College Basketball Odds & Best Bets Today: Schedule, Picks for Tuesday
Four of the top five teams in the country are in action on a loaded college basketball slate. Read on for our college basketball best bets for Tuesday based on the best NCAAB odds.
Bettors should be sure to get their bets in early as 10 games tip off before 5:00 p.m. ET. That includes arguably the marquee game of the day, as the Michigan State Spartans host the Purdue Boilermakers in a pivotal Big Ten clash.
Here are our college basketball best bets for Tuesday (odds via Caesars Sportsbook, BetRivers, and BetMGM; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Check out our college basketball best bets, and our breakdown of the best March Madness odds and Wooden Award odds.
Tuesday’s College Basketball Schedule and Odds
(odds via DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Houston (-10) vs. Tulane
- Kansas (-2) vs. Kansas State
- Tennessee (-7) vs. Mississippi State
- Texas vs. Iowa State (-3)
- Alabama (-8.5) vs. Vanderbilt
College Basketball Best Bets for Tuesday
- Spread: Tulane +10 (-110 via Caesars) vs. Houston
- Moneyline: Wake Forest (-137 via BetRivers) vs. Clemson
- Total: Georgia-Kentucky Under 136.5 (-110 via BetMGM)
- Upset: Kansas State (+112 via BetRivers) vs. Kansas
College Basketball Top Picks
Spread: Tulane +10 vs. Houston (-110) ⭐⭐⭐
Houston does not figure to be challenged much in the AAC, as no other team from the conference is ranked in the top 42 in the NET. And while the Cougars are not necessarily in jeopardy of losing this game outright, the Green Wave could give them fits.
This is a three-star play, as Tulane's frenetic pace (sixth-fastest tempo in the country) will take Houston out of its comfort zone, as it plays at the 335th-slowest pace. Houston's only loss this season was on its home floor to Alabama, as the Crimson Tide's fourth-fastest tempo forced the Cougars into 10 turnovers and 23% shooting (3-for-13) from 3-point range.
In addition, Tulane committed only four turnovers in its home loss to Houston last year. It also plays clean basketball this year, committing turnovers at the country's fourth-lowest rate (14.1%).
We would need to be getting at least double digits to make this play. So for now, bettors should avoid any of the multiple sportsbooks offering +9.5.
Moneyline: Wake Forest ML vs. Clemson (-137) ⭐⭐⭐
Clemson was picked to finish 11th in the ACC preseason poll. Taking nothing away from its historic 7-0 start in conference play (its best in program history), but regression is looming relative to its preseason expectations.
Wake Forest has lost 10 of its last 11 games against Clemson (including a 20-point road loss in the ACC opener), which makes this line feel a little fishy given that this is arguably the Tigers' best team in recent memory.
However, the Demon Deacons forced 19 turnovers in that first meeting, and Clemson was 24-for-25 from the foul line, something it would be hard-pressed to replicate.
This is a three-star contrarian play, as we expect Wake Forest to lean on a top-20 effective field-goal percentage to perform better offensively than its first meeting with Clemson.
Total: Georgia-Kentucky Under 136.5 (-110) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Kentucky was without Daimion Collins (foot) and Sahvir Wheeler (shoulder) during its upset of Tennessee and overcame a scoreless 21 minutes from Cason Wallace, as he left the game periodically to deal with an injury. However, playing Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob Toppin, CJ Fredrick, and Antonio Reeves all 30-plus minutes may have been a blessing in disguise for the Wildcats, who found a renowned defensive identity and held the Volunteers to 3-for-21 shooting from deep.
This is a confident five-star play, as we expect John Calipari to use similar rotations and build off of what worked well against Tennessee. However, the Wildcats' offense still has a much lower ceiling as long as Wheeler remains out, and they are coming off committing 19 turnovers in the last game.
BetMGM is the highest of all sportsbooks with its line of 136.5, but we would still play this line down to 135.5.
Upset: Kansas State ML vs. Kansas (+112) ⭐⭐⭐
This has not been much of a rivalry of late, as the Jayhawks are 15-1 in the last 16 games against the Wildcats. However, three of the previous six losses in the "Octagon of Doom" have been by four or fewer points, and not many of those Kansas State teams had the experience (34th-most experienced team) and the backcourt that these Wildcats have.
Kansas swallows up offenses that do not have great spacing and off-the-ball movement. But that is what Kansas State is so good at, as evidenced by its sixth-best assists per field goals made rate (66.7%).
Kansas' dominance of this rivalry has us making this just a three-star play, but four of the Jayhawks' last five wins are by four or fewer points, which gives us more confidence that an upset will happen.
This line is already down from the opening number of +120, but the allure of this wager is gone if the line moves any closer to a pick’em.
College basketball best bets made 1/17/2023 at 6:22 a.m. ET.
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