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College Basketball Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Saturday (1/28)

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Typically once January hits, non-conference games are hard to come by in college basketball, as the final two and a half months are consumed by league play. However, the SEC/Big 12 Challenge gives fans and bettors a welcomed respite from league play, headlined by two mouth-watering matchups between Texas and Tennessee and Kansas and Kentucky. We highlight one of those games in our best bets column as we look to build off the momentum of Thursday’s 3-0 sweep.

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings)

Here are our best bets for Saturday’s college basketball action.

And check out our other top picks for Saturday:

YTD (as of 1/21): 8-10

Best College Basketball Bets for Saturday

Xavier vs. Creighton ML

Xavier had us ripping up our betting tickets on Wednesday night when it beat UConn on the road outright as +6.5 point underdogs. However, the Huskies, in hindsight, are a reeling basketball team that has lost four of five and six of eight. Creighton is anything but, and its recent home dominance is why we like it to secure another huge victory and get back in the thick of the Big East regular season race.

There is no denying Xavier has a Final Four ceiling, as UTEP transfer Souley Boom has solidified the backcourt and led the team to a Big East-best 84.0 points per game. However, despite these teams being separated by 2.5 games in the Big East standings (and 4.5 games overall), the Bluejays are the 11th-ranked team, per KenPom, while Xavier is 19th. A big reason is that Creighton lost the three games that Ryan Kalkbrenner did not play. Since his return, the Bluejays are 5-0 at home, with those wins by an average of 18.6 points.

Creighton is the only Big East team with two players in the top four (Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman) in Evan Miyakawa’s conference player ratings. It has covered 16 times in its last 21 games following a SU win, and we will follow that trend by backing the Bluejays to win outright.

Bet: Creighton ML (-205 at DraftKings) 

Texas vs. Tennessee Spread 

Not often does one see a spread this high in a top-ten matchup, but oddsmakers likely know Texas is playing over its head under interim head coach Rodney Terry. Since Terry took over, the Longhorns are 10-2, but those two losses are by a combined 24 points, and they have beaten just one team in the top six of the Big 12 (Oklahoma State) in that stretch. Meanwhile, they also have two victories by a combined three points over Oklahoma and Texas Tech, who are a combined 2-14 in league play.

Texas is about to receive a wake-up call when facing a Volunteers team that just held an opponent in the 40s for the eighth time in 20 games. We expect the Longhorns’ shooting woes (33.4% from 3-point range ranks 199th) will be exposed against a Tennessee defense that holds opponents to a D-I best 21.6% from beyond the arc.

Texas is 2-6 ATS in its last eight road games, while Tennessee has covered eight of its previous 11 at home.

Bet: Tennessee -5.5 (-110 at DraftKings)

Ohio State vs. Indiana O/U

Lately, Indiana looks nothing like the abysmal defensive team it was three weeks ago, but we are not convinced its issues are suddenly solved. The Hoosiers had a stretch of five games from mid-December to mid-January, where they allowed at least 84 points to major conference opponents. Since then, Indiana has allowed 59 points per game during a four-game winning streak. However, it has not faced the most complex offenses in that stretch, as the four teams it played ranked seventh, ninth, 12th, and 14th in adjusted offensive efficiency in league play. The Hoosiers will be tested much more by Ohio State and their ninth-ranked adjusted offensive efficiency overall. The Buckeyes are in a great buy-low spot after being held to 64 points or fewer in their last three conference games.

The Over is 8-3-1 in Indiana’s last 12 games overall, and we expect another high-scoring affair tonight.

Bet: Ohio State-Indiana Over 144.5 (-110 at DraftKings)

Go premium to view top prop bets based on Cover Probability, Expected Value & Star Rating >>


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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.