Welcome to another Tuesday night full of college basketball.
With so much action on the docket tonight, our college hoops writers came through with 4 picks for Tuesday, including bets for Boston College vs. Florida State, Akron vs. Western Michigan, Louisville vs. SMU and Nebraska vs. Iowa.
Let's dive into our college basketball picks and NCAAB best bets for the games on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
College Basketball Picks
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college basketball betting staff is targeting from Tuesday'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 |
|---|---|---|
  | 6 p.m. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 9 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. | ||
Boston College vs Florida State Pick
By Evan Abrams
Tuesday's Boston College vs. Florida State matchup in the ACC fits a historically profitable betting system from our Bet Labs database.
This system, called "Slow Pace Struggling" is rooted in the idea that large road underdogs on extended losing streaks who already play at a deliberate tempo are often priced as if they will collapse rather than compete.
By focusing on visiting teams riding significant losing runs with low pace profiles and catching sizable spreads in either the regular season or postseason, the angle assumes the market overreacts to recent results without fully accounting for style.
Slow paced teams reduce total possessions which naturally compresses scoring margins and makes it more difficult for favorites to create separation.
Even when talent gaps exist, fewer trips up and down the floor limit volatility and keep games within reach.
A struggling visitor that grinds possessions, shortens the game and avoids transition chaos can linger inside inflated numbers, turning what looks like a mismatch on paper into a cover driven by tempo control and mathematical scarcity of scoring opportunities.
This system boasts an all-time record of 1689-1455-47, good for a wining percentage of 54% and an ROI of 4%. Isolating the 2025-26 season, that record moves to 100-71-1 — a 58% winning percentage and a 12% ROI.
Pick: Boston College +12.5
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Akron vs Western Michigan Pick
By Joshua Nunn
We've seen the Zips' offensive prowess with Tavari Johnson, Amani Lyles and Evan Mahaffey finding ways to score 20 points on any given night.
But Akron also leads the MAC in defensive efficiency and effective field-goal percentage allowed on that end of the floor.
In their last four conference road games, the Zips have held their opponents to 67 points or less in every one of them. I expect them to be fully locked in on the defensive end once again tonight.
Western Michigan lost by 15 in the first matchup between these two, but the Broncos actually scored 51 first-half points and led by 14 points at one point. Because of that, Akron is unlikely to overlook Western Michigan — which is equipped with the worst defense in a conference filled with bad defenses — in this game.
The Broncos are also in a rivalry sandwich spot. Western Michigan just defeated Eastern Michigan on the road on Saturday and hits the road to face Central Michigan next.
I expect Akron to be wide-eyed and ready to go in this one, especially given how the first meeting played out.
Pick: Akron -14.5
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Louisville vs SMU Pick
The model finding value on this game is a straightforward situational system labeled “Power Five Outright Love,” posting a 67% win rate across thousands of games.
It targets situations in January-February where a quality Power Five team or a home underdog lines up against a Power Five opponent within a specific spread band.
Despite Louisville entering Tuesday's game at SMU as a 3.5-point favorite, PRO Systems flag SMU’s moneyline (consensus +140) as a value play.
The logic: historical matchups and situational filters show that similar underdogs have cashed outright at a high rate in this exact setup, making SMU — +155 at bet365 — an attractive, plus-money wager.
Pick: SMU ML +155
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Nebraska vs Iowa Pick
By Jim Root
This matchup is rough for Iowa’s offensive system. Everything the Hawkeyes want to do runs through Bennett Stirtz in ball screens. He’s elite there in both frequency and efficiency, but Nebraska is uniquely equipped to disrupt that rhythm.
Nebraska allows pick-and-roll ball-handlers to finish possessions at just an eighth-percentile rate nationally, per Synergy, and ranks in the 100th percentile in efficiency against them.
The Huskers are suffocating. With Sam Hoiberg likely glued to Stirtz all night, Iowa’s primary action is going to be uncomfortable from the jump.
Tempo should cooperate, too. This projects at 64 possessions, per KenPom, and that feels right.
Nebraska has shown a willingness to be a pace taker, content to grind games into half-court battles where execution and rebounding matter more than quick-hitting runs.
Iowa is one of the slowest teams in the country, and Nebraska’s transition defense will prevent any easy leak-outs.
There’s also a subtle tug-of-war in the side handicap.
The situational spot slightly favors Iowa in a buy-low spot at home, while the matchup profile leans toward Nebraska. That conflict makes the spread tricky, but it reinforces the idea that this game is more likely to be tight and deliberate than explosive.
With Nebraska’s condensed defense shrinking driving lanes and Iowa’s supporting cast still searching for consistency, this feels like a possession-by-possession game.
I’ll stay off the side and trust the defensive matchup.
Under is the play.
Pick: Under 139.5 (Play to 134)
