Friday may not be the most interesting college basketball slate of recent weeks — there are just 17 lined games and one top-25 team (No. 25 Iowa) in action tonight — but bettors like to bet and there are still plenty of opportunities.
Thanks to deep cable packages and streaming options, fans and bettors can find almost any game, and with watching often comes a little action.
So with this in mind, let's dive into Friday night's most popular college basketball betting picks.
Friday's College Basketball Odds & Betting Trends
*Odds and public betting trends data as of Friday afternoon
3 Most Popular College Basketball Favorites
1. Northwestern vs. Penn State (-1.5)
7 p.m. ET
With 87% of the action, Penn State is clearly the top pick of public bettors for Friday night's slate, though the line has remained steady at -1.5, suggesting that oddsmakers aren't all that concerned about being so Nittany Lions-heavy in this matchup.
2. Iowa (-13.5) vs. Nebraska
9 p.m. ET
A spread of 13.5 points? No problem.
Iowa has landed 84% of the tickets to this point and unlike Northwestern vs. Penn State above, the Hawkeyes have stretched from -11 to -13.5 (click here for live college basketball odds) since opening.
3. Coastal Carolina (-8) vs. Arkansas-Little Rock
7:30 p.m. ET
Just like with Iowa, oddsmakers appear to respect the one-sided betting on Coastal Carolina, which has moved from -6.5 to -8 against Arkansas-Little Rock behind 77% of the spread tickets.
3 Most Popular College Basketball Underdogs
1. Manhattan (+5) vs. Marist
7 p.m. ET
Manhattan checks in as the only Friday college basketball underdog flirting with 70% of the bets — 69% at the time of writing, to be exact.
Considering that the Jaspers have a better record than the Red Foxes, it's not all that surprising to see public bettors backing Manhattan getting points.
2. Appalachian State (+2) vs. Arkansas State
8 p.m. ET
The Mountaineers are Friday night's second-most popular underdog with 61% of the bets at +2 against Arkansas State.
3. Saint Louis (+3) vs. Richmond
7 p.m. ET
How rare is it that underdogs attract lopsided action?
Yes, I know Friday night's slate is a short one, but still, the third-most popular dog, Saint Louis, is getting 59% of the bets.
That wouldn't even be a blip on the radar of most popular public favorites.
