Expert picks, best bets for college basketball Saturday, odds, lines, schedule (2024)

There is plenty of college basketball action this weekend.

There are several big games that are part of the Big 12-SEC Challenge, including No. 2 Kansas at No. 4 Kentucky at 6 p.m. Saturday.

But don't forget about two games this weekend on CBS and also streaming live at CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app. At 1 p.m. ET Saturday, No. 9 North Carolina faces Miami in an ACC battle. And at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, Michigan State plays host to Michigan in an intra-state rivalry.

Our experts have broken down the rest of the schedule and identified their best bets.

Gary Parrish

Florida (- 1.5) at Oklahoma

Lon Kruger is a future Hall of Famer, I think. Just a terrific basketball coach. But his team isn't good this season (despite what wins over West Virginia and Texas Tech might suggest). So I'll take the Gators by a bucket on the road, no problem.

West Virginia (-16) vs. Texas A&M

Nobody turns opponents over at a higher percentage than the Mountaineers. Meantime, Texas A&M ranks 296th nationally in offensive turnover percentage. So this is a bad matchup for the Aggies. Lay the points and watch the turnovers pile up.

Elon (+2) at Hofstra

Only an OG would know. But Elon has covered seven consecutive games and won three straight to move to 5-4 in the CAA. And the Phoenix are catching points at Hofstra? Get out of my face. Give me Elon ... STRAIGHT UP!

Matt Norlander

Duke (-1) at Wake Forest

There's a lot of drama surrounding Duke, and the public is suddenly thinking this team isn't all that good. Truth is, Duke is still one of the 25 best teams in America, and I'm not sure Wake is among the top 50, even if the computer rankings do like the Deacs. This will be a get-right game for the Blue Devils.

Maryland (+5) at Minnesota

The Golden Gophers giving five to a team capable of winning close games seems like easy money. Maryland is the most undervalued team at KenPom, ranking 45th despite an 18-2 record and having one of the 15 most valuable players in the sport, Melo Trimble. The Gophers are improved, but laying five is too many.

Notre Dame (-4) at Georgia Tech

It's a road game for the Irish, and Tech just beat Florida State. The Seminoles beat Notre Dame last week. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? It means Notre Dame runs an offense that is built to blow past Georgia Tech. Four is tempting, almost too tempting, and I'm running with it. ND wins big.

Kyle Boone

Duke (-1) at Wake Forest

After dropping three of its past four games, Duke is in uncharted territory as a program. As crazy as it sounds, this kind of feels like a must-win game for Duke. And we're only in January. Given the Blue Devils' talent level and the added motivation to earn back their Blue Devils gear and impress Coach K, I think Duke is a lock this weekend.

Pitt (+1) over Clemson

Pitt is reeling after an embarrassing performance on its home floor earlier this week. A 55-point loss, even to Louisville, is unacceptable. If that's not enough motivation for Kevin Stallings' team, I'm not sure what is. I think the Panthers will be out to make a statement this weekend and cover the spread with a bounce-back win. Take Pitt.

DePaul (+19) vs. Creighton

Unfortunately, Creighton is only a shell of the Final Four team many projected after losing starting point guard Mo Watson. Even against bottom feeder DePaul, this game isn't a lock by any stretch of the imagination. Forget DePaul's 8-12 record. Its two most recent losses -- at St. Johns and against Butler -- have been by an average of 5.5 points. I think the Blue Demons can cover the 19-point spread the way Creighton has played in the post-Watson era.

Chip Patterson

Duke (-1) at Wake Forest

Coach K laid down the law and dropped a bucket of motivational tactics on this talented team. It's not the first time he has done this (interim coach Jeff Capel mentioned he did something similar during his freshman season in the midst of ACC play) but it's enough of a shock to the system to expect a better performance from the Blue Devils on Saturday. Could you imagine being in Krzyzewski's house, post-surgery and receiving the Hall of Famer's wrath following a home loss to NC State? That experience sounds way more impactful than any clothing restrictions, and I think we see the results from a long week of practice on the court in Winston-Salem.

Kansas State (PICK) at Tennessee

Outside of a one-point defeat at Texas Tech earlier this month, Kansas State doesn't really have a bad loss on its résumé, and last weekend's victory against West Virginia certainly represents the team's best win. Tennessee has the best victory between the two teams, knocking off Kentucky earlier this week, but that decision against those Wildcats has me siding with what I think is the better team, K-State, in a potential letdown spot for the Vols.

Middle Tennessee (-9) vs. Louisiana Tech

Middle Tennessee is not only one of the best mid-majors in college basketball but one of the best teams, in any conference, against the spread. The Blue Raiders are covering the number 70 percent of the time right now and face a Louisiana Tech team fresh off a bench-clearing brawl Thursday night. Give me Reggie Upshaw and Giddy Potts by double digits at home.

