2 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Kansas State vs. USC

The Round of 16 is where things start to heat up in the women's college basketball tournament.

The last game of this round takes place Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET when Kansas State (28-7) takes on USC (30-3).

USC is favored by 1.5 points while the over/under is set at 140.5 total points.

Let's dive into some of the Kansas State-USC odds, breaking down my best bets in FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball betting odds for Kansas State vs. USC.

Betting Picks for Kansas State vs. USC

Kansas State Moneyline (+106)

USC, a 1 seed, being favored by only 1.5 points against 5 seed Kansas State is among the many ways JuJu Watkins' knee injury impacts USC and the rest of the women's tournament. With Watkins, USC rated as the fifth-best team in the country, according to Bart Torvik.

But the Trojans won't have their best player -- someone who is perhaps the best player in college basketball. That justifies this line, although I still think there's value taking Kansas State to win outright.

The Wildcats enter the Round of 16 ranked 12th at Bart Torvik, which takes into account their 7-6 stretch when star center Ayoka Lee was hurt. They ranked just 35th at Torvik during this stretch but rose as high as 6th overall with her in the lineup the first 20 games.

K-State picked up right where it left off when Lee returned to the lineup for the first round of the tournament. They blasted Fairfield (80th at Torvik coming into the tourney) by 41 in the opening round before gutting out a 1-point overtime win against Kentucky (13th) in the second round.

This is a top-10 team with Lee in the lineup -- we know that. What we don't know is what kind of team USC is without JuJu.

The Trojans rallied to beat Mississippi State by 37 after Watkins went down in the second round, but I don't see that dominance lasting. Watkins had the fourth-highest Box Score Plus-Minus (BPM) in the country this season -- right ahead of the aforementioned Lee. We saw what losing a player of that caliber did to Kansas State in January, so it wouldn't be surprising to see a similar falloff with USC.

It's a tough beat for the Trojans, but Kansas State is rolling and is healthy. With the Wildcats at plus odds, I'm happy to back them on the moneyline.

Ayoka Lee Over 15.5 Points (-122)

Kansas State post Ayoka Lee is one of the main reasons I like the Wildcats to pull of the upset on Saturday night, so it's natural to look toward her in the prop market. Lee's scored 16 and 17 points in her first two games back, so this is a nice spot to target the over on her points prop of 15.5.

Lee is averaging 15.6 points per game this season after putting up north of 19 points the three years prior. She's been limited to a mere 18.6 minutes per game thanks to injury maintenance and several early exits.

But in the games where Lee has been full-go, she's dominated. In the 16 games where she's played at least 15 minutes, she's averaged 17.8 points and scored at least 16 in 10 of the 16 outings. If we up that threshold to 20 minutes -- she played 28 minutes in the second round -- that scoring average jumps to 18.0 per game, and she's hit 16 points at a 70% clip.

This is just too short of a line for a player as impactful as Lee is. With USC down a key defensive player, the Kansas State center is lined up to go over 15.5 points.

You can also click here to get our updated printable Women's College Basketball Tournament bracket for the Round of 16.

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Which bets stand out to you for the upcoming games? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest women's college basketball betting odds to see the full menu of options.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.