My best college basketball bet today comes from the Providence-Xavier game. As always, today’s sharp college basketball pick comes from DraftKings Sportsbook, so let’s get into the best play for Wednesday, Feb. 1.
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Sharp College Basketball Bet: Providence vs. Xavier
This is a big-time matchup in the Big East, with the Friars of Providence heading into the Cintas Center to take on Xavier. Both teams are 17-5 on the year and 9-2 in conference, so this is a pivotal matchup. Looking at the lines via OddsShopper, Xavier is a 4-point favorite across most books. This can and will change throughout the day, but at that number I lean towards laying the points with the Musketeers. Xavier is a fantastic shooting team, sitting top 5 in both 3-point and overall shooting percentage in the country. It shoots nearly 40% from 3 and average north of 80 points per game, so this is a potent offense.
The big question for this game is what will Xavier do without Zach Freemantle, who was injured in the last game and will not play tonight. That’s 15 points and eight boards out of the lineup, so multiple players will have to step up in the frontcourt. I still believe Xavier’s ability to outgun opponents will be enough, even with the loss of a key player.
Providence does not want to get into a shooting competition, as it is a poor 3-point shooting team that instead relies on the foul line for production. This team takes and makes a lot of free throws, landing inside the top 20 in both metrics. Its ability to win on the glass and create extra shots will be a key component in this game. Scoring-wise, Providence is not as deadly as Xavier, but it still has four players averaging double figures.
This is going to be a fantastic game with two talented squads, but I will lay the -4 with Xavier. At home, where Xavier has only lost once this year, their ability to shoot the ball should be the difference even against a Providence squad that can cause some problems on the inside.
Best College Basketball Bet Today: Xavier -4 (DraftKings)
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