Welcome to the first college basketball Saturday slate of the season without football.
And to celebrate, we have three best bets for a loaded schedule.
So, here's our college basketball best bets, including three picks and predictions for Saturday, January 25.
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 |
|---|---|---|
  | 6:30 p.m. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 8:30 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. | ||
Houston vs Kansas
You would think, based solely on reputation, that Kansas would be favored in this spot. After all, Phog Allen has been a house of horrors for visitors. The Jayhawks are 339-22 on their home floor dating back to 2003.
And assuming that this game closes with Kansas catching points, it'll be just the fourth time that the Jayhawks have been underdogs at home in the past 25 years.
The Cougars are getting a lot of respect for a team that hasn’t beaten a top-35 opponent this season. Leaving the friendly confines of the Fertitta Center, U-of-H has lost twice on neutral floors (Alabama, San Diego State) and survived on the road against UCF as 14-point favorites (UH 69-68).
And the issue is glaring: They can’t put the ball in the hole. Against Bama, San Diego State and UCF, the Cougars shot 38% from the field.
Jamal Shead, who's worked his way into the Toronto Raptors' rotation, has been sorely missed as a floor general. He was a pure playmaker for Kelvin Sampson. He facilitated for his teammates, created for himself off the dribble and was clutch, particularly late in the shot clock.
The most telling statistic that illustrates what Shead meant to the Coogs is the drop-off in Houston’s assist-to-bucket ratio. Without Shead’s ability to penetrate and dish, less than 48% of Houston’s baskets are facilitated by an assist (285th).
The Cougars rely heavily on their bigs to generate second-chance points via offensive rebounds (6th in OReb%).
And this is where I think Kansas will squeeze Sampson’s team. The Jayhawks are a borderline elite defensive rebounding team and Hunter Dickinson had success in this exact spot last February. As home underdogs to Houston, Kansas won going away 78-65, thanks, in large part, to Dickinson’s 20/8/4 performance.
I expect big things from the Kansas backcourt, particularly from Zeke Mayo and Dajuan Harris Jr. Mayo shoots significantly better at home than on the road (27.3% to 42.5% 3PT) and Harris has 23 assists to just four turnovers in his last four home games.
If they both elevate their play and handle Houston’s suffocating on-ball pressure, I love Kansas' chances of upsetting the country’s seventh-ranked squad.
Pick: Kansas +2.5
Florida State vs Stanford
Mike Montgomery was a mainstay on The Farm, coaching up the Cardinal for 18 years. During his run in Palo Alto, he led Stanford to four Pac-10 regular season titles, 12 trips to the Big Dance, two Elite Eights and an appearance in the 1998 Final Four.
For his efforts, Monty was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Montgomery’s best teams featured skilled bigs who patrolled the lane and cleaned the glass. The Collins Twins, Curtis Borchardt, Mark Madsen, Tim Young, the list of skill bigs went on and on.
It appears the Cardinal have returned to their roots.
The Big Baguette, Maxime Raynaud, is the best true center in the country. The Frenchman is the only player averaging over 20 and 10 a night in the sport. His elevated play helped Stanford upset North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and I believe the best is yet to come.
If the Cardinal want to punch a ticket to the big Dance for the first time in a decade, it’ll be on Raynaud’s back.
Florida State, on its second game of a West Coast road trip, struggles to rebound (191st DReb%) and may be short two rotational players due to injury.
With a short bench, I like Raynaud to get the FSU bigs into foul trouble. If that happens, Stanford will win going away.
Pick: Stanford -4.5 (Play to -5)
Tennessee vs Auburn
By Doug Ziefel
The top-ranked Tigers have run through the SEC thus far, starting 5-0 in the conference play.
But life without star big man Johni Broome has been challenging.
The Tigers were pushed to the brink last Saturday against Georgia and now have an even tougher assignment in the No. 6-ranked Tennessee Volunteers with Broome’s status up in the air.
Broome has an outside shot to return in this matchup, as he practiced for the first time on Thursday. However, even if he does, his impact may be limited by health and the Vols’ stifling defense.
The one thing that travels well is defense, and Tennessee comes into this matchup third in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Vols have done a tremendous job locking down the paint and contesting shots from behind the arc, holding 3-point shooters to just 25.9%, the lowest mark in the country.
However, the Vols aren't the only stout defensive team on the floor. Auburn, with or without Broome, has the size to contend with the Vols on the glass, and it holds the ninth-best 3-point percentage allowed.
Much like on the other end of the floor, neither team holds much of an edge at any of the three levels offensively.
This, combined with the slower pace, should keep the scoreboard from lighting up, as each basket will be earned.
Pick: Under 141.5 (Play to 138.5)
