We only have two ranked teams in action in the college basketball world on Thursday, but one of those squads is a top-10 team heading on the road in conference play.
Dive in below for college basketball best bets and odds, including our staff's five picks for Thursday, February 1.
College Basketball Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college basketball betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 8:30 p.m. | |
| 8:30 p.m. | |
  | 9 p.m. | |
  | 9 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Tulane vs. SMU
The AAC has been full of crazy upsets of late, including Rice’s shocking upset of Memphis on the Tigers’ home floor last night.
Ron Hunter is no stranger to leading his team to upsets dating back to his days at Georgia State. Even this season, he led the Green Wave to an upset over Memphis before the Tigers began truly spiraling.
Tulane’s offensive firepower is the attribute that makes it an attractive option to pull an upset.
Kevin Cross is an athletic wing with shooting ability, and he should present a difficult matchup for SMU. Supporting Cross is a trio of guards in Jaylen Forbes, Sion James and Kolby King.
All three of those backcourt pieces can carry the Green Wave offense with hot shooting. Plus, none of those three is a true alpha character, allowing the team to simply focus on feeding the man with a hot hand.
SMU still has lofty aspirations of making the NCAA tournament via an at-large bid. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, earning a bid at this point would likely require winning out.
SMU has shown plenty of vulnerability lately in losses, particularly on the offensive end. Scoring tends to stall when Zhuric Phelps can’t carry the entire weight himself.
All of the Mustangs' losses — outside of a home defeat against Dayton — have come on the road, admittedly. Still, I think taking Tulane plus the points — and potentially even to win outright — is worth consideration.
The potential of Tulane catching fire on a night when SMU searches for offensive answers is certainly there.
Pick: Tulane +8.5 (Play to +7)
Wisconsin vs. Nebraska
Nebraska +1.5
By D.J. James
The Nebraska Cornhuskers have lost only one game at home this season, and that came in early December against Creighton. Now they take on the Wisconsin Badgers on Thursday in a crucial Big Ten game.
The Huskers hope to make an NCAA tournament run, while the Badgers have a chance to win a Big Ten title and maybe go to the Final Four.
Wisconsin has had one major impediment in games it's lost: defending the 3-point line. Opponents are shooting over 36% on the Badgers from deep. Wisconsin ranks 270th defensively in Open-3 Rate, per ShotQuality.
Nebraska, meanwhile, rains 3s with the best of them. Sure, sometimes the 3 are contested, but this doesn’t seem to matter to the Cornhuskers. They’re shooting over 36% as a team and shooting treys far more often than the Badgers.
Juwan Gary could be out again for Nebraska, but even without him, the Cornhuskers have six players shooting over 35%. That’s more than enough to torch the Badgers from outside.
That said, Nebraska has had trouble with rebounding, and Wisconsin can really crash the glass. This is where the Cornhuskers may miss Gary more than anything, so Rienk Mast and Josiah Allick will have to bash with Steven Crowl and company to get the job done.
Either way, 3s are greater than 2s, and the Cornhuskers can get hot at the right time. Take them to -2.
Pick: Nebraska +1.5 (Play to -2)
Nebraska +1.5
By John Feltman
Be sure to check out my full write-up for this game, but I love the Cornhuskers at home. This is another terrific situational spot against Wisconsin.
The Badgers are coming off a massive win over Michigan State last Friday, and after this matchup, they face Purdue at the Kohl Center on Sunday. There’s no question that they have the Boilermakers on their minds.
For the Huskers, Fred Hoiberg’s team needs a big win. Nebraska is far from being an NCAA tournament lock, so it needs to accumulate as many Quad I victories as possible.
Not only is the spot terrific for the Huskers, but they have advantages on the offensive side of the ball. The Badgers are due for 3-point regression on defense, and the Huskers are capable of doing damage beyond the arc.
All eyes will be on Gary, as he’s expected to test out his calf during pregame warm-ups. If he plays, that provides a tremendous boost to the offense.
Personally, I think the market knows that Gary is playing, which is why the number opened so short. This is a clear smash spot for the Huskers, and I like them to win with or without Gary.
Pick: Nebraska +1.5 (Play to -1)
| | | |
Sam Houston vs. Western Kentucky
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (14-6, 3-3) return to their home court to face the Sam Houston Bearkats (12-9, 5-1) in a Conference USA matchup Thursday night.
Western Kentucky has been on a tear at home this season, boasting a perfect 9-0 record at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Hilltoppers will look to avenge their loss to the Bearkats earlier in the season when their eight-game win streak was snapped in a 78-74 loss.
On offense, Western Kentucky is the top-scoring team in C-USA, averaging 80.6 points per game. It’s also the fastest team in the nation, with an Adjusted Tempo of 75.5 possessions per 40 minutes.
The sheer pace of play helps to create plenty of scoring opportunities and helps offset a middle-of-the-pack offensive efficiency rating and an average effective field goal percentage.
But where I really think the Hilltoppers stand out in this game is on defense. They have a very efficient defense that ranks 82nd in the nation, allowing 100.3 points per 100 possessions.
Defensively, the Hilltoppers excel in two areas: shot contesting and rebounding. Both of these areas will ultimately be the reason for a cover in this game.
Season to date, Western Kentucky is allowing opponents to connect on just 48.1% of attempts, which should bode well against a Sam Houston team that struggles from the field. The Bearkats enter the game as the second-worst shooting team (46.1%) in C-USA and rank 313th nationally.
The Hilltoppers should also be poised to exploit this poor shooting by leveraging their prowess on the glass. The Tops are the top rebounding team in C-USA and rank 27th in the nation with an average of 40.5 rebounds per game.
My model projects Western Kentucky as an eight-point favorite in this game. Additionally, our Action Network PRO Projections make the Hilltoppers a six-point favorite.
I recommend backing the better defense at home and laying the 4.5 points. There’s a model advantage relative to current markets, so I feel comfortable betting this all the way up to 5.5.
Pick: Western Kentucky -4.5 (Play to -5.5)
Maximize your Sam Houston vs. Western Kentucky action with our BetMGM bonus code.
Youngstown State vs. Wright State
By Matt Gannon
Wright State has turned a corner over the last few weeks after dropping two consecutive conference games. It comes into this one just 1.5 games back of the Horizon League lead.
Not only are the Raiders looking to grab a home win to vault them up the standings, but they’re looking for revenge.
Wright State and Youngstown State were both preseason hopefuls to win this league and always play a great game when they meet up.
Youngstown got the better of Wright on Jan. 12, outlasting the Raiders and winning by 10.
As we know, home court is a massive advantage in conference play, and it'll surely be rocking at the Nutter Center (yes, that’s the name of Wright State’s arena).
These two teams really do match up well on paper, but the home-court advantage and revenge angle will be enough for the Raiders to cover this short number.
