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

Mike Spector

Last Updated: January 25, 2023 9:25 AM EST • 2 min 64 sec read.

College basketball best bets.
College basketball best bets.

Five of the six games involving ranked teams Wednesday include teams from the Big East and SEC. Read on for our college basketball best bets for Wednesday based on the top NCAAB odds.

Among the high-profile SEC games Wednesday, the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (17-2, 7-0) have another chance for a resume builder when they host the Mississippi State Bulldogs. A win would continue to put pressure on the Purdue Boilermakers, the top-ranked team, as Alabama is chasing its first No. 1 ranking since 2002-03. 

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

Check out our college basketball best bets.

Wednesday’s College Basketball Schedule and Odds

(odds via DraftKings)

  • Xavier vs. UConn (-6.5)
  • Houston (-10) vs. UCF
  • Georgia vs. Tennessee (-16.5)
  • Mississippi State vs. Alabama (-13)

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

College Basketball Best Bets for Wednesday

  • Spread: UConn -5.5 (-118 via FanDuel) vs. Xavier ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Moneyline: Maryland (-210 via BetRivers) vs. Wisconsin ⭐⭐⭐
  • Total: Houston-UCF Under 127.5 (+100 via WynnBet) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Moneyline: Texas Tech (-155 via DraftKings) vs. West Virginia ⭐⭐

College Basketball Top Picks

Spread: UConn vs. Xavier (-118) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

As we have seen often in college basketball, sometimes a change of venue makes all the difference in rematches (see: Maryland beating Michigan at home after losing by 35 on the road). When these two teams last met, the Cintas Center was electric on New Year’s Eve, especially as the Huskies were one of three undefeated teams at that point.

UConn trailed by three points when head coach Danny Hurley was whistled for a technical foul, which was costly as the Musketeers then finished the game on a 9-2 run. Xavier seemingly got a friendly whistle in that game, attempting 19 more free throws than UConn, while the Huskies settled for 37 3-point attempts. Look for the Huskies to continue using their size to pound Xavier on the backboards (they out-rebounded them 38-31 in the first meeting) and score more consistently in the paint.

FanDuel is the only sportsbook at -5.5 (hence the steep -118 juice), but I would not be opposed to playing this line at the -6.5 other sportsbooks have it at with standard -110 juice.

Moneyline: Maryland ML vs. Wisconsin (-210) ⭐⭐⭐

Maryland is a Jekyll and Hyde team in terms of its home and road splits. The Terrapins are 3-5 in league play, but their three wins are at home, and five losses are on the road.

That factors largely into this being a three-star play, as well as the fact that Wisconsin is at a scheduling disadvantage, having played Monday night at Northwestern. The Badgers’ initially scheduled game against the Wildcats was moved because of COVID-19 concerns within the Northwestern program. Under those circumstances, it will be difficult for the Badgers to overcome a three-game road losing streak. 

All sportsbooks have gone up from an opening line of -205, but others like DraftKings are as high as -230, so BetRivers is our go-to book for this wager.

Total: Houston vs. UCF Under 127.5 (+100) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dating back to 2021, the following are Houston’s point totals allowed in the game immediately following a loss (not counting NCAA tournament games): 60, 46, 52, 49, 56, 69, 52, 56, and 46. That averages to 54 points per game, and the Cougars experienced a second loss in just one of those games.

In fact, the Under is 10-1-1 in Houston’s previous 12 games following a straight-up loss. Thus, this is a four-star play as we look for another spirited defensive effort from Houston in the wake of its 56-55 home loss to Temple. Additionally, UCF plays at one of the slowest tempos (335th) in the country. 

We are headed to WynnBet for this wager, the only sportsbook offering plus-odds to back the Under.

Upset: Texas Tech ML vs. West Virginia (-155) ⭐⭐⭐

Texas Tech’s 0-7 start in Big 12 play is its worst since going 0-11 to begin the 2012 season. In addition, the Red Raiders’ three-game home losing streak (by a total of 15 points to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Baylor) are the team’s only three losses at home (26-3 overall) in the Mark Adams era.

Thus, we expect a bounce-back against a West Virginia team that ranks ninth in league play in effective field-goal percentage and 3-point shooting percentage (29.8%). In addition, the three-star play is largely because West Virginia’s poor free-throw shooting (64.2% in league play is dead last) could haunt it in a close game.

College basketball best bets made 1/25/2023 at 6:31 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.