Three more conference tournaments get underway on a jampacked Tuesday college basketball slate. Read on for our college basketball best bets for Tuesday based on the top NCAAB odds.
In addition to the ASUN tournament reaching its quarterfinal stage, the Sun Belt, Patriot League, and Horizon League all begin their conference tournament action.
Here are our college basketball best bets for Tuesday (odds via DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, and FanDuel; pick confidence 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 basketball schedule and odds
(odds via DraftKings)
- San Diego State vs. Boise State (-2)
- Arkansas vs. Tennessee (-6.5)
- Iowa vs. Indiana (-5.5)
Check out our best March Madness odds and Wooden Award odds.
College basketball best bets for Tuesday
- Spread: Arkansas +6.5 (-110 via BetMGM) vs. Tennessee ???
- Moneyline: Michigan State ML vs. Nebraska (-164 via Caesars) ????
- Total: Saint Louis-VCU Over 142.5 (-110 via FanDuel) ????
- Upset: Lipscomb ML (+115 via DraftKings) vs. Stetson ???
College basketball top picks
Arkansas standout freshman guard Nick Smith has played in just 10 games this year, but when he has played at least 20 minutes, the Razorbacks are 6-1, with their only loss coming in their last game by three points at Alabama. Arkansas had an 11-point lead in the first half of that game and did a masterful job stifling the Crimson Tide from 3-point range, allowing 3-for-22 (13.6%).
Running teams off the 3-point line has always been the team's strength, as the Razorbacks allowed the fewest percentage of 3-point attempts per field-goal attempt (28.8%) in league play.
Considering the Volunteers rank 229th in the country in the percentage of their points coming from inside the arc (49.6%), that could spell doom for their chances of offensive success.
Michigan State was the victim of one of the craziest comebacks of the season, as Iowa outscored it 23-10 over the final 1:30 of regulation to force overtime. It may be difficult for many teams to recover from such a collapse in the next game, but we do not expect it from a Tom Izzo-led team.
We can nitpick the Spartans' end-game woes all we want but prefer to highlight that they were a part of the first Big Ten game in the last 25 seasons in which both teams scored 100 points in regulation, per ESPN Stats & Info.
This is a four-star play, as we expect Izzo's club to get back to the style of defense that held Nebraska to 0.88 points per possession and 2-of-16 from 3-point range in an 18-point win at the Breslin Center in early January.
Backing the Over in a VCU game may seem blasphemous, as the Rams have allowed just 59.8 points per game over their last 13. However, Saint Louis's offense was most successful against them in that span, scoring 65 points and making 40% (8-of-20) of its shots from beyond the arc.
In addition, VCU has been playing with much more pace lately, averaging 80.3 points over its last three games while committing fewer than 10 turnovers in two of them.
This is a four-star play, as the Rams should have plenty of clean possessions again when facing a Billikens defense that ranks 13th in A-10 play in turnover percentage forced (16.1%).
Lipscomb and Stetson meet for the second time in four days, as the Bisons beat the Hatters in overtime 98-91 on their home floor on Friday to end the regular season. Stetson beat Lipscomb in overtime on its home floor in the first meeting, so naturally, we are taking the underdog in this matchup as these two teams are evenly matched.
This three-star play would move to a more confident four-star wager if Stetson point guard Stephan Swenson is once again ruled out with a concussion. Swenson has missed the last two games, and the Hatters missed his presence in the rematch against Lipscomb after he scored a team-high 22 points (on an efficient 8-of-12 shooting) and dished out a team-high six assists in the first meeting.
Swenson is crucial to his team's success as he has the highest BPR of any Hatters player, per EvanMiya. Lipscomb improved from scoring 1.07 in the first meeting to 1.31 points per possession in the rematch, and we look for the Bisons' offensive success to continue.
All sportsbooks have come down from an opening number of +130, but the best value still remains at DraftKings, as Lipscomb's Moneyline odds are as low as +105 elsewhere.
College basketball best bets made 2/28/2023 at 6:42 a.m. ET.
Here are our best March Madness betting sites:
- FanDuel: No Sweat First Bet up to $1,000 | Read our FanDuel Review
- Caesars: Earn Up to a $1,250 Bet Credit | Read our Caesars Review
- DraftKings: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our DraftKings Review
- PointsBet: Earn Five Second-Chance Bets Up to $50 Each | Read our PointsBet Review
- BetMGM: Get a Bonus Bet of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review
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