Daily Dunk: Best College Basketball Bets Today (Champions Classic Picks)
The college basketball season marches on and after a hot start, we've come back down to early lately and now sit at 12-11 for (+0.05 units) on the season.
Let's get back to our winning ways tonight with a loaded slate of games including the Champions Classic with two fantastic matchups.
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Best NCAAB picks today
- Duke -3.5 (-110) vs. Michigan State
- Kansas -6.5 (-110) vs. Kentucky
- USC -12.5 (-112) vs. UC Irvine
Duke -3.5 (-110) vs. Michigan State
Both of these teams enter tonight's game at 1-1 but it's Michigan State that has been much more concerning, losing to James Madison in its season opener. Not only that, but the Spartans' shooting to start the year has been bad as well, ranking 299th in effective field goal percentage while playing the likes of James Madison and Southern Indiana.
Duke's numbers are better across the board even with its second game coming against one of the best teams in the country in Arizona. Not only are the Blue Devils more battle tested, but they've looked better in those games compared to the Spartans.
I'll take Duke to win in cover in the first game of the Champions Classic.
Kansas -6.5 (-110) vs. Kentucky
Kansas has had two easy games to start its schedule in NC Central and Manhattan, but the Jayhawks have looked deserving of the No. 1 ranking in those matchups, scoring 99 points in each of them. As a result, they lead the country in effective field goal percentage to start the year at 72%.
With Hunter Dickinson leading the way with 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game, I'm starting to think this Kansas team may be far and away the best team in the country. I think they'll prove exactly that when they face the Wildcats.
USC -12.5 (-112) vs. UC Irvine
There may not be another bettor on the planet that knows this UC Irvine team like I do, so trust me when I say this is a nightmare matchup for the Anteaters. USC is basically a much better version than UC Irvine, with the two teams playing similar styles that can grind out their opponents.
Not only that, but the first two games for UC Irvine has given me some concern about its defense. Usually, the Anteaters can smother their opponents on that side of the court, but despite having two relatively easy matchups to open the season, they're just 151st in defensive efficiency.
If they can't completely shut down the likes of San Jose State and New Mexico State, I'm nervous to see how they fare against a USC team that has the size to match UC Irvine while also ranking inside the top 50 in effective field goal percentage.
Unfortunately, I see USC running away with this one and handing my Anteaters a tough loss.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
You can check out all of Iain's bets here!