Wednesday College Basketball Odds & Picks: Wisconsin vs. Rutgers, Arizona State vs. Prairie View A&M

A light Wednesday night college basketball slate offers two games in particular I have my eye on — Wisconsin visiting Rutgers, which is a short favorite, and Prairie View A&M traveling across the country to face Arizona State.

Let's break down each.

Wednesday College Basketball Betting

Odds as of Wednesday 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.

Wisconsin at Rutgers

• Spread: Rutgers -2
• Over/Under: 133.5
• Time: 7 p.m. EST
• TV: Big Ten Network

The RAC offers Rutgers a highly underrated home-court advantage. In the last five years, when Rutgers has gone off as a single-digit home dog, they're 21-14 against the spread (15.9% ROI).

Additionally, Steve Pikiell’s Scarlet Knights have knocked off a top-20 team at home in each of the last two seasons — No. 16 Ohio State last year and No. 15 Seton Hall the year prior.

In what may come as a surprise to some, the line opened at Rutgers -1.5 and has moved to RU -2 overnight in this matchup with the Badgers.

In this particular matchup, a few things other than the friendly confines of the RAC are trending in Rutgers’ favor. For starters, laying less than three points against a plodding team like Wisconsin always helps — the Badgers rank 340th in tempo and won't pull away.

While the Badgers' pace is intentional, they’re not making every possession count, shooting a dreadful 30.7% from 3-point range as a team thus far in 2019.

On the defensive end, Wisconsin is reliably stout, but far from disruptive. They register just five steals per game, checking in at 292nd nationally.

Pikiell was rightfully encouraged by his team’s last performance, a 12-point loss at Michigan State. Despite dreadful shooting nights from his top two scorers, Rutgers pulled within two points at the 7:45 mark of the second half.

Rutgers has been particularly effective in second halves, averaging 40.3 points in the final 20 minutes (59th nationally). A strong second half for RU should be enough to close out the Badgers in a low scoring affair.

The Pick: Rutgers-2

Prairie View A&M at Arizona State

• Spread: Arizona State -19
• Over/Under: 141.5
• Time: 10 p.m. EST
• TV: Pac-12 Network

SWAC programs are cash strapped, so long, 900-mile road trips are taken via bus and often lead to lackluster performances. Simply fading SWAC teams against the spread in the last eight years, regardless of travel, has created an ROI of 8.8% (94-73-4, 56.3%).

But when you account for long road trips, the data is striking. Looking at this season alone, when SWAC teams are traveling over 900 miles, they’re 7-19-1 ATS.

Waiting for the Panthers in Tempe are Bobby Hurley and his Sun Devils. The former All-American point guard has built a formidable team out in the desert, fresh off their second straight trip to the Big Dance.

If Hurley leads his guard-dominant team back to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year, it will be the first time ASU has accomplished the feat since 1975. The Sun Devils enter 6-2 SU and 5-3 ATS this season.

Since transforming the program into a March mainstay, Hurley’s squads have performed well as large home favorites. Since 2017, ASU is 6-3-2 ATS when laying 14 or more at Desert Financial Arena.

Prairie View A&M is 300th or worse nationally in the following categories:

• Effective FG%
• FT%
• 2P%
• 3-pointers per game
• Turnovers per game

They’ve failed to crack 70 points in half of their games, and they face an Arizona State team that has topped 80 points in half of their games. Look for a Prairie View (39th in tempo) to try and run with ASU and as a result get run right off the court.

Pick: Arizona State -19 [In New Jersey? Bet now at PointsBet]