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College Basketball Odds, Picks & Predictions: Monday (1/13)

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This weekend proved difficult for many of the country’s best teams. The No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 teams in the AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll all won road games, but those came by a combined 14 points, while No. 4 Duke and No. 6 Kentucky also won by single digits (though the Wildcats were 4.5-point underdogs).

Monday’s college basketball slate has just 22 games, with just two Big Ten games and one ACC game representing the power conferences. Because of the smaller slate, we are limiting today’s card to just two plays.

Keep reading for a detailed breakdown of our college basketball best bets and top picks for Monday, January 13th.

Go premium to view top prop bets based on Cover Probability, Expected Value & Star Rating >>

    Monday's Best College Basketball Bets

    (Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

    UCLA (-2) @ Rutgers (+2) | O/U 138.5 (-110/-110) 

    Rutgers started the year ranked in the AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll but has had some baffling results to this point in the season. The Scarlet Knights lost at Kennesaw State, needed overtime to eke out a one-point victory against Notre Dame and beat Penn State and Seton Hall by a combined seven points before losing to Princeton. And the Scarlet Knights seemingly never had a chance at Assembly Hall against Indiana or in their last two home conference matchups against Wisconsin and Purdue, losing all by double digits.

    Rutgers has two potential NBA players on its roster - Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. Not only has head coach Steve Pikiell not figured out how to use them most effectively, but the Scarlet Knights’ role players are doing next to nothing to take the burden off the team’s stars.

    Rutgers is making fewer than 33% of its three-point attempts and ranks outside the top 110 in adjusted offensive efficiency. Making perimeter shots is crucial against a compact Bruins defense allowing the 309th-fewest percentage of opponents’ points (45.3%) from inside the arc.

    I am also leaning toward the under because the Bruins’ travel was aided by a road game at Maryland on Friday, so staying on the East Coast since then should help their preparation and energy levels. I would not put anyone off backing the under on Rutgers’ team total, but I expect UCLA’s methodical pace to keep the scoring down in this game altogether.

    Pick: Under 138.5 Points (-110)

    Boston College (+11) @ Notre Dame (-11) | O/U 141.5 (-108/-112) 

    Notre Dame has lost four straight ACC contests, with three straight coming against teams from North Carolina (UNC, NC State, Duke). After losing back-to-back heartbreaking one-point games to the Tar Heels and Wolfpack, the Fighting Irish showed fight in an eight-point loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium over the weekend.
    The fact Notre Dame battled until the final buzzer in its loss to Duke is encouraging, as it rallied from an 18-point deficit with four minutes remaining to get as close as four points down the stretch.
    Notre Dame continues to play competitive basketball since the return of Markus Burton, who has suited up in the last three games after a seven-game absence.
    The fact this game is on a short turnaround is not great for the Fighting Irish, who get just 30% of their minutes from the bench (241st in the country). But I trust head coach Micah Shrewsberry on short prep, as his teams have a 100% cover rate in games with one day off and a 63% cover rate in conference games since the start of last season.
    Pick: Notre Dame -11 (-112)

    Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.

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