College Basketball Best Bets for Today, January 31

I've been saying to trust the process and we finally got a nice payout on Saturday, going 8-1 in this very best bets column to push us closer to the .500 mark and erase a horrid start to the season.

But, you're only as good as your most recent day and we have a short slate on Monday to comb through.

Here are three bets I'm on for this fine Monday. If you want more plays closer to tip, make sure to check out my Betstamp, I update that in real time.

All odds courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook

Column Record: 35-37-3 (-4.58 Units)

Duke (-5) vs. Notre Dame

This number has been trickling down all morning and I'm going to hold out hope for a -4.5, but I'm willing to play Duke at -5. You can check out my full game preview here, but in short I see too many advantages for the Duke frontcourt in this matchup, even with the Tobacco Road rivalry game against North Carolina on deck.

In the macro view I find Duke to have some underlying issues, but their offense is well suited to overwhelm Notre Dame's weak interior. The Irish don't have an answer for Paolo Banchero and AJ Griffin, who can play inside and out, and definitely don't have the size to keep Mark Williams off the glass.

It would be a huge boost if Duke got guard Trevor Keels back from injury, but Jeremy Roach has stepped up in his absence and Notre Dame is poor at generating turnovers, so I expect the Blue Devils offense to continue to thrive. The team must be disciplined against ND's pick-and-roll, but I trust their offense to cash this ticket.

PICK: Duke up to -5

West Virginia (+14) vs. Baylor

This isn't pretty, but this spot sets up nicely for Bob Huggins' Mountaineers. It seems like the sky is falling for West Virginia, and while this team is trending towards missing the NCAA Tournament, they have lost five straight to quality competition, all within KenPom's top 40. It's not like the team is dropping games to bottom feeders.

On January 18th, West Virginia hung tough against Baylor, but too many missed layups cost them a cover, a nine point home loss.

I think the Mountaneers are due for some positive regression (they are shooting a Big 12 worst 40% on two-point shots in league play) and the team showed some fight on the road on Saturday, rallying in the second half at Arkansas.

Baylor has Kansas on deck in a potential Big 12 regular season title matchup, so they can be caught looking ahead, especially with a banged up backcourt.

James Akinjo is still battling a tailbone injury and LJ Cryer missed the Bears loss to Alabama on Saturday. I make this game closer to 12.5 so I'll grab this massive number.

PICK: West Virginia +14, play to +13.5

Wyoming (+105) vs. Colorado State

I mentioned this as my favorite bet on Bet & Breakfast this morning, which you can find below, but I believe the Cowboys are the better team right now than the Rams, who have had a few concerning performances of late, most notably on Friday in a double digit home loss to UNLV.

These are the two top offenses in Mountain West play and I expect both units to have strong showings, but I trust the duo of Hunter Maldonaldo and Graham Ike to get inside and give the CSU defense fits. Don't sleep on the fact that Wyoming is top 10 in generating free throws either.

I make Wyoming favorites in this game, and am willing to bet them to -1.5.

PICK: Wyoming ML +105, play to -1.5