It's an extremely busy Saturday full of sports, so let's not waste any time. Our college basketball betting experts Stuckey and Mike Randle pick out their favorite bets on the board to help you narrow down a large slate of games.
We'll cover these two games below:
- Randle: Milwaukee at Northern Kentucky (1 p.m. ET)
- Stuckey: Wisconsin at Tennessee (1:30 p.m. ET)
Let's dig in.
Odds as of Saturday morning and via PointsBet, where Action Network users can access an exclusive promotion to get a 200% deposit match (deposit $50, bet with $150).No strings attached. No rollover required.
Mike Randle: Milwaukee +6.5 at Northern Kentucky
1 p.m. ET
The Northern Kentucky Norse entered this season expecting to contend for the Horizon League title, but they will start conference play missing two major players.
The Norse will host Milwaukee without leading scorer Dantez Walton (18.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 41.7% from 3) and returning leading scorer Jalen Tate. Walton had already earned conference player of the week honors three times this season and tallied 19 points, six rebounds, and seven assists in Northern Kentucky's most recent win over Illinois State, 79-64. Tate has missed the last nine games for the Norse after breaking his hand.
Milwaukee is led by 6-foot-2 senior guard Darius Roy (16.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.1 apg) who has averaged 24.7 points in the Panthers' last three games. Illinois transfer Te'Jon Lucas (13.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.5 apg) helps to provide plenty of backcourt scoring for a Milwaukee team that also ranks 68th in defensive turnover percentage. Milwaukee has prepared for this important opening conference road clash by playing at Kansas, Drake and Wisconsin.
Northern Kentucky played their first game without Walton last Saturday and got trounced, 67-50, at UNC Greensboro. In that game, senior guard Tyler Sharpe scored 33 points, but no other Norse player scored more than seven.
This game should be a close battle between two Horizon league rivals, with Milwaukee hungry to end a six-game conference losing streak to Northern Kentucky.
Facing a first-year coach in Darrin Horn and a severely short-handed lineup, Milwaukee will have plenty of opportunity to do just that.
Pick: Milwaukee +6.5
Mike Randle is 806-771-38 (51.1%) betting college basketball. You can follow him for free in our app
Stuckey: Wisconsin +3.5 at Tennessee
1:30 p.m. ET
There isn't a ton for me on the last ugly college basketball Saturday slate before conference play, but I do fancy the Badgers in this spot
This game is on the road, which is concerning based on how the Badgers have looked away from the Kohl Center, but these two teams are headed in different directions, primarily due to recent personnel changes.
In their last game, the Badgers added 6-foot-10 Ohio State transfer Micah Potter, who shook off some of the rust in a win against Green Bay. His presence down low will really open things up for Nate Reuvers and just make Wisconsin so much more formidable on both sides down low. Also, D'Mitrik Trice is coming off a career-high 31 points in that victory. He's a very streaky offensive player, so that's a good sign headed into this contest in Knoxville.
Meanwhile, the Vols lost senior LaMonte Turner for the year with a shoulder/neck injury. This will mark the first game for Rick Barnes' bunch without the creator of their offense. Turner ranked in the top 10 nationally in assist rate, averaging more than seven per game. And without Turner's presence on the court, Jordan Bowden's production should suffer, as well. This Tennessee offense could be in real trouble now without Turner, especially in the short run.
I like the Badgers at anything 3 or above in a game where points should come at a premium in a matchup of two very slow tempo teams.
Pick: Wisconsin +3.5
Stuckey is 665-588-33 (53.1%) betting college basketball. You can follow him for free in our app.
