7%) through four conference games.

The Under has cashed in seven of Stanford’s last nine games against teams with a losing record, and we expect a game against a 2-13 California team to result in another low-scoring battle.

FanDuel is the only sportsbook offering a line of 125.5, as all others are at 124.5 or 125.

Upset: Detroit Mercy (+145) ⭐⭐

Last season, Detroit allowed the third-highest open 3-point rate in the league. And though those defensive perimeter issues have surfaced again this season (it ranks 308th allowing 37.0% from beyond the arc), that deficiency should not be exposed by a Wright State team that gets just 26.0% of its scoring (357th-lowest in the country) from 3-point shots.

In addition, Detroit has the best player on the floor in Antoine Davis (24.6 points), the second-leading scorer in the country. We expect him to lead the Titans to a big upset after averaging 23 points in two games against the Raiders last season.

Wright State is coming off an extended road trip, which does not bode well for its chances of covering, as it is 3-15 against the spread in its last 18 home games following three or more consecutive road games.

No other sportsbook is higher than +142 on Detroit, so Caesars is our go-to place to shop for this wager.

College basketball best bets made 1/6/2023 at 6:20 a.m. ET.

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Written By:
Mike Spector
I have been in the sports writing industry for over three years, working for sites like BettingPros/FantasyPros, Oddschecker, and Sportsbook Review. In my first year writing for BettingPros, I finished with the #2 overall record in their annual NFL betting competition, which made picks against the spread, and from an over/under and moneyline perspective. I am an avid fan of the NFL, MLB, and all college sports. In my opinion, March Madness is the best sporting event there is, and I am especially euphoric starting with conference tournament time in college basketball. I am a big advocate of "fading the public" and making plays that are contrarian, constantly citing that "there are reasons why they have those big shiny buildings in Las Vegas." Follow me on Twitter for my best bets and commentary to go along with the wagers.