No. 16 UCLA vs. No. 20 Maryland from the XFINITY Center will take center stage in college basketball on Wednesday evening. But that doesn't mean there isn't value elsewhere on the schedule from a betting perspective.
In fact, Ky McKeon of Three Man Weave has three spots targeted, including games featuring VCU, Louisville and Oregon.
Dive in below to find the best college basketball odds, picks and best bets for Wednesday's slate of games.
Wednesday's College Basketball Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that Ky is targeting from Wednesday's slate of games. Click the team logos for one the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
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| Specific bet 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. | ||
Radford vs. VCU
Wednesday, Dec. 14 7 p.m. ET ESPN+ |
Radford +10.5  |
By Ky McKeon
Radford doesn’t get a lot of press in the major college basketball media circles, but this plucky Highlander squad looks poised to make some noise in the Big South this season.
Early-season bouts with Marquette and Notre Dame hinted at Radford’s true potential. The Highlanders covered both contests on the road and nearly upended the Irish outright in South Bend.
Since then, Radford has scored impressive wins over North Carolina Central and George Washington.
Tonight, Radford faces an in-state foe in VCU, a team that has struggled to find itself this season. The Rams have dropped 30 spots in KenPom and sit just 6-4 after many expected them to compete for an at-large bid to the Big Dance.
Injuries have plagued VCU all year, and the biggest victim has been star point guard Ace Baldwin. Baldwin missed four games in November with a wrist injury, played the next three and then sat out the most recent game on Sunday with another wrist injury.
His status is TBD tonight, but if he’s out, it makes Radford an even more enticing option.
Radford can compete with VCU tonight due to two main reasons.
- It can handle the ball.
- It can shoot.
The Highlanders rank 56th nationally in offensive turnover rate and are led by sure-handed, fifth-year senior Josiah Jeffers, who ranks 15th nationally in assist rate and sports a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
VCU’s pressure (made less effective if Baldwin is out) is something Radford should be able to handle.
Shooting is the great equalizer in basketball. Mid-to-low majors can compete with stiffer competition if they can hit from anywhere. The Highlanders rank 41st nationally in effective field goal percentage, shooting 36.4% from deep and 54.9% from 2 against D-I competition.
Weapons dot the perimeter of Radford’s offensive attack, chief among them Bryan Antoine, a Villanova transfer and former five-star recruit. Antoine will be arguably the most talented player on the floor tonight, and he’s off to a hot start with a 40% 3-point clip.
VCU’s offense has been atrocious this season, especially when Baldwin is out. Radford should force turnovers and give just enough resistance inside the arc to keep scoring down.
The key against VCU is to keep it off the free-throw line, but even though the Rams rank third nationally in FTA rate, they are just 68.9% from the line this season.
It will be difficult for VCU to clear a double-digit victory.
Pick: Radford +10.5 (Play to +10) |
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Western Kentucky vs. Louisville
Wednesday, Dec. 14 9 p.m. ET ESPN2 |
Western Kentucky -7.5  |
By Ky McKeon
Trends are often a load of B.S., and fading teams because “they’ve been bad” is a fallacy many bettors can fall into.
However, I am making an exception for Louisville, a team I am forcing to take my money before I stop fading it.
How bad has Louisville been this season? Well, the Cardinals are 0-9 overall, which is the second-worst start for a power-conference team in history behind this year’s Cal Bears squad (0-11). They are also 0-9 against the spread, which is even harder to do.
They also have the worst average cover margin in the country at -11.3 points per game, which means, not only does Louisville not cover games, it doesn’t even come close to covering games.
To boot, per Bart Torvik, if you take away all preseason prior influence on analytical rankings, Louisville ranks 345th nationally (just behind Delaware State).
Oddsmakers and the market know Louisville has been this bad. It’s why KenPom made this line 3 points tonight but the market is sitting at 7 or 8.
But with a -11.3 cover margin, there is plenty of room for error, and it’s gotten to the point where bettors want Louisville to prove it can cover a spread.
So, can WKU cover this large spread on the road? Despite Rick Stansbury’s poor performance as a mid-to-large favorite, the answer is a resounding yes.
The Hilltoppers are immensely talented — their starting five could play for any team in the country.
Point guard Dayvion McKnight is one of the premier players at the mid-major level, 6-foot-8 wing Emmanuel Akot is an athletic freak and began his career at Arizona, and 7-foot-5 center Jamarion Sharp is the most intimidating shot-blocker in the country.
Louisville will struggle to score tonight for a myriad of reasons. The Cardinals are not well coached, they severely lack competent guard play and they run terrible offense.
WKU defends without fouling and funnels drivers into the lane where Sharp awaits. With a dearth of outside shooting, Louisville will be lucky to put up 60 points, a mark it has eclipsed just once in its last seven games.
Pick: Western Kentucky -7.5 (Play to -8) |
UC Riverside vs. Oregon
Wednesday, Dec. 14 9 p.m. ET Pac-12 Network |
Oregon -13.5  |
By Ky McKeon
The Ducks have started to reverse course after injuries derailed what was supposed to be a fruitful start to the season.
An early home loss to UC Irvine was an omen of bad things to come in Portland at the Phil Knight Invitational. Oregon limped to a 1-2 record during that miniature dance, primarily due to it being down to six scholarship players (including just one scholarship guard).
Now Oregon is getting healthier by the day, and its December results have reflected that. The Ducks pounded Washington State and Nevada at home and put up a respectable fight on the road at UCLA.
Tonight against Riverside, Oregon should be locked in to hand out another thumping.
UC Riverside is no pushover, but this game doesn’t set up well. The Highlanders are just a couple days removed from a tough trip to Idaho, where they nearly lost to the lowly Vandals.
Key frontcourt piece Jhaylon Martinez missed that contest, and if he’s out for this one, it’s night-night to the Highlanders.
Oregon’s size is no joke, with twin towers N'Faly Dante and Kel’el Ware roaming the key and 6-foot-8 Quincy Guerrier playing the 3. The Ducks are the tallest team in the country.
Riverside uses a steady diet of ball screens to get its playmakers inside the arc. The Ducks have been excellent defending the pick-and-roll this season, and good luck having success shooting over the top of the outstretched towers.
The Highlanders don’t have the requisite 3-point shooting to offset the difficulties they’ll face scoring inside.
On the other end, talent should win out as the Ducks look to prod a Highlander defense that ranks just 183rd nationally in efficiency. Post scoring and second chances should come easy for the Ducks’ frontline, and senior guard Will Richardson will be the best backcourt player on the floor this evening.
As a kicker, UC Riverside has played just two opponents this season that rank inside the KenPom top-100. The Highlanders are 0-2 against the spread in those two contests, losing by 16 to Colorado and 29 to Creighton.
Pick: Oregon -13.5 (Play to -15) |
