Best bets, public plays for Saturday's huge college basketball slate
Best bets from respected handicappers, plus where the public is betting
It’s the last full Saturday of college basketball games in the 2023-24 regular season, which means that there are plenty of betting opportunities out there. The day also includes five ranked-on-ranked matchups throughout the day, including No. 7 Kansas at No. 15 Baylor (-5.5), No. 5 Marquette at No. 12 Creighton (-5.5) and No. 4 Tennessee at No. 14 Alabama (-3.5).
And perhaps most importantly, the public betting darling of the college basketball season — the Minnesota Golden Gophers — is back as a 6.5-point home favorite against Penn State, looing to improve to an unfathomable 25-4 against the spread this season. Minnesota is 17-1 ATS at home.
I texted one oddsmaker on Saturday morning and he replied with these five sides/totals that had received sharp action:
Fordham +8.5
Marquette +6.5
UCLA +6
TCU/BYU U 157
Baylor -5.5
Here are public plays for Saturday’s games at DraftKings and BetMGM, and over 25 best bets from some terrific college basketball handicappers.
Note: I’ll continue to add picks throughout the day.
Five most-bet public games at DraftKings Sportsbook (by total wagers):
South Carolina -2
Kansas +4
Marquette +6.5
Illinois +3
Houston -6
Lopsided public plays:
90% of bets, 74% of $$ on No. 1 Houston -6
89% of bets, 72% of $$ on No. 9 UNC -10.5
88% of bets, 88% of $$ on Syracuse -4.5
87% of bets, 79% of $$ on Chattanooga -3.5
86% of bets, 84% of $$ on LSU -3.5
85% of bets, 78% of $$ on No. 8 Iowa State -4
85% of bets, 78% of $$ on Tarleton State -3
84% of bets, 82% of $$ on Rhode Island -2
83% of bets, 93% of $$ on American -7.5
81% of bets, 85% of $$ on Oakland -16.5
81% of bets, 54% of $$ on Purdue -10.5
78% of bets, 87% of $$ on No. 10 Duke -9