Top College Basketball Picks for Tuesday, January 18 (2022)
In college basketball, we’re starting to get larger slates. There aren’t nearly as many games postponed or canceled. With that, there are so many more games to choose from on tonight’s slate. I have three plays that I’m eying. Let’s dive in!
All odds via BettingPros consensus
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North Carolina vs. Miami: North Carolina ML -135
(7:00 PM ET tip)
Miami had nine straight wins where they knocked off teams like Duke, Clemson, Wake Forest, Syracuse, and Penn State. It was an extremely impressive performance from a team that was supposed to be the worst in the ACC this season.
I don’t believe Miami is the worst ACC team in the conference, but I do think they’ve become overvalued at this point. Miami has really struggled on the glass this season and will now take on one of the best teams in that regard in North Carolina.
Plus, the Tar Heels are shooting 39.8 percent from three and 52.6 percent from inside on the season. They’ll shoot and rebound at a higher percentage. That should be enough for North Carolina to cruise to victory, even on the road.
St. Bonaventure vs. Dayton: Dayton ML -130
(7:00 PM ET tip)
The only area where Dayton struggles this season is turnovers. The Flyers have turned the ball over 21.9 percent of the time. However, St. Bonaventure only earns 17 percent of turnovers. If Dayton can limit the mistakes, the Flyers should be fine in this game.
According to KenPom, Dayton has the 74th rated defensive efficiency in the nation and continues to dominate the glass.
It’s a common theme today. I’m picking teams that should be able to win the glass. You can have a bad day shooting, but nothing will change on the glass when you put in the effort. You can’t have a bad rebounding night with consistent effort.
Dayton should also see quality looks from long range, knowing St. Bonaventure has allowed teams to shoot 34.5 percent from three.
Utah State vs. Fresno State: Utah State +2.5 (-110)
(11:00 PM ET tip)
This is the game where everyone down on the day will chase and play. It’s an 11 pm ET game on CBS Sports Network, and it’s going to be a good one. I like the underdog to come out on top in this one.
Fresno State is only shooting 31.5 percent from long range and while the Bulldogs have the slightly better defense, Utah State has the much better offense in this one.
Utah State is shooting 35.2 percent from three and 56 percent from inside the arc on the season. The Aggies have scored points and defended when needed. They’ve got a balanced team that has lost two straight games by seven points combined. They’ll stick around and match up well against Fresno State to steal this one on the road.
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Jason Radowitz is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him @Jason_Radowitz.