Top College Basketball Picks for Thursday, February 3 (2022)
We had another profitable day in college basketball yesterday, going 2-1 on our plays. We’ve been profitable a couple of days now and will look to continue that into today’s slate. I’ve compiled my three favorite bets of the day for February 3. You’re more than welcome to ride with me!
All odds via BettingPros consensus
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Western Michigan vs Central Michigan: Central Michigan -150
(7:00 PM ET tip)
If you don’t like juice, I’ve got other plays below. But I have to grab Central Michigan here at home against Western Michigan. Western Michigan is currently 0-10 in conference play and has been blown out multiple times in conference play this season.
Neither team has a great defense, but Central Michigan can actually shoot the three at a very high rate. They’ve hit 36.8 percent from downtown and that should be a factor in this game. Central Michigan is scoring nearly 40 percent of their points from three and will get plenty of solid looks against a really bad Western Michigan team that’s allowing opponents to have a 55.7 percent effective field goal percentage on a game-to-game basis. That’s bad.
James Madison vs Northeastern: James Madison +1.5 (+100)
(7:00 PM ET tip)
I love picking on bad teams and I’ll do that again. Northeastern has also lost 11 straight games and is currently 0-10 in conference play. This team literally lost to James Madison, 89-66 during the losing streak, and chucked up 37 threes, only to go 32.4 percent from downtown.
James Madison’s offense is very good while Northeastern hasn’t scored over 70 points in regulation during conference play this season. Look for James Madison to continue to score at a high rate. Northeastern’s offense won’t be able to keep up, even against a sub-par Jame Madison defense.
Northeastern also turns the ball over 22.1 percent of the time, and James Madison forced 19 turnovers in the first meeting. Turnovers will also be a major factor in this game, and James Madison will win that battle as well.
Bet: James Madison +1.5 (+100)
Utah Valley vs Stephen F. Austin: Utah Valley +3.5 (-109)
(7:30 PM ET tip)
Utah Valley easily has the better offense in this one. They have a 52.5 percent effective field goal percentage while earning 32.6 percent offensive rebounds and a whole lot of opportunities at the line.
The Wolverines are also hitting 37 percent from three and 51.2 percent from inside. Despite the turnovers being high, Utah Valley should get some really solid looks in this game.
Meanwhile, Stephen F. Austin also turns the ball over at a high rate (21.9%). And it’s not all steals. A lot of it is unforced mental errors from the Lumberjacks, so there’s a good chance Utah Valley can force turnovers too. The Wolverines have also held opponents to 30.5 percent from three and 45.8 percent from inside the arc.
Overall, I’d expect Utah Valley to win the rebound battle and keep the turnover battle tight while shooting at a higher percentage.
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Jason Radowitz is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him @Jason_Radowitz.