As college basketball inches closer to March Madness, the competition around NCAA hoops has started to ramp up in a major way. As such, we seem to notice more value opportunities in the men's and women's betting markets each day. Today we will highlight our best bets against the spread and on the moneyline for the college basketball slate on Wednesday night.
It should be a strong night of hoops on the men's side. At 7:00 p.m. ET., eighth-ranked Duke visits Miami (ESPN) while Alabama and Florida, two ranked SEC teams with 18 wins, square off in Tuscaloosa (ESPN 2).
Then at 9:00 p.m., we'll see No. 7 Marquette host DePaul (FS1), while No. 17 Kentucky takes on LSU in Baton Rouge (ESPN). That's just four of the 45 men's games scheduled for a Wednesday night that doesn't have to worry about competing with the NBA.
The women's basketball slate for Wednesday night looks fantastic, too. Highlighting the 48-game night, 10th-ranked Kansas State hosts West Virginia at 7:30 p.m. (BIG12), then at 8:00 No. 24 Baylor takes on Kansas (BIG12) and No. 5 Texas hosts Texas Tech (Longhorn Network).
We're pumped about the night of basketball lined up for us, and we can't wait to get some solid spread and moneyline picks in ahead of the action. Let's get to our best bets for college hoops on Wednesday night, starting with our most confident picks.
College basketball predictions, best bets today (2/21)
Men's Basketball
Alabama (13) -8.5 vs. Florida (24)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel.
This seems like a textbook example of a game that casual fans will project to be close since both teams are ranked. However, Mark Sears and the Tide — the top-scoring team in the nation — have been much more dominant, and should be able to roll Walter Clayton and the Gators with ease at home.
Florida's 13-11 record against the spread pales in comparison to Alabama's incredible 16-8 ATS mark. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The Tide have covered 11 of their 13 home games, with an average margin of victory of over 25 points per game. Florida, meanwhile, has gone just 3-4 on the road and 4-3 ATS away from Gainesville.
Stud forward Norchad Omier and the Gators have been surging lately, winning seven of their past eight games including a road victory over Kentucky and a home win over Auburn. They have been shooting the ball well over this stretch, and they continue to assert themselves as one of the top rebounding teams in the nation.
However, this Alabama squad has put up 209 points over its past two games, and it has been about as ironclad at home as any team we have seen this season. The Tide's average winning score over its past three home tilts: 102.7-76.7. Look for Sears and this explosive offense to shoot the lights out and knock Florida out of the top 25.
Miami +5.5 vs. Duke (8)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel.
Kyle Filipowski and the No. 8 Blue Devils take their 20-5 record (and 11-3 ACC record) to Coral Gables this evening to face the Hurricanes (15-11, 6-9 ACC), a conference tilt that should swing plenty of action Duke's way. We have Miami covering the +5.5 spread, as Jon Scheyer's squad has been less than stellar on the road.
Three of Duke's five losses have come on the road, where the Blue Devils also maintain a 3-4-1 ATS record. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, have gone 11-3 straight up and 8-5-1 ATS at home. Fans betting with their heart and not their head will blindly smash the away favorite here, but the savvy bettors will back the Canes to cover.
