Daily Dunk: Best College Basketball Bets Today (Bet on ASU as underdog vs. Colorado)
You know what's the best way to boost your bankroll ahead of the Super Bowl? By winning some college basketball bets in the days leading up to it. So, that's exactly what we're going to try to do.
There's a solid slate of games set for Thursday night and as per usual, I have three bets locked in for tonight's action.
If you want to follow along, be sure to click the link below to sign up for an account at BetMGM. If you do, you'll receive $158 in bonus bets when you place your first $5 wager.
College Basketball Best Bets Today
- Arizona State +14.5 vs. Colorado
- FAU -5.5 vs. UAB
- UC Irvine -4 vs. UCSB
Arizona State vs. Colorado prediction
It's tough to bet against Colorado when the Buffaloes are at home. Their metrics when playing on their home court are eye-popping, but I still think a 14.5-point spread is too aggressive against this Arizona State team.
When I see an underdog getting a ton of points, one thing I like to look at is turnovers. If the underdog has a big advantage in that category, they are sometimes in a good spot to keep the game close. The Sun Devils rank 36th in turnovers per possession, giving up the ball on just 14.3% of possessions, while also ranking 43rd in opponent turnovers per possession, forcing turnovers on 19.5% of opponent possessions.
If the Sun Devils can create extra possessions via hanging on to the ball and forcing Colorado to cough up the ball, they're going to be in a much better spot to keep this game within 14 points.
FAU vs. UAB prediction
Florida Atlantic outranks UAB in virtually every single metric and I set them as a higher favorite than what the current spread indicates. FAU enters the game ranking 15th in effective field goal percentage while UAB comes in at 235th.
The Blazers are also 244th in opponent effective field goal percentage, which means the Owls should be able to score early and often in this one.
I'll lay the points with FAU in tonight's AAC showdown.
UC Irvine vs. UCSB prediction
I'm once again going to back my UC Irvine Anteaters in this Big West showdown. UCSB may be the better shooting team, but UC Irvine has a huge defensive advantage. The Anteaters are eighth in the country in opponent effective field goal percentage and even more importantly, have a great interior defense.
70.8% of UCSB's shots come from 2-point range and now the Gauchos face a UC Irvine team that's fifth in the entire country in opponent 2-point field goal percentage, keeping teams to shooting just 43.1% from down low.
UCSB also has a turnover problem, coughing up the ball on 19.4% of its possessions. I'll lay the points with the Anteaters.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
You can check out all of Iain's bets here!