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Daily Dunk: Best College Basketball Bets Today (San Francisco Will Stand Strong vs. Gonzaga)

Breaking down the best bets to place for college basketball action set to take place on Thursday, Jan. 25.

By Iain MacMillan

Ndewedo Newbury (21) of the University of San Francisco goes for a layup, guarded by Alonzo Gaffney
Ndewedo Newbury (21) of the University of San Francisco goes for a layup, guarded by Alonzo Gaffney / Megan Mendoza/The Republic / USA TODAY
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After a slow start to the college basketball season, I have worked my way back into the green and currently sit at 87-78-1 for +1.85 units.

Let's keep the good times rolling with another winning night on Thursday. There's plenty of games to choose from tonight, but I'm sticking to the mid majors. As per usual, I have three bets locked in that I feel great about.

If you want to join me on these plays tonight, you should click the link below to sign up for an account at FanDuel Sportsbook. If you do, you'll receive $150 in bonus bets when you place your first $5 wager.

Bet on College Hoops at FanDuel now!

Best College Basketball Bets Today

  • Youngstown State -13.5 vs. IUPUI
  • SMU vs. North Texas UNDER 126.5
  • San Francisco +9.5 vs. Gonzaga

Youngstown State vs. IUPUI prediction

Youngstown State should be able to offensively overwhelm IUPUI. The Penguins outrank the Jaguars is most areas, including effective field goal percentage where IUPUI comes in at 282nd in the country in that stat.

The Jaguars are also one of the worst defensive teams in the country, coming in at 359th out of 362 in opponent effective field goal percentage. They also cough the ball up on 20.7% of their possessions, which ranks in the bottom 25 in college basketball.

Don't let the fact the Penguins are on the road scare you away from laying the points on them. Youngstown State is one of the few teams in the country that has better numbers on the road than at home. For example, its effective field goal percentage goes up 0.8% when playing on the road.

I'll lay the points with the Penguins.

SMU vs. North Texas prediction

This game is an UNDER bettors dream. If you like defensive basketball, this game is going to be a must-watch.

These two teams rank inside the top five in the country in opponent effective field goal percentage. SMU ranks second and North Texas comes in at fifth.

Not only are these two of the best defensive teams in the country, but North Texas also plays at the second lowest rate in all of college basketball, averaging just 64 possessions per games. This is going be a slow-paced, defensive affair. The low total doesn't scare me, I'll take the UNDER.

San Francisco vs. Gonzaga prediction

These two teams rank way too close in most metrics to justify a 9.5-point spread. For example, San Francisco ranks 23rd in effective field goal percentage tonight and Gonzaga comes in at 33rd. In terms of defensive play, the Dons come in at 11th in defensive efficiency while the Bulldogs come in at 27th.

So, why is Gonzaga such a big favorite? It's a mystery to me. The Dons also do a great job of forcing turnovers, ranking 27th in opponent turnovers per possession, which will play a big role in keeping this game close.

I won't hesitate to take the points with the Dons tonight.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

You can check out all of Iain's bets here!

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