College Basketball Odds, Picks & Predictions: Monday (1/27)

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With the college football season over and two weeks between now and the Super Bowl, college basketball will be in the limelight with several marquee games on tap.

While there are just 22 games on Monday’s college basketball slate, two of the top three teams in the country are in action, and one of the sport’s best rivalries has its first edition of the season when USC hosts UCLA.

We are back to continue the momentum from a 2-0 Monday last week.

Continue reading for a detailed breakdown of our college basketball best bets and top picks for Monday, January 27th.

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NBA DraftKings 2025

    Monday's Best College Basketball Bets

    (Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

    Penn State (+8.5) @ Michigan (-8.5) | O/U 160 (-112/-108) 

    Some will be down on Michigan after Purdue pummeled the Wolverines 91-64 at Mackey Arena on Friday night. But Erik Haslam of Haslametrics explained that perhaps we should not have been surprised by the Boilermakers turning in their best game efficiency rating of the season (+45.4), as they had positive scores in seven out of eight contests, and ranked seventh in the momentum metric.

    Michigan’s offense is great at home, scoring 80+ points in five straight home games. One of those was an 85-85 home win over Iowa where the Wolverines still managed to score 1.15 points per possession despite shooting 20% (4-for-20) from three-point range.

    Penn State has yet to win a true road game this year (0-4). I can’t trust the Nittany Lions’ defense in this road environment, as they rank 356th in the country in assists allowed per field goal made.

    The Wolverines are 6-3 against the spread (ATS) as home favorites this year. I trust them over a Penn State team that has covered jin ust two of their five road games this year.

    Pick: Michigan -8.5 (-108)

    NC State (+22) @ Duke (-22) | O/U 134.5 (-112/-108) 

    NC State has lost four consecutive games and six out of seven. At 2-6 in conference play, they are heading towards being one of the worst teams in the ACC this year. How will they compete with a Blue Devils team in Cameron Indoor Stadium that has a great chance of going 20-0 in the league this year?
    The biggest factor behind this wager is the lookahead factor with UNC coming to town on Saturday. The Blue Devils may also be somewhat sluggish after a short turnaround following Saturday’s win over Wake Forest, a game they won by seven after leading by 15.
    The Wolfpack offense should also be able to handle the Cameron Crazies, as they turn the ball over at the 17th-lowest rate (14.3%) in the country.

    Pick: N.C. State +22 (-112)

    Iowa State (+1) @ Arizona (-1) | O/U 152 (-110/-110) 

    Iowa State turned a two-point deficit into a 15-point win in the last 10 minutes of its road win at Arizona State on Saturday. I expect the Cyclones’ defense to come up big in their second straight game in Arizona, against a Wildcats team that has struggled to shoot from the perimeter all season -their 32.4% three-point percentage ranks 236th.
    The Wildcats rank in the top three of the Big 12 in adjusted offensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage and two-point percentage. But the Cyclones also rank in the top three defensively in the same categories and generate steals on 14.3% of opponents’ possessions.
    The under has cashed in five of Iowa State’s nine conference games and three of Arizona’s four games against ranked opponents. I am backing a low-scoring game in Tuscon with both teams coming off short rest.
    Pick: Under 152 Points (-110)
    Make sure to check out our other best bets for Monday:

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