The Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC are all accounted for in Tuesday's college basketball best bets.
The pregame narrative: Zeke Mayo is the best shooter the Kansas Jayhawks have, and I expect him to be unleashed tonight. I'm also betting the under on the game total between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers.
Check out my college basketball best bets for Feb. 18.
College basketball best bets
Best Bet: Illinois/Wisconsin under 160.5 points (-112)
When No. 16 Wisconsin travelled to Illinois in December, the teams hit the over in an 86-80 victory for the Illini.
But given how the Badgers have been battening down the hatches at home lately, I don't anticipate that happening again.
- Unders are 7-1 in Wisconsin's past eight home games.
- Unders are 4-1 in Illinois' past five road games.
Both teams rank in the bottom 60 defensively in terms of turnover rate, so there shouldn't be many fast-break points. The Badgers and Illini also both rank in the top 70 in effective field goal percentage allowed.
Illinois plays at the 17th-quickest pace in NCAA Division I, but I expect Wisconsin to do its best to dictate the tempo in front of what will be a raucous Kohl Center crowd in Madison.
Key stat: In Wisconsin's past four home games, the average total was 138.8 points.
Quick picks
Josh Hubbard 25+ points/rebounds/assists (-137): Hubbard is playing his best basketball of the season right now, and I think he'll have a nice opportunity to keep rolling in a game with track meet potential.
Both the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies and the No. 21 Mississippi State Bulldogs play at a top-150 offensive pace, which bodes well for scoring.
Hubbard, a native Mississippian, has cashed this bet in five straight games.
The Mississippi State sophomore is often inefficient as a scorer, but his shot volume is tantalizing. Over his past 10 games, Hubbard has averaged 15.6 field goal attempts, including 10.0 beyond the arc.
Given that he also has eight-plus rebounds/assists in three straight games, Hubbard profiles as a bonafide stat-stuffer.
Zeke Mayo 3+ threes (-104): My first thought was to back Mayo to score 15-plus points (-165), but that prop comes with more juice than I'd like. This pick has more risk, but the matchup works in his favour.
Mayo and No. 17 Kansas face the BYU Cougars on Tuesday night. BYU's defence has struggled to defend the perimeter this season:
- 34.8 opponent 3PT%
- 8.7 opponent 3s per game
BYU allows the 46th-most 3s per game to its opponents. And given how many 3s the Cougars shoot themselves (10.4/game), Mayo will likely be called up to help Kansas keep up.
The South Dakota State transfer is shooting 40.5% beyond the arc this season, averaging 2.5 makes per game.
Over his past 12 games, Mayo has cashed this bet seven times on 45.0% 3-point shooting.
Picks made at 2:40 p.m. ET 02/18/2025
