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Top College Basketball Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Saturday, January 21st (2022)

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Thursday night provided us with one of the best moments of the college basketball season, as CBS Sports discussed on Twitter. Are more shocking upsets on tap this weekend?

Here are all of our best bets for Saturday:

Here are our other best bets for Saturday:

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings)

Here are our best bets for Saturday’s college basketball action.

YTD (as of 1/21): 0-0

Best College Basketball Bets for Saturday

Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech Spread

Georgia Tech has had Syracuse’s number at McCamish Pavilion, winning three of the last four home meetings. The two teams met once at the Carrier Dome last year, a game which the Orange survived by one point in overtime despite the Yellow Jackets committing 14 turnovers and making just 9-of-27 (33%) 3-point attempts. The Orange also got 53 of 74 points from the two Boeheims (Buddy and Jimmy) and Cole Swider last year, none of which are on this year’s team.

Syracuse can expect to get next to nothing from 3-point range, as the Yellow Jackets are in the top 23 in defending beyond the arc (29.4% 3-point percentage allowed), while the Orange gets 25.3% of its points (321st) from 3-point range. We also expect Georgia Tech to dominate the glass much as it did in their meeting last year (outrebounded Syracuse 52-43), as the Orange rank 346th in defensive rebounding rate.

The Yellow Jackets have lost back-to-back home games by double digits, but we like them in a bounce-back spot here, especially since the underdog is 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings between these teams.

Bet: Georgia Tech +3 (-110 at DraftKings) 

Alabama vs. Missouri O/U

This game feels eerily similar to last week’s wager, where we backed the Over in the Xavier-Marquette game, as those were the top-two scoring teams in the Big East, only to see the game go Under the projected total. The Over is 13-3 in Missouri’s last 16 home games, so consider this a highly contrarian play.

Alabama and Missouri are the two fastest-paced SEC teams (and top 36 nationally). But that pace does not tell the whole story, as the Crimson Tide specifically have been locking down on defense.

Alabama’s Charles Bediako is a one-man wrecking crew in the paint. He is a big reason the Crimson Tide ranks second in near-proximity field goal percentage allowed, per Haslametrics. That will be an issue for a Missouri offense that thrives in transition and easy buckets inside the arc, ranking fourth in 2-point percentage (per KenPom) and eighth in near-shot proximity. In addition, SEC teams have figured out how to defend the Tigers, limiting them to 65.3 points per game in their last three losses.

Bet: Alabama-Missouri Under 162 (-110 at DraftKings)

Texas vs. West Virginia Spread

On January 12th, West Virginia looked like a team in peril, dropping to 0-4 in Big 12 play and having gone 4-4 in its last eight. That date coincided with the team parting ways with Larry Harrison, their associate head coach and long-time assistant under Bob Huggins (24 years). Since that news, the Mountaineers have scored 1.2 points per possession against a solid Oklahoma defense and ended a five-game losing streak with a nine-point home win against TCU. Meanwhile, in Texas’s last two road games, it lost by 11 at Iowa State and scored a season-low 56 points at Oklahoma State.

One worrisome thing for Mountaineers backers is the big free-throw disparity. Texas shoots a league-best 82.9% in league play, while West Virginia is dead-last in the Big 12 at 63.3%. However, the Mountaineers should take advantage of the Longhorns’ poor perimeter defense (league-worst 37.7% 3-point percentage allowed in league play).

Texas is 1-6 in its last seven road games, and we like for its road woes to continue.

Bet: West Virginia -1 (-105 at DraftKings)

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


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

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