Top College Basketball Picks for Friday, January 21 (2022)
Tonight’s college basketball slate isn’t all that appealing. Be sure to manage your bankroll tonight and save some for the NFL Playoffs. Still, I’ve found three solid college basketball bets for tonight, so let’s work with what we’ve got!
All odds via BettingPros consensus
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Youngstown State vs. Cleveland State: Cleveland State -8 (-110)
(7:00 PM ET tip)
Cleveland State already knocked off Youngstown State earlier this month, winning 86-80 in overtime on the road. Now, the Vikings will be on their home floor, and they’ll face a Youngstown State defense that hasn’t played well all season.
Youngstown State currently sits 286th in KenPom’s defensive-adjusted efficiency rankings, and the Penguins rarely get turnovers. Although Cleveland State is shooting just 30.6 percent from three, the Vikings aren’t really afraid of taking quality looks. With Youngstown State allowing teams to shoot 35.1 percent from three, Cleveland State should get some of their long-distance shots to fall, especially since they’re at home.
Bet: Cleveland State -8 (-110)
Toledo vs. Ohio: Toledo +4.5 (-110)
(6:00 PM ET tip)
The Toledo Rockets are pretty much the same team as the Ohio Bobcats. Both teams are pretty evenly matched, and this game should go down to the wire.
In an evenly matched game, getting Toledo at +4.5 has a ton of value, even with them on the road. Toledo is shooting a 51 percent effective field goal percentage while hitting 36.2 percent of their threes and 49.4 percent of their shots from inside. Ohio’s defense inside the arc hasn’t been great, and Toledo is hitting nearly 80 percent of foul shots on the year to help its case.
Meanwhile, Ohio is only hitting 33.9 percent from three and 50.4 percent from inside the arc. While the Bobcats are limiting turnovers, Toledo should still win the rebounding battle in this one. As a result, give me Toledo plus the points.
Bet: Toledo +4.5 (-110)
Sacred Heart vs. Mount Saint Mary’s: Mount Saint Mary’s -3 (-110)
(7:00 PM ET tip)
The NEC isn’t the most exciting league to watch, but let’s not forget that Mount Saint Mary’s found its way into the NCAA Tournament last season. This team is struggling a bit with a 6-10 record, but after winning two of their last three, the Mount Saint Mary’s Mountaineers might have something cooking.
The Mountaineers aren’t great offensively, but Sacred Hear is even worse on the defensive end. Mount Saint Mary’s is still hitting 34.3 percent from deep, and although the Mountaineers don’t shoot a whole lot of threes, they’ll knock them down if given the chance.
Meanwhile, Sacred Heart is the better shooting team, but they will rarely get to the line in this game. In contrast, Mount Saint Mary’s will find themselves at the line plenty more times, and that will absolutely hurt Sacred Heart’s chances of winning this game.
I’ll take the home team here.
Bet: Mount Saint Mary’s -3 (-110)
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