There are 26 games for bettors to wager on amid Tuesday's Valentine's Day college basketball slate. Read on for our college basketball best bets for Tuesday based on the top NCAAB odds.
Lost among the hysteria of Sunday's Super Bowl was the Northwestern Wildcats earning their first upset of an AP No. 1-ranked team in school history. The Wildcats were 0-19 against top-ranked teams before Sunday, according to ESPN Stats and Info, which was the second-most losses from any school without a win in such games (Washington State is 0-27).
Here are our college basketball best bets for Tuesday (odds via BetMGM, WynnBet, and FanDuel Sportsbook; Pick confidence is based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Check out our top college basketball picks and our best March Madness betting sites.
Tuesday's college ba sketball schedule and odds
- Kansas (-2) vs. Oklahoma State
- Creighton (-2) vs. Providence
- Illinois (-3.5) vs. Penn State
- Kansas State (-1) vs. Oklahoma
Check out our best March Madness odds and Wooden Award odds.
College basketball best bets for Tuesday
- Spread: DePaul +1.5 vs. St. John's (-106 via FanDuel) ????
- Moneyline: Kansas State ML vs. Oklahoma (-114 via FanDuel) ???
- Total: Missouri-Auburn Over 150.5 (-110 via BetMGM) ???
- Upset: Syracuse ML vs. NC State (-102 via FanDuel) ???
College basketball top picks
DePaul is amid a six-game losing streak, with four double-digit losses. However, three of the four defeats were against teams over .500 in the league (Providence, Marquette, and UCon n). St. John's hasn't shown it can win on the road, going just 1-7 away from home this year.
The Blue Demons rank in the bottom third of the Big East in offensive efficiency and 2-point shooting during league play (47.7%). Still, the team takes care of the basketball, with its 16.6% turnover rate ranking third-best in the Big East. That's essential against the Red Storm's pressure defense that forces turnovers at a top-three league rate.
This is a three-star play at FanDuel with less juice, as St. John's is just 2-6 against the spread on the road, and we expect those struggles to continue.
Oklahoma's 24-point home thrashing of Alabama looks more surprising every day, as it's the Sooners' only win over their last eight games. Lately, Oklahoma's offense has run entirely through shooting guard Grant Sherfield, who ranks 91st in the percentage of shots his team takes. However, since a 30-point outburst against Alabama, Sherfield has scored 55 points over the last four games and is a combined 19-for-50 (38%) from the field during that span.
The Wildcats can use Markquis Nowell to bother Sherfield, as he's recorded the third-most steals of any active Division I player. In addition, Kansas State is more balanced offensively than Oklahoma, with three starters averaging in double figures and no player taking more than 25.7% of the team's shots (Keyontae Johnson ranks 398th in that category).
All sportsbooks are posting higher odds than the -110 opening number. But Kansas State backers will find the team's odds the most affordable at FanDuel.
Division I teams that scored at least 1.4 points per possession in games over the last 15 seasons posted a 99.7% winning percentage (1,169-4 straight up) until Tennessee lost to Missouri over the weekend, according to BartTorvik. The Volunteers finished with 1.42 points per possession, even while ranking 218th in effective field-goal percentage, and that shows how poor Missouri's defense can be at times.
However, the Tigers scoring 86 points on the road against a Tennessee defense that ranks first in adjusted defensive efficiency and effective field-goal percentage allowed is also a tremendous feat. The Volunteers hadn't allowed more than 78 points in a game this season.
This is a three-star play, as these two teams are tied as the second-most profitable Over teams in the SEC (15-10 O/U records).
NC State is coming off a historic win against Boston College, as its 30-point margin of victory (92-62) was the school's third-largest during an ACC road game.
However, the Wolfpack are slightly overvalued entering this clash due to that resul t, and Syracuse is a horrible matchup for them. NC State ranks ninth in league play with a 34.5% team 3-point shooting percentage, and the Wolfpack are 11th in the percentage of their field goal attempts coming behind the arc. NC State has been relying heavily on getting offense out of its defense and creating one-on-one mismatches, and they rank 15th in the ACC in team assists per field goals made. This is therefore a three-star upset play, as the Orange's 2-3 zone will neutralize the Wolfpack's biggest strengths.
FanDuel once again offers the best value. It's the only sportsbook not at a virtual pick'em with -110 odds on each side.
College basketball best bets made 2/14/2023 at 6:13 a.m. ET.
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