College Basketball Best Bets Today:
We have a modest boost on the college basketball betting board today with 13 more games than yesterday, giving us 34 games to think about on Tuesday. One other difference is that we have a lot more high-profile games, including Arizona vs. BYU, Kentucky vs. Ole Miss, Michigan State at UCLA, and Marquette at St. John’s.
It is a night with a ton of variety, as we have games from the Big 12, SEC, Big Ten, Big East, Mountain West, A-10, ACC, MAC, Missouri Valley, AAC, Ohio Valley, and SWAC. Something for everybody on tonight’s slate.
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Tracking sheet is here. 2023-24 for reference is here.
This article will run Monday-Saturday (not next week, see exception above). Lines will be from DraftKings, as they are widely available to readers. Shop around for the best prices.
Shout-outs to Bart Torvik, Erik Haslam, and Ken Pomeroy, as those are my three primary resources for information when handicapping.
Check the latest college basketball odds for legal U.S. sportsbooks across the country and our Vegas odds if you share a state with us here at VSiN. Also, give the college basketball betting splits a look for these or any other college basketball games today have your interest.
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publish.
La Salle Explorers at VCU Rams (-19, 144)
7 p.m. ET
A-10 action in Richmond features La Salle and VCU. I don’t look at a whole lot of situational spot plays in college hoops, but I think we’ve got one here. The Rams just beat crosstown rival Richmond. And by beat, I mean they embarrassed the Spiders by a score of 90-49. It was a big bounce back effort for Ryan Odom’s team after losing at Saint Louis to snap a six-game winning streak.
Now the Rams take on La Salle, a team that ranks outside the top 200 per Torvik, hence the massive line on the game. But, on Friday, VCU takes on Dayton. These two teams have spent a lot of time jockeying for position in the A-10 and it is a huge game every time those two teams meet. In some respects, because they’ve both been good at the same time, that is VCU’s archrival, despite the Spiders being a hometown rivalry.
La Salle’s performances have been all over the map. They won at St. Bonaventure and scored wins over solid Rhode Island and George Washington teams at home. They’ve also lost to Fordham by 16 at home and lost by 22 at UMass. So, they’re kind of all over the place.
But, La Salle is 43rd in the nation in TO% on offense, potentially neutralizing one of the things that makes VCU so good. The other thing is that La Salle is a competent defensive rebounding team, possibly mitigating another strength for VCU. I think those two things, coupled with the spot, are enough for La Salle to hang around getting a big head start.
Pick: La Salle +19
Ball State Cardinals at Akron Zips (-14, 158.5)
7 p.m. ET
To the JAR we go for some MACtion between Ball State and Akron. The Zips are rocking and rolling in the Rubber City right now. They’ve reeled off nine wins in a row to open MAC play and have been dominant in most of those games. In their nine victories, the Zips have scored .964, 1.309, 1.374, 1.181, 1.220, 1.165, 1.350, 1.054, and 1.170 points per possession. Over their last four games, they have allowed fewer than 1 PPP.
They’re also playing with quite a bit more tempo than we’re used to seeing from John Groce, a byproduct of not having a big man to keep fresh like Enrique Freeman. This is far and away the fastest tempo for a team in the Groce era. In fact, just three short years ago, Akron was 352nd in adjusted tempo per Torvik.
That allows them to cover a lot of spreads, as they’re a top-100 team in eFG% offense and defense. They also take a 3 on 46.7% of their shot attempts and have made 36.7% of them. Ball State is 345th in the nation in TO% and so they’re not going to be able to take many possessions away from this high-flying Akron offense.
The Cardinals are a decent offensive team, but Akron ranks in the 90s in 2P% and 3P%, so they’re going to provide a lot more resistance than most MAC members on the defensive end of the floor, as this is a pretty bad defensive conference. And Ball State is the worst with a conference only adjusted defensive efficiency that is 12th out of 12 teams.
Pick: Akron -14
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