Tuesday’s College Basketball Best Bets

Another big night in college basketball means plenty of betting value for you to choose from.

With that in mind, we have college basketball best bets and odds below, including our staff's six top picks for Tuesday, February 6.

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.

By Matt Gannon

Laying hard-earned money on the DePaul Blue Demons sounds fun, right?

This team has been an absolute mess this season, but I see a few reasons for success in their Tuesday night Big East contest against St John's.

The first reason is market correction. The Blue Demons come into this matchup 7-15 against the spread. Look, we’re not picking them to win outright — just to stay within the number. When the end of season comes around, their ATS number will be a lot closer to 50% than it is now, and that can surely get started tonight.

Second, it's lookahead spot. Although St. John's is coming off a home loss, it knows it’s better than DePaul and likely knows it can cruise in this matchup.

Head coach Rick Pitino will do his best to have the Johnnies locked in, but they have a serious opportunity lying ahead of them. The Red Storm's next matchup comes against Marquette on the road. A win in that game will be massive for their NCAA tournament resume. No one will blame them for having an eye on that matchup.

Finally, DePaul has athleticism. Although it plays a chaotic brand of ball, DePaul has a rather athletic roster that should fare well against the St. John's press.

This will lead to easy buckets in transition, and every basket matters when we're catching 20.

Pick: DePaul +20.5 (Play to +18)

By Patrick Strollo

The St. John’s Red Storm (13-9, 5-6) will host the DePaul Blue Demons (3-19, 0-11) in a Big East battle this evening.

The Red Storm will look for a reset after losing to No. 1 UConn over the weekend. However, this appears to be a classic lookahead game, as they'll likely be thinking about this weekend’s road contest against Marquette.

DePaul has languished this season, entering tonight’s game winless in Big East play. With only three wins on the season, the Blue Demons have suffered from equal parts of bad offense and defense.

As it pertains to DePaul, I think the value here skews to the under because of a lack of offensive efficiency. The Blue Demons rank a lowly 304th in the nation in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency and last in the Big East in points per game with 64.3 through 22 games this season.

It’s hard to envision a scenario in which DePaul pours it on, especially since it’s scored more than 70 points just once in the 2024 calendar year.

The St. John’s defense should have no problem shutting down the DePaul offense. The Red Storm have the fifth-best defense in the Big East and the 31st-ranked unit in the nation as measured by Adjusted Defensive Efficiency.

The risk here is that St. John’s goes off and well exceeds its season average of 76.6 points per game.

I think Pitino will be mindful of the fact that the Red Storm want to close out the Big East conference schedule strong and will look for rest opportunities that should serve as a mitigating factor for under bettors.

I run two total models, and both are projecting the under to hit with projections of 147.0 and 141.0 points being scored in this game.

I think the current market of 148.5 represents a strong entry point for under bettors, and I recommend betting the under down to 147.5.

Pick: Under 148.5 (Play to 147.5)

By D.J. James

The South Carolina Gamecocks have impressed with a 19-3 record, and they now take on the Ole Miss Rebels on Tuesday.

South Carolina launches a ton of 3s. The Gamecocks are hitting almost 35% from deep, and Ole Miss ranks 142nd in Defensive Open-3 Rate, per ShotQuality, yielding an opponent 3-point rate of almost 33%.

Ole Miss, meanwhile, doesn’t take many 3s. It’s hitting almost 39% from outside, but the majority of its shots take place inside the arc, where it’s shooting less than 50%.

Unfortunately for the Rebels, South Carolina’s interior defense is stellar. The Gamecocks keep opponents from taking too many 3s, which should force Ole Miss inside anyway. That’s good for SC because its opponents are hitting only around 45% from 2-point range.

Ole Miss’ offense has its own issues with efficiency. The Rebels rank 331st in Rim-and-3 Rate offensively, while South Carolina ranks 17th defensively.

South Carolina also rebounds fairly well, while Ole Miss can’t grab misses at all, especially on defense. This means the Gamecocks should have plenty of opportunities for second-chance buckets.

Finally, neither team gets to the free-throw line all that much, but the game taking place in Columbia is a boost for the Gamecocks. More than likely, the calls will be skewed toward South Carolina as the home team.

This is a short enough line that South Carolina should cover. Take the Gamecocks to -5.

Pick: South Carolina -3.5 (Play to -5)

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By Charlie DiSturco

I grabbed this number on open and it continues to drop down — for good reason. This is a perfect sell spot for an already overvalued North Carolina team fresh off an emotional win against rival Duke.

Is this team an NCAA tournament contender? Absolutely. Is it playing above its pay grade and a bit overrated? The same can also be true.

I’m heavily concerned with the defense of the Tar Heels, specifically on the perimeter. North Carolina’s Open-3 Rate on defense sits at 30.7%, 341st in the country. But opponents are shooting just 26.8% from the perimeter during conference play — the best in the ACC.

Eventually, regression is going to set in. We saw it leak through when UNC fell to Georgia Tech, and this is another great opportunity to back a heavy underdog, even if it's in the friendly confines of the Dean Smith Center.

Clemson sits inside the top 75 in spacing and fourth in the country in shot-making, per ShotQuality. The Tigers are also top-50 in both catch-and-shoot and off-the-dribble 3s, a perfect recipe for a potential road upset.

Having big men like PJ Hall and Chauncey Wiggins stretching the floor will open up plenty of strong looks for the Tigers. It’s just a matter of finishing. Looking back at Clemson’s last six games, it’s 3-3, but all three losses have come by a single possession.

I like the Tigers to keep this one close here. The Clemson defense should stand its ground against this prolific UNC offense that loves to run and gun.

Look for Brad Brownell’s squad to slow this game down and stay within striking distance on Tuesday.

Don’t be surprised if Clemson pulls off the road upset, either. It almost did it at Duke and would've if it weren’t for a late whistle.

Pick: Clemson +7.5 (Play to +7)

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By Mike McNamara

BYU generates a significant chunk of its offense from the 3-point line, and the Sooners have the defensive personnel to guard the arc.

Oklahoma will be one of the toughest defenses the Cougars have faced to this point in Big 12 play, and their shooting splits haven't been as strong away from Provo.

Additionally, this is a good bounce-back spot for OU after losing three of its last four, including its last two at the Lloyd Noble Center to Texas and Texas Tech.

Porter Moser’s team has seen its stock drop in recent weeks, and it really needs this win to get back on track.

Look for Javian McCollum and Otega Oweh to make some plays off the bounce, which should allow the Sooners to outpace the Cougars in a competitive battle in Norman.

Pick: Oklahoma ML -115 (Play to -125)

By John Feltman

The Baylor Bears will host the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Tuesday, and it's anticipated to be an exciting, high-scoring game.

Both teams are known for their exceptional 3-point shooting skills, particularly Baylor, which is considered one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country. With four starters shooting over 40% from beyond the arc, the Bears are a force to be reckoned with.

Additionally, Baylor is excellent at offensive rebounding, which will lead to plenty of open looks from outside the arc.

While Texas Tech had a low-efficiency shooting night in its previous game, it’s expected to perform better in this matchup.

Although the Red Raiders have a challenging game ahead, I'm not confident enough to back them outright. Instead, I believe the over is a safer bet.

Both teams are expected to score, and I anticipate plenty of points, even though both teams have mid-tempo offenses.

Both of these teams are also excellent free-throw shooting squads. Generating free points with ample trips to the line will only help the over here.

Pick: Over 145.5 (Play to 147)