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

Mike Spector

Last Updated: January 12, 2023 4:17 AM EST • 3 min read.

College basketball best bets.
College basketball best bets.

All three ranked teams in action hail from the West Coast, highlighting the 50-plus game schedule. Read on for our college basketball best bets for Thursday based on the top odds.

Of the three ranked teams that will play Thursday (No. 7 UCLA, No. 8 Gonzaga, and No. 9 Arizona), the Wildcats are the only one coming off a loss. Arizona's 28-game home winning streak was snapped shockingly, as Washington State claimed its first road win over a top-5 opponent in 122 years.

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

Check out our college basketball best bets.

Thursday’s College Basketball Schedule and Odds

(odds via DraftKings)

  • Gonzaga (-6.5) vs. BYU
  • Utah vs. UCLA (-12.5)
  • Arizona (-15.5) vs. Oregon State

College Basketball Best Bets for Thursday

  • Spread: BYU +6.5 (-104 via FanDuel)
  • Moneyline: USC (-156 via FanDuel)
  • Total: Michigan-Iowa Over 154.5 (-110 via BetMGM)
  • Upset: Northern Kentucky (+100 via Caesars)

Check out our March Madness 2023 odds and our Wooden Award odds.

College Basketball Top Picks

Spread: BYU +6.5 (-104) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

We have not seen the usual dominance out of Gonzaga in the last two games, as wins over San Francisco and Santa Clara came by a combined seven points on the road. Now the Bulldogs face a BYU team that is better defensively than those other two teams, ranking 28th in adjusted defensive efficiency compared to Santa Clara's 96th ranking and San Francisco's ranking of 112.

In addition, the Cougars are one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the country, allowing opponents to secure just 22% of their misses (sixth-best). Thus, this is a four-star play as BYU has all the tools necessary to slow down Gonzaga's Drew Timme, plus the schedule makers were not kind to the Cougars, with this being their third consecutive road game. 

All sportsbooks are in unison with the 6.5-point spread, but FanDuel is the only one charging less than the -110 standard juice to back the underdogs.

Moneyline: USC (-156) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The USC Trojans are a rare five-star moneyline play for us at these odds, as we don't understand why they aren't bigger home favorites.

Colorado is just 1-3 in true road games this year and lost its last road game to a California team that is just 3-8 at home and was missing its best player (Devin Askew, averages 16.1 points per game). USC has had a week off after a narrow two-point road loss to rival UCLA and has won its last seven home games, including victories over Auburn and Vermont in that stretch.

This line opened at USC -135, but FanDuel is the only sportsbook not at -160 or higher yet on the Trojans.

Total: Michigan-Iowa Over 154.5 (-110) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Many quickly wrote Iowa off after its third-leading scorer, Patrick McCaffery, took a leave of absence from the team. However, in the two games without him, Iowa has averaged 83.5 points and made 19-of-46 3-point attempts (41.3%).

The Hawkeyes' 76 points against Rutgers might not jump off the page, but it is especially impressive when considering the Scarlet Knights had allowed 68 or fewer points in 11 consecutive games. Thus, this wager gets a four-star play for what the Hawkeyes did to a Rutgers defense that is top 10 in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage defense, turnover percentage forced, and 3-point percentage allowed. 

There are some 155s out there, so be sure to find a sportsbook like BetMGM that offers the extra half-point in value while you can.

Upset: Northern Kentucky (+100) ⭐⭐⭐

Northern Kentucky is 4-2 in games decided by four points or less and improved to 3-0 in overtime games with its latest win against Detroit Mercy. In that game, the Norse were burned for 53 combined points from Antoine Davis and Jayden Stone but held the other six players to 23 points on 8-for-28 shooting.

Milwaukee will seek revenge for last year's 36-point home loss to Northern Kentucky. However, this is a three-star play as we expect the Norse's zone (allowing opponents to make fewer than 34% of their 3-point attempts) to limit Milwaukee's strength.

Caesars is one of three sportsbooks offering the same plus-money odds on Northern Kentucky.

College basketball best bets made 1/12/2023 at 6:15 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.