College basketball has given us plenty to chew on for Wednesday, with 54 highly entertaining games to chew on.
Three-Man Weave's own Jim Root has three games circled for today's action, including a pick for No. 6 UConn visiting Hinkle Fieldhouse as double-digit favorites.
Read on for his college basketball best bets and NCAAB predictions for Wednesday, February 11.
College Basketball Best Bets, Picks
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 |
|---|---|---|
  | 7:00 PM | |
  | 7:00 PM | |
  | 7:30 PM | |
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. | ||
Austin Peay vs. Queens Pick
Wednesday marks the biggest game of the ASUN season thus far, with 11-1 league leader Austin Peay on the road at 9-3 third-place Queens.
Should the visiting Governors get the win, the title race will come down to them or Central Arkansas.
If Queens pulls off the home victory, then chaos reigns down the stretch.
I’m betting on chaos.
The Royals have the best offense in the league, fueled by a deep collection of shooters and a skilled backcourt that never turns it over (13.0% turnover rate in ASUN play, per KenPom, best in the conference).
Israeli sophomore Yoav Berman operates as a point forward in the starting lineup, and dynamite freshman Jordan Watford is a talented sixth man who lives in the lane when he comes off the bench.
The Royals are 7-3 against the spread at home this year with an average cover margin of +5.3 points per game, using that potent offense to outscore most visitors.
That attack will be tested, though, as Austin Peay has the league’s best defense. They have done so via the league’s top steal rate, making this a matchup of strength against strength.
That pressure-heavy defense can also concede a high volume of 3s, an area Queens is built to exploit. If the Royals make jumpers, they can open up a lead and force Austin Peay to gamble.
I’ll take Berman, Watford and Queens to get the home victory and infuse some drama into the ASUN race down the stretch.
Pick: Queens -2 (Play to -3)
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Virginia Tech vs. Clemson Pick
Clemson has been excellent in ACC play this season. At 10-1 overall and 7-3-1 against the spread, the Tigers are hot on Duke’s heels for a regular-season title. Brad Brownell has assembled another veteran core with a deep interior rotation that walls off the paint (first in ACC play in 2-point defense).
However, this is a challenging spot for Clemson, even at home in the intimidating Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Tigers are coming back from the West Coast, having swept both Cal and Stanford in the Bay Area. They also head to Duke on Saturday for a gigantic showdown atop the conference.
Between the travel and any inkling of lookahead (rare for a savvy Brownell squad), this could be a tricky one for Clemson.
Crucially, Clemson does not really take advantage of Virginia Tech’s biggest weakness: defensive rebounding. The Hokies can get exposed there (16th in the ACC in defensive rebounding rate), but Clemson is much more focused on transition defense and does not pound the boards for second shots.
Virginia Tech’s chances to win or cover likely come down to whether the Hokies can score in the half-court against Clemson’s excellent man-to-man. Mike Young has long been known for his crisp offensive sets, but the Hokies will need some shot-making from all across the lineup.
Fortunately, everyone in the primary rotation (except post players Christian Gurdak and Tobi Lawal) can hit jumpers.
Virginia Tech desperately needs a needle-moving win for bubble purposes. The Hokies may not get it here, but with Clemson’s tricky schedule spot, I think they will hang around for 40 minutes.
Pick: Virginia Tech +8.5 (Play to +7)
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UConn vs. Butler Pick
The Huskies are surely smarting from the loss to St. John’s last Friday, a defeat that turned the Big East into a serious race.
Despite that disappointment, UConn remains immensely talented and well-coached, and the Huskies are a strong favorite to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to Friday’s loss, UConn had obliterated two Big East opponents, winning at Creighton by 27 and at home versus Xavier by 32. Those performances displayed this team’s sky-high potential when everything is clicking: a lethally efficient offense combined with a disciplined, physical defense.
Part of this bet is certainly backing the Huskies. But it is also about fading the Bulldogs, who are now down both point guards (Jalen Jackson and Stink Robinson). Without anyone to facilitate offense, Butler’s offense has struggled.
As a result, they have struggled over the past few weeks, going 0-4 against the spread.
The Huskies thoroughly dominated the first meeting: they shot 58.1% from 2 compared to 35.1% for Butler, and they won the rebounding battle 47-29.
A similar interior domination is likely, with Tarris Reed and UConn’s overall athleticism simply too much for the Bulldogs to handle.
The one shortcoming here could be the charity stripe, where Butler lives offensively, and UConn has a propensity to foul. The Bulldogs took 24 freebies back in December, but even that was not enough to keep the game close.
Pick: UConn -11 (Play to -12)
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