Welcome to Super Tuesday in College Basketball. With a slew of games on deck, here are the top values for today’s card. Let’s dive into the odds to identify the best college basketball betting picks for Tuesday, Jan. 31, including the Kentucky and Kansas State.
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College Basketball Betting Picks & Odds | Jan. 31
College Basketball Odds: Kentucky (-7.5) vs. Ole Miss
After our Insider Access Discord identified Kentucky as a value at -6.5, the number promptly rose to -7.5. This looks like a number to take as soon as possible with more movement linely. Most of the line movement comes down to injuries on the Ole Miss side. Both Matthew Murrell and Daeshun Ruffin missed Ole Miss’ last game and enter this game with questionable tags. Ole Miss has also won only once in conference play this year with a victory over the bottom-feeder South Carolina Gamecocks.
Despite a loss to Kansas over the weekend, Kentucky still holds almost every statistical advantage. The Wildcats possess a superior grade in terms of both offensive and defensive efficiency. Oscar Tshiebwe creates a massive mismatch against an Ole Miss frontcourt that ranks 151st in effective height. Plus, coach Calipari made the difficult decision to bench Sahvir Wheeler, boosting the team’s efficiency on both offense and defense.
College Basketball Expert Betting Pick: Kentucky -7.5 (-110) at DraftKings
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College Basketball Odds: Indiana (+3) vs. Maryland
Almost the inverse of the situation above, the books continue to discount Indiana following injuries to Xavier Johnson and Race Thompson. Fortunately for the Hoosiers, Thompson returned to the lineup, providing a much-needed boost to the frontcourt. Additionally, Thompson still hasn’t played full minutes, but due to foul trouble, not injury issues. This has created some value on the current line.
Aside from the personnel advantage, Indiana also presents a tough stylistic matchup for Maryland. Indiana and Maryland rank 144th and 146th in effective height, respectively, but Indiana ranks 42nd in rebounding while Maryland ranks 151st. Likewise, Maryland relies on interior scoring, yet Indiana ranks 27th in interior defense with Thompson on the floor. Although Indiana has allowed perimeter scoring, Maryland ranks 314th in 3-point shooting percentage.
Indiana, unlike Maryland, grades out as one of the better shooting teams in the country. The Hoosiers rank 18th in 3-point percentage behind the elite performance of Jalen Hood-Schifino. With Trayce Jackson-Davis and Thompson clogging the frontcourt and Hood-Schifino sniping from 3, Indiana’s elite firepower should overwhelm Maryland here.
College Basketball Expert Betting Pick: Indiana +3 (-110) at DraftKings
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College Basketball Odds: Kansas State (+8) vs. Kansas
Kansas and Kansas State will meet in a rematch of one of the better college basketball games so far this year. The Wildcats won the first meeting but continue to see the line move against them. When playing at home in the first matchup, Kansas State bested Kansas by a score of 83-82 in overtime. While homecourt will certainly play a role, seeing Kansas take this much money despite facing a fully healthy Kansas State team makes this spot interesting.
These teams are very similar stylistically. Kansas State ranks 75th in offensive efficiency, while Kansas checks in at 68th. Kansas State ranks 30th in defensive efficiency, while Kansas ranks 48th. Kansas ranks 86th in 3-point percentage, but Kansas State possesses the 11th-best perimeter defense. Likewise, Kansas State ranks 94th in 3-point percentage, mitigating any shooting advantage on either side.
Kansas State looks slightly weaker than Kansas on the interior. However, the Wildcats just returned David N’Guessan to add to a frontcourt that already features Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Ismael Massoud and Keyontae Johnson. This actually gives Kansas State a considerable height advantage in this matchup.
While homecourt likely has a lot to do with Kansas taking money in this rematch, the hype has simply gone too far on the Jayhawks. Look for Kansas State to cover a bloated spread of +8.
College Basketball Expert Betting Pick: Kansas State -8 (-105) at DraftKings
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