With the NFL on pause for a few days, let's find some money in college hoops! March Madness will be here before we know it and the conference title races are starting to take shape.
College basketball is a great sport to exploit for sharp bettors. There are so many games on each night's board that the sportsbooks often have trouble keeping up. That's a beautiful thing for us folks on this side of the counter!
Here are 2 College Basketball Best Bets for Wednesday, February 1. Good luck with your action and let's bring home both of these!
Tennessee Volunteers @ Florida Gators
The 18-3 Tennessee Volunteers are currently ranked #2 in the country and are riding a 4-game win streak after their previous one (5) was snapped by Kentucky 63-56. They are coming off an 82-71 home win over then #10 Texas on Saturday.
The Vols outrebounded the Longhorns 35 to 20 and shot over 55% from the field. Olivier Nkamhoua led all scorers with 27 points which happened to be his career-high.
Zakai Zeigler chipped in with 22 points of his own, 10 assists, and 2 steals. The Vols are #7 in the country in rebounds and 8th in assists.
The Gators are 12-9 on the year and are coming off a loss to then #5 Kansas State 64-50 on the road on Saturday. The Gators struggled by turning the ball over 14 times and shot just 4 of 22 for 18.2% from long range in the loss.
Kansas State won the war on the glass as they snagged 47 boards to Florida’s 32. The Gators trailed by 21 at the break and despite a modest comeback, the game was never really in question.
Best Bet: Florida Gators +6
The Gators tout the #10 team in terms of adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom and that will serve them well in this game as they face a Volunteer team that has a handful of offensive weapons that can burn the opposition.
Early tickets are coming in on the Vols while the majority of the money is going on the Gators. The line has held tight which indicates to us that oddsmakers are not nervous about all the tickets being on the Vols.
The Gators will be live dogs and don’t be shocked if you see Gator Nation storming the court after this matchup. Take the points!
Here are some of the key betting trends for this SEC showdown:
- Tennessee is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games when playing on the road against Florida.
- Away team is 2-10 ATS in the last 12 meetings.
- Florida is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
- Florida is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning straight-up record.
Oklahoma State Cowboys @ Oklahoma Sooners -3.5
It’ll be BEDLAM in Norman Wednesday evening. The Cowboys are 12-9 on the season and have lost 4 of their last 7 games. However, they are coming off a win at home against the Rebels of Ole Miss on Saturday 82-60.
Offensively, the Pokes shot just under 53% from the field as a team while they held the Rebels to 35% shooting. They also made the most of the free throw opportunities going 22 of 25 from the charity stripe.
Like their counterparts, the Sooners are also 12-9 on the year and have lost 4 of their last 6. They are coming off as one of the biggest wins in recent program history.
They knocked off the visiting #2 Alabama Crimson Tide. They led 50-33 at the half and never looked back and instead of relaxing, they put them away winning the 2nd half 43-36.
Grant Sherfield was amazing, shooting 11 of 20 from the field and finishing with 30 points. Tanner Groves pitched in with a double-double grabbing 12 boards to go with his 14 points.
Best Bet: Oklahoma Sooners -3.5
The Sooners will be full of confidence heading into this contest and emotion can play a big role. We believe this confidence will carry them through this matchup, especially with the game being on their home floor.
Early public tickets and money are on the Cowboys which signifies to us that the smart play here is on the home favs. Looking at KenPom’s data, the Sooners have a superior edge on offensive/defensive efficiencies.
The difference in their ranks is 38 total spots which give us more confidence playing the home chalk here. We'll lay the points with Boomer Sooner!
Here are some of the key betting trends for this BIG 12 showdown:
- Oklahoma St is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
- Oklahoma St is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games.
- Oklahoma is 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games following a straight-up win.
- Favorite is 6-2-1 ATS in the last 9 meetings.
