Daily Dunk: Best College Basketball Bets Today (Iowa State will challenge Houston in Big 12 Final)
Strap in, folks. We have a loaded slate of fantastic college basketball games which includes 13 Tournament Final games.
If you can't decide which games to bet on or if you're just looking for a few bets to make, you've come to the right place. I've gone through today's games and have narrowed in on three bets I like the most for Saturday's action.
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College basketball best bets today
- Purdue -5.5 vs. Wisconsin
- Iowa State +5 vs. Houston
- NC State vs. UNC OVER 145.5
Wisconsin vs. Purdue prediction
Wisconsin's offense can be hot at times, but their defense leaves a lot to be desired and it will be their downfall today against Purdue. Wisconsin ranks just 266th in opponent effective field goal percentage and now they face a Boilermakers team that ranks 13th in the country in eFG%.
The big question surrounding this game is whether or not Braden Smith will go for Purdue after injuring his leg against Michigan State. If he does, we have a great ticket with the Boilermakers at -5.5. If he doesn't it could be a bit more of a challenge but I still like Purdue at this number.
The Boilermakers should be able to capitalize on a relatively weak Badgers defense and cover this number.
Iowa State vs. Houston prediction
Iowa State is one of the few teams who can match up with Houston so I'm going to back them with the points in today's Big 12 tournament final. The Cougars may rank first in the country in defensive efficiency but it's the Cyclones who are right behind them at No. 2.
Offensively, Iowa State has posted better numbers this season, ranking 120th in effective field goal percentage compared to Houston at 199th.
Finally, Houston's biggest strength is creating extra scoring opportunities, mostly through offensive rebounding. They lead the country in extra scoring chances per game at +11.3. Once again, Iowa State is right behind them in third at +7.7, creating plenty of extra chances by forcing turnovers.
The gap between these two teams is a lot smaller than people think. I'll take the points with the Cyclones.
NC State vs. UNC prediction
Instead of betting on a side in the ACC Tournament Final, I'm going to look at the total instead and back the OVER. Both teams make the most of their offensive possessions, ranking high in a stat called "Floor%", which measures the percentage of a team's possessions that result in at least one point being scored.
UNC ranks 23rd in that metric and NC State comes in at 64th in the country. UNC also plays at one of the fastest paces of play in college basketball as well, ranking 52nd in possession per game.
UNC certainly has the defensive advantage, but NC State ranking 179th in Opponent Floor% certainly makes me think we're going to see a high-scoring affair in today's championship game.
Let's sit back and root for points in this one.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
You can check out all of Iain's bets here!