3 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Friday 2/14/25

The college basketball season is rolling along, giving us plentiful betting options with so many teams in action each day.

Fortunately, we have abundant tools available that can aid our chances of finding good betting value. Bart Torvik and KenPom are excellent sources that give insights into team-level efficiency, and Sports Reference provides a wide range of useful team stats, as well.

Let's check out FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball odds and select some of the best bets of the day by utilizing the mentioned tools.

Please note lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published.

Today's Best College Basketball Betting Picks

Cornell at Harvard

Cornell Over 80.5 Points (-106)

Yale has separated itself in the Ivy League standings with a 7-0 conference record while ranking 59th in Bart Torvik. If there's a team to watch outside of Yale, it's Cornell as its in second place at 5-2 while ranking 131st in Bart Torvik (second-best in conference).

Tonight brings a matchup against the Ivy's second-worst team in Bart Torvik -- Harvard (286th). Cornell's trade mark has been putting the ball in the basket, ranking 55th in Bart Torvik's adjusted offensive efficiency while logging 82.9 points per game (97th percentile) paired with a 59.1% effective field goal percentage (the highest).

Big Red's offense truly holds some of the best numbers in college basketball. Like most good offenses, Cornell has great shot distributions, such as ranking in the 62nd percentile of close twos shot distribution and in the 93rd percentile for threes. As you probably guessed, the efficiency is there as Big Red shoots 62.5% on twos (the highest) and 36.9% on three-pointers (87th percentile).

Considering Harvard is 246th in defensive efficiency while surrendering a 52.1% effective field goal percentage (34th percentile), this is a unit Cornell can tear apart. The Crimson are in the 28th percentile of close twos shot distribution allowed.

Led by ranking in the 89th percentile for the quickest tempos, Big Red should get plenty of looks with Harvard in the 36th percentile of field goal attempts allowed per contest. During the new year, Cornell is posting 88.6 PPG.

UCLA at Indiana

UCLA -1.5 (-118)
Tyler Bilodeau Over 14.5 Points (-120)

As a borderline ranked team in the AP Top 25 Poll, UCLA fell on Tuesday against Illinois, but the Bruins covered the seven-point spread in the 83-78 loss. Indiana is pretty much full rebuild at this point after coach Mike Woodson announced he intends to step down following the season. Frankly, this is probably Woodson hoping to avoid the "firing" label. The Hoosiers were on a five-game losing streak but pulled off a stunning 71-67 win on the road against No. 11 Michigan State as 11.5-point underdogs

Indiana will play host to UCLA tonight. Was Tuesday's win enough to back Indiana as home 'dogs on Friday?

This was an excellent win for IU, but I can't trust this team quite yet. Prior to Tuesday's loss, UCLA was on a seven-game winning streak, and it's 4-1 against the spread (ATS) over the past five games.

As the 138.5-point total suggests, don't expect a lot of great offense in this one. Both squads carry better defensive efficiency, and each team is 200th or worse in shot distributions for close twos and threes. That typically means poor efficiency, which is the case here. With each team in the 31st percentile or worse of three-point makes per game, any scoring success will likely come from twos.

The Bruins are stingy around the rim by allowing a 32.2% close twos shot distribution (92nd percentile). IU is excellent too by giving up a 34.3% mark (84th percentile). Scoring is simply going to be a struggle; there's no nice way to put it.

If there's one category that could be the deciding factor, I'm looking at turnovers. Extra possessions always matter, and UCLA gives up only 10.5 turnovers per game (85th percentile) while forcing 16.2 turnovers per contest (99th percentile). The Hoosiers are much weaker here, totaling 12.1 turnovers per game (45th percentile) and forcing 11.1 turnovers per contest (31st percentile).

With that said, I'll trust the Bruins' recent success and ability to win the possession battle in a slugfest. Give me the road team to cover.

Along with expecting success from UCLA, circling its top scorer Tyler Bilodeau is a good bet. Over his last six full appearances, he's averaging 16.3 PPG.

We've focused on two-pointers thus far, but it's difficult to ignore Bilodeau's 43.2% three-point percentage. He just went 7 of 12 from deep (58.3%) in his last outing. Indiana's perimeter defense looks far more susceptible by sitting in the 50th percentile of three-point shot distribution allowed.

Bilodeau could struggle to attack the rim against the Hoosiers' Oumar Ballo -- who has a 2.77 Defensive Bayesian Performance Rating (DBPR), per EvanMiya. Leaning on his mobility against Ballo will likely be where Bilodeau looks to score, and that starts with getting out on the perimeter and letting it fly.

UCLA isn't hailed for its three-ball, but I like Bilodeau's chances of cashing in threes with his matchup on Friday.

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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.