The Champions Classic has concluded with Kansas topping Michigan State and Kentucky upsetting Duke.
But college basketball doesn't end, and we have three valued betting plays for Wednesday's slate.
So, here's college basketball best bets and odds, including three picks and predictions for Wednesday's games.
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 p.m. | |
  | 11 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. | ||
Harvard vs. Northeastern
By Ky McKeon
Harvard and Northeastern play every year in the Battle for Boston (just assuming that’s the name, not looking it up).
The Crimson haven’t lost to the Huskies since 2020 and have generally been the better program since that day in November.
Harvard hit the reset button this year, though, turning over its roster and getting young again. The Huskies have a little more continuity, but they also lost their best players from last year.
In a game with no travel, home-court advantage is negligible – whatever is baked into the line is like too much.
From an on-court perspective, Northeastern has been the more impressive team, nearly beating Princeton on Sunday.
But there’s a few things to like about Harvard tonight.
For starters, it’s time to buy stock in Harvard freshman Robert Hinton. This dude is incredible. Hinton is averaging 24 points per game through three contests and has a sparkling 123.1 offensive rating – just a mix of insane production and efficiency.
Northeastern does not have an answer for Hinton.
On the other side, Husky forward Harold Woods is off to an impressive start himself, and Northeastern has eaten its first two opponents inside the paint. That’ll be much harder to do against a Harvard defense that features Thomas Batties II in the middle, swatter of seven shots through three games.
The Crimson have been good contesting shots in the lane – far better than Northeastern’s other two opponents. And Harvard also finishes plays on the glass; Tommy Amaker squads are almost always nails on the defensive boards.
This game is a toss up, so we’ll take the points and act like we went to an Ivy League school for an evening.
Pick: Harvard +2.5
Cal vs. Vanderbilt
By Ky McKeon
Two revived programs square off in a game with huge sleeper at-large potential.
Both Cal and Vandy are expected to be much improved this year behind new head coaches (Mark Madsen is in his second year) and transfer-laden rosters. Both boast a serious amount of roster talent, and both have yet to be tested.
From a roster talent and coaching perspective, this game is dead even, or at least far closer than the touchdown-plus spread suggests.
Offensively, Cal will look to attack off ball screens – sixth-year point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. is off to a roaring start, pouring in 17.5 points per game and scoring off ball screens at an 84th-percentile clip nationally.
Vandy has been below average thus far defending ball screens, and it’s seen a lot of them after facing UMES and SEMO.
Cal has way more firepower and dynamism in its arsenal.
Though he hasn’t used it yet at Vandy, Mark Byington has deployed a 1-3-1 zone at prior stops. That would help slow down the Cal pick-and-roll attack.
Thankfully for Bear backers, Cal has plenty of weapons to attack the zone, including an excellent passing forward in Rytis Petraitis and knockdown shooters in Andrej Stojakovic (yes, that Stojakovic) and BJ Omot.
On the other end, thus far, Vandy has lived in transition and has eaten off the offensive glass. Neither will come easy against a versatile Cal defense that can hold its own on the boards and retreat back in the open floor.
Though Vandy figures to be much better this season, its home floor still shouldn’t strike fear into opposing teams — at least not yet. Cal should be able to run its offense and scrap its way into a cover in what is sure to be a competitive up-and-down game.
Pick: Cal +8.5 (Play to +7)
UT Arlington vs. USC
By Ky McKeon
There is a handful of scrappy programs across the country that the bettor should beware when fading.
These teams share certain characteristics: great coaching, endless hustle and one or two stars who could/should be playing at a higher level.
UTA embodied this team last season – it was the third-best ATS team in the land and played opponents like New Mexico, Grand Canyon and Texas Tech close.
While this year’s team isn’t quite as talented, it has the same characteristics.
The Mavericks' talent includes JUCO All-American Raysean Seamster, who will stuff the stat sheet on a nightly basis, Diante Smith, a First Team All-Southland selection last year and former TCU recruit, and Jaden Wells, a Division II All-American who holds his former school’s all-time record in 3-point makes.
USC is deep and talented in its own right, but its talent is made up more of mid-major all-stars than it is of proven power-conference players. While the end result — a very good team — is still there, the Trojans might have trouble beating scrappy opponents by margin.
The Trojans did handle Chattanooga in their first game, but the Mocs were missing two starters and shot 6-of-34 from 3.
In the following contest, USC squeaked by Idaho State (and needed to extend from a one-point margin with less than four minutes to play).
UTA is more like Idaho State in that it hits the glass with reckless abandon and will scrap and claw for extra possessions.
The Mavs are at a considerable size disadvantage — Louisiana Tech’s Daniel Batcho smoked them in their first game — but they have plenty of athleticism and offensive skill to keep this one within double digits.
UTA’s coach KT Turner is young, but he’s already proven to be a force. He improved the Mavs’ preseason KenPom ranking by nearly 100 spots last season and led UTA to its best overall since 2017. He’s faced his fair share of big-name schools, and he won’t shy away from this challenge.
Pick: UT Arlington +17.5 (Play to +16)
