College Basketball Predictions & Best Bets Today: ATS Picks and Prop Bets (Tuesday, Feb. 3)

With seven top 25 teams hitting the hardwood across the country tonight, my college basketball predictions and best bets today are focused on three of them that are led by star freshmen.

My favorite college basketball player props include backing Cameron Boozer to keep pulling away in the Wooden Award odds race, and UConn's secret weapon to stay hot from beyond the arc.

🏀 College basketball predictions today: Keep backing the frosh

See all of our experts' college basketball picks based on the latest college basketball odds.

💰 College basketball best bets today

Check out all of our college basketball analysis and expert predictions this season.

Ole Miss vs. Tennessee prediction: Tennessee -11.5 (-110 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tennessee got off to a sporadic start to the season, but Rick Barnes' team is settling in thanks to freshman Nate Ament. With Ament averaging 23.3 PPG over his last three outings, the Volunteers are 3-0 and 2-1 ATS.

Those wins came against Auburn, at Georgia, and at Alabama, three teams ranked in the top 40 by KenPom. Ole Miss is ranked No. 64 with a 7-13 ATS record, and the Rebels are just 6-10 overall since late November. 

Tennessee is ranked in the top 15 in adjusted defensive efficiency and should have no problem rolling Ole Miss at home.

NC State vs. SMU prediction: Over 159.5 (-110 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the best game tonight, and it doesn't even feature a ranked team. That's because NC State and SMU both have offenses ranked in the top 25 in adjusted efficiency.

Led by Boopie Miller, SMU is 18th in the country in PPG (86.6) but giving up the fourth-most PPG in ACC play (79.3). The Mustangs' defense sits just No. 74 in adjusted efficiency.

NC State is also top-25 in scoring (85.9), and has four different players putting up at least 13.5 PPG in ACC matchups. The Wolfpack have hit the Over in six of their last seven.

⛹️ College basketball player props today

Boston College vs. Duke prediction: Cameron Boozer 25+ points (+122 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The freshman class rules the Wooden Award odds, with Boozer being the best of a historically dominant bunch of first-year players. He's No. 2 in the country in PPG (23.5) and only getting better.

Boozer has been feasting in conference play. He's shooting 61% from the floor and 44.4% from behind the arc against ACC opponents, and has gone for 30-plus in two of his last four.

Boston College's defense is ranked outside the top 50, and this outlier price from FanDuel is too good to pass on. Our other best March Madness betting sites have this prop at minus-money.

Xavier vs. UConn prediction: Braylon Mullins 3+ made 3-pointers (+170 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐

Although Braylon Mullins hasn't put up numbers like some of the other frosh this season, he's a projected lottery pick and a key piece to a March Madness odds favorite. The former five-star recruit leads Dan Hurley's team in made 3-pointers per game (2.2).

Mullins has been heating up, too. He's averaging 2.7 made threes on 40.9% shooting in 10 games against Big East teams. That includes going 5-for-10 from three the last time UConn played Xavier.

The Musketeers' perimeter defense has struggled all season, with Richard Pitino's team allowing the second-most made threes per game in conference play (8.9).

🚀 Best college basketball parlay picks today