College basketball best bets today
By now, you should be familiar with the way that the college basketball schedule works. The number of games slowly rises throughout the week until we get to Friday, when there are a limited number of games due to much bigger cards on Saturday and Sunday. That pattern stays true this week, as we’ve got 15 games to think about for January 19.
The MAC, Mountain West, Big Ten, MAAC, Big East, A-10, and Northeast conferences are all represented, so we have good variety, but low volume with today’s schedule.
Check the latest college basketball odds for legal U.S. sportsbooks across the country and our Vegas odds if you share a state with us here at VSiN. Also, give the college basketball betting splits a look for these or any other college basketball games today have your interest. Check out the Tracking Sheet for this season’s results.
I’ve made my way through the slate of games and found one best bet.
Saint Peter’s Peacocks at Fairfield Stags (-3.5, 135)
7 p.m. ET
Another play in the MAAC caught my eye for tonight and that is the matchup between Saint Peter’s and Fairfield. Saint Peter’s is off to a 5-0 start in league play, but they’re catching a decent number here against a Fairfield team that has been the best offense in the conference thus far.
Both teams are pretty adept at forcing turnovers, but Saint Peter’s doesn’t do as good of a job taking care of the basketball. Their 20.8% TO% on offense ranks 332nd in the nation and they’ll be on the road in a tough environment at Fairfield, so I could see that being an issue. Also, because of their aggressiveness on defense, Saint Peter’s fouls a lot, as they rank 351st in the nation in FT Rate against. Fairfield is 14th in the nation at 77.7% from the line.
This is also one of those games where I’m fading a team that doesn’t get to the rim, as Saint Peter’s has a shot share on Close Twos of 31.8% and ranks 325th in Block% on offense. They just don’t get inside a lot and therefore don’t make a ton of shots. They rank 351st in 2P% offense.
Fairfield is shooting nearly 36% on 3s and ranks 158th in 2P%, so they’ve done pretty well with the basketball. With a 19.8% TO% of their own, and Saint Peter’s playing at a slow tempo, I think it will be tough for the Peacocks to keep up offensively with Fairfield in this one. This sort of feels like Fairfield’s 82-61 win over Marist at home back on January 7, as they scorched what was perceived to be a really good defense that had padded numbers against a weak schedule.
Per KenPom, Saint Peter’s has played the 306th-ranked slate of opposing offenses. I think Fairfield finds success at home, while the Peacocks likely get into foul trouble.
Pick: Fairfield -3.5
