Daily Dunk: Best College Basketball Bets Today (Minnesota Continues to Bettors' Best Friend)
With the NFL season all wrapped up and the NBA on its All-Star break, all eyes are on Sunday's college basketball slate which includes plenty of intriguing games across the country.
Let's see if we can't find a few winners to bet on today to pad our pockets as we head into the new week. I have three best bets locked in, including two on games in the Big Ten.
If you want to bet on today's action, be sure to sign up for an account at Caesars Sportsbook. If you do so by clicking the link below, Caesars will cover your first bet up to $1,000!
College Basketball Best Bets Today
- Wichita State +6.5 vs. Charlotte
- Ohio State +8.5 vs. Purdue
- Minnesota -4 vs. Rutgers
Wichita State vs. Charlotte prediction
I wrote a full betting preview for this AAC showdown, which you can read here. Here is a portion of why I like Wichita State to cover the number:
"If you were to look at the metrics for these two teams, there is no way you would guess that one is 10-2 in conference play and the other is 2-10. Wichita State is much better than its record indicates and Charlotte isn't nearly as good as its record indicates. So, with that being said, the value inherently lies with the Shockers.
"One example of that is Wichita State comes into this game ranking 183rd in defensive efficiency while Charlotte ranks just a little bit ahead of them at 130th. Wichita State is also 179th in effective possession ratio while Charlotte is just 157th.
"This game is a lot closer on paper than the records would lead you to believe. I'll take the points with Wichita State as a road underdog."
Purdue vs. Ohio State prediction
Ohio State is 2-9 in its last 11 games but I think the Buckeyes are better than their record indicates. Are they a great team? No. Can they keep this game within double-digits? Yes.
There are only a few players in the country who even have a chance of slowing down Zach Edey and Ohio State's Felik Okpara is one of them. The Buckeyes' center stands at 6'11 and is averaging 2.5 blocks per game, the 19th most in the country. Purdue already has some shooting issues when playing on the road, as its effective field goal percentage, drops 7.3% when playing away from its home court.
Now, they need to try to answer the riddle that is Okpara in the interior. While I have no doubt Purdue can win this game, winning this game by double-digit is a completely different question. I'll take the points with the Buckeyes.
Rutgers vs. Minnesota prediction
No team has covered the spread at a higher rate in the country than Minnesota, which is 21-3 against the spread entering today's game. While you may be tempted to bet against them expecting regression, I truly don't think sportsbooks and bettors have adjusted their numbers for how good this Golden Gophers squad is.
Minnesota is 35th in the country in effective field goal percentage and 82nd in defensive efficiency. Now the Gophers get to face a Rutgers team that is great defensively, but absolutely horrific on offense. When I say "absolutely horrific," I mean it.
Rutgers is 329th in offensive efficiency and 356th in effective field goal percentage. Only six other teams in Division 1 college basketball are worse at shooting than the Scarlett Knights. There's no chance I'm going to back them to cover a short spread against a team as good as Minnesota.
I'll lay the points with Minnesota and hope the team improves to 22-3 ATS this season.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
You can check out all of Iain's bets here!