College Basketball Odds & Best Bets Today: Schedule, Picks for Tuesday
Just seven undefeated teams remain in college basketball as we get set for another big slate of games. We have highlighted the odds, movements, and our college basketball best bets for Tuesday.
The Purdue Boilermakers were voted the No. 1 team in the country in the latest AP poll, while three other teams (Virginia, UConn, and Tennessee) received first-place votes.
Here are our best bets for Tuesday’s college basketball slate (odds via BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, and FanDuel Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Tuesday’s College Basketball Schedule and Odds
(odds via DraftKings)
- NC A&T (+3000) vs. Houston (-14993)
- Texas A&M-CC (+1600) vs. Arizona (-4500)
- Memphis (+235) vs. Alabama (-280)
Tuesday’s College Basketball Best Bets
- Spread: Memphis +6.5 (-110 via BetMGM)
- Moneyline: UMass Lowell (-134 via FanDuel)
- Total: Furman-N.C. State Over 152.5 (-114 via FanDuel)
- Upset: Princeton (+220 via Caesars)
Tuesday’s College Basketball Top Picks
Spread: Memphis +6.5 (-110) ★★★★
This is sure to be contrarian play by the time of tip-off, as Alabama is coming off a big win over then-No. 1 Houston. The Crimson Tide make a dangerous living of the volume of their field-goal attempts that come from 3-point range (46.7% is the 21st-highest), as they are a true “live and die by the three” team.
Alabama certainly will not get anything at the rim against an elite rim-protecting Memphis team, which ranks 43rd in NPAR (near-proximity field-goal attempts, per Haslametrics), and 26th in 2-point percentage allowed (43.2%). Considering the Tigers also allow a tick over 30% from the 3-point line, they have the defensive make-up to frustrate Alabama.
This number is down from an opening of +7.5 and has already touched +5.5 at FanDuel. Thus, be sure to grab whatever 6.5 at minimal juice you can find before the number continues to drop in Memphis’ direction.
Moneyline: UMass Lowell (-134) ★★★★
Outside of a loss at Rutgers, UMass Lowell has 11 wins, 10 of which came by at least nine points. The River Hawks are bullies on the offensive glass, ranking 27th in the country with a 35.6% offensive-rebounding percentage. They are also a physical defensive team, ranking in the top 15 in effective field-goal percentage and 2-point percentage allowed (42%).
Comparatively, Rhode Island’s young roster (227th in D-1 experience) has had difficulty getting anything going offensively. The Rams have been held to fewer than 60 points in three of their seven losses and rank 324th in turnover and effective field-goal percentages.
UMass Lowell’s Moneyline odds are as much as $11 cheaper than the -145 found at PointsBet.
Total: Furman-N.C. State Over 152.5 (-114) ★★★★
The Paladins have averaged 83.8 points over the last five games. Their ability to create driving lanes, thanks to defenses needing to honor their 3-point shooting ability, is a big reason they rank seventh in the country in 2-point shooting percentage (60.7%).
N.C. State will have difficulty defending Furman in the lane, as the Paladins’ 23rd-ranked near-proximity ranking offensively trumps the Wolfpack’s 100th-ranking defensively in the same metric. Conversely, N.C. State should get whatever it wants offensively against a Furman defense that ranks 157th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Paying the slight extra in juice is worth it at FanDuel, as its total is a full two points lower than the more common 153.5 or 154.5 found at BetMGM.
Upset: Princeton (+220) ★★★
At some point, the loss of Quinn Slazinski, a 6-foot-9 forward who averaged 18 points through the first two games for Iona, has to catch up with the team. Without Slazinski, Iona is 5-1 and won every game in that stretch by at least 15 points. But Iona gets 60.3% of its points (20th-most in the country) from inside the arc, and the Tigers play one of the most impenetrable compact defenses in the country, and they are also the best defending rebounding team in Division I (19.2% offensive rebounding percentage allowed).
The Tigers have won eight straight after an 0-2 start, including two wins overseas in London. Playing a neutral-site game in its own state, we expect Princeton to make it nine wins in a row.
Both DraftKings and Caesars have the same +220 odds (up from an opening number of +195), and offer much better value than the +198 found at FanDuel.
Where to Bet on College Basketball
Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:
College basketball best bets from 12/13/2022 at 6:18 a.m. ET.
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