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

Mike Spector

Last Updated: January 26, 2023 12:28 PM EST • 3 min 25 sec read.

College basketball best bets.
College basketball best bets.

Three of the AP Poll’s top eight teams take the court today and highlight a solid slate of games. Read on for our college basketball best bets for Thursday based on the top NCAAB odds.

On Tuesday night, Georgetown beat DePaul 81-76 to end its 29-game Big East losing skid. The Hoyas have struggled for so long that the Blue Demons closed as 1.5-point road favorites. It was just the third time in the previous 15 seasons as a Big East member that they were favored on the road. 

Here are our college basketball best bets for Thursday (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook, WynnBet, 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)

  • Middle Tennessee vs. Florida Atlantic (-9)
  • Purdue (-4.5) vs. Michigan
  • UCLA (-4.5) vs. USC
  • Arizona (-5.5) vs. Washington State

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

College basketball best bets for Thursday

  • Spread: USC +5.5 (-115 via BetMGM) vs. UCLA ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Player prop: Hunter Dickinson Over 16.5 points (-120 via DraftKings) vs. Purdue ⭐⭐⭐
  • Total: Arizona State-Washington Under 143.5 (-105 via WynnBet) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Upset: Washington State (+195 via DraftKings) vs. Arizona ⭐⭐

College Basketball Top Picks

Spread: USC +5.5 vs. UCLA (-115) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

USC easily covered as an 11-point road underdog at UCLA on January 5, and we once again think this is too many points to lay in a rivalry game. Many argued the Trojans would be vulnerable to the Bruins’ mid-range game in their first matchup, considering UCLA was not likely to challenge USC’s elite rim protection (the Trojans rank third with a 41.7% 2-point percentage allowed).

However, USC extended its half-court pressure and neutralized leading scorer Jaime Jaquez Jr. (16.1 points per game), as his 12 points tied for his third-lowest scoring output of the season. This would be a more confident five-star play, except the Bruins committed only eight turnovers in their first matchup and out-rebounded the Trojans 36-30. 

We are opting for the extra half-point at BetMGM at slightly higher juice instead of the +5 at -110 odds found elsewhere.

Check out Shane Jackson's differing opinion on the odds with his UCLA vs. USC picks!

Player prop: Hunter Dickinson Over 16.5 points vs. Purdue (-120) ⭐⭐⭐

We rarely venture into player props with our best bets, but this matchup between Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson and Wooden Award odds frontrunner Zach Edey has us intrigued. Dickinson torched the Boilermakers in two meetings last year, scoring 50 combined points on 20-for-32 shooting.

Granted, Edey did not guard Dickinson on all those possessions, as Purdue also relied heavily upon the smaller Trevion Williams. However, prominent big men like Duke’s Kyle Filipowski (14 points), Gonzaga’s Drew Timme (22), Nebraska’s Derrick Walker (33 in two meetings), and Maryland’s Julian Reese (19) have all hurt the Boilermakers this year.

This is a three-star play, as Edey was limited to just 17 minutes due to foul trouble in last year’s meeting in Ann Arbor. If Dickinson can get Edey in early foul trouble again, he should feast on the rest of the Boilermakers' frontcourt.

Check out our best sportsbooks in Michigan!

Total: Arizona State-Washington Under 143.5 (-105) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

To score points against Washington, one must consistently knock down perimeter shots against their extended 2-3 zone. Unfortunately, that has not been Arizona State’s forte, as it ranks 261st in the country in 3-point shooting (32.1%) and is sixth in league play in 3-point attempts per field goal attempt, as well as the percentage of points coming from 3-point range.

Meanwhile, Washington has allowed 74.7 points per game over its last six conference games (despite facing the league’s best offense in Arizona in that span), a vast improvement from the 79.3 points it allowed in the previous three games. 

All sportsbooks are in unison with the 143.5-point total, but WynnBet is the only one charging less juice to back the Under.

Upset: Washington State ML vs. Arizona (+195) ⭐⭐

Arizona was pummeled 87-68 in its last road game at Oregon, and though it rebounded for back-to-back home wins over USC and UCLA, the Wildcats are vulnerable in Pullman, WA on Thursday. Arizona’s offensive ceiling is as high as any team’s in the country, and it still leads the Pac-12 in scoring by a wide margin (7.9 points better than the next-best team) despite being held to a season-low 58 points in its last game.

This is a two-star play, as the Wildcats will not reach their full potential if point guard Kerr Kriisa does not play better. Kriisa was held to single digits in his previous three games and is a combined 5-for-22 (22.8%) from 3-point range in that span. 

We would not put anyone off backing Washington State’s point spread (+5.5), but we are taking a flier at DraftKings at almost 2:1 odds for it to pull the outright upset.

College basketball best bets made 1/26/2023 at 6:19 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.