Expert picks, best bets for college basketball Saturday, odds, lines, schedule (2024)

FAQs

What is the best basketball prediction site ever? ›

Oddspedia is the best basketball prediction site for getting reliable forecasts from expert tipsters. We also compare odds and list only the best for users.

Who is favored in men's NCAA basketball? ›

BetMGM has early 2025 March Madness odds to win the national championship. UConn is a +900 favorite to win next year's championship. UConn has won back-to-back titles.

What do college basketball fans like to fill out to predict the winners of the games? ›

March Madness is unpredictable. Seriously – it has never been correctly predicted. Millions of college basketball fans fill in NCAA Tournament brackets each year with hopes of putting together the best one.

How do you bet on college basketball teasers? ›

A teaser involves an exchange of points for volume. The bettor buys some number of points, and in return, must parlay two or more selections. Usually, the standard teaser calls for the bettor to get six points per football game and four points per basketball game.

What is the most accurate NCAA basketball prediction site? ›

OddsTrader is the top pick for college basketball predictions, thanks to its advanced computer algorithms that sift through numerous data points and run simulations to produce highly accurate game forecasts.

Who is the best tipster in basketball? ›

Best Basketball Tipsters
RankStar RatingTipster
14.0HighOddBet
23.8BasketValue
33.8Richard Kévin
43.8Sports Insider
6 more rows
Apr 25, 2024

Who is predicted to win men's basketball championship? ›

UConn is the favorite to win the 2025 national championship at ESPN BET and Caesars Sportsbook, opening with +900 and 10-1 odds, respectively.

Who is favored to win March Madness 2024? ›

2024 March Madness odds: UConn favored over Purdue in men's title game. And then there were two. Now that we are down to the last two teams, the defending champion UConn Huskies remain the favorites to win the men's college basketball national title.

Who's favored, UConn or Purdue? ›

Huskies

What is the best way to bet on college basketball? ›

Five Ways To Bet Smarter On College Basketball
  1. Take advantage of early-season odds. ...
  2. Hammer the home team. ...
  3. Pay attention to advanced metrics. ...
  4. Fade the public in big games and when the most popular teams are playing. ...
  5. Go with underdogs on the futures market throughout the season.
Aug 1, 2024

How do you predict the winner of a basketball game? ›

The most common features used in predicting an NBA game were the home team advantage, win percentage, rebounds, assists, turnovers, steals, blocks, plus/minus score, offensive rating, defensive rating, and true shooting percentage.

Who usually wins college basketball? ›

Most Men's NCAA Basketball Championships

Kentucky has established itself as a historic powerhouse with eight championships to its name, followed by North Carolina with six wins. The "Blue Bloods," including North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky, have won just over 27% of all the championships since 1939.

How do you pick a basketball bet? ›

One of the best strategies for picking value basketball bets in the point spread is to look at a set of fixtures before you have even looked at the bookmaker odds. You then create your own spreads/handicaps that would make the game even in your opinion.

How to bet safely on basketball? ›

Even seasoned basketball bettors can benefit from these tips on how to bet on basketball and win.
  1. Place Your Basketball Wagers Early. ...
  2. Consider Basketball Team Schedules. ...
  3. Watch the Basketball Injury Reports. ...
  4. Engage in Live Basketball Betting. ...
  5. Consider Possessions when Betting Basketball Totals.
Dec 18, 2023

Are teaser bets profitable? ›

Teaser bets are not generally a good long-term sports betting strategy. Like parlay bets, making multiple bets as one wager in which each segment must win decreases your odds of winning, and in general, you will not win enough for the compounded risk to make it worth using teasers as a consistent strategy.

What is the most accurate NBA prediction website? ›

Dimers.com is the home of NBA predictions in the United States.

What is the most accurate predict site? ›

EaglePredict is the best football prediction site in the world with over 89.9% accuracy rate in our football betting tips.

How accurate are basketball predictions? ›

NBA games are notoriously difficult to predict. The aver- age score differential is about 10 points with average scores varying from 100-112 points, depending on the season. Still, most machine learning models are able to achieve 65-70% accuracy in predicting the game outcome.

How to predict basketball games and win? ›

Our 4 tips before making your basketball predictions tonight
  1. Tip #1: Sign up for the best bookmakers. ...
  2. Tip # 2: Back the Bookmakers Favourites. ...
  3. Tip #3: Keep Up to date with the form of the team. ...
  4. Tip #4: Consider the motivation of teams and players.

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