3 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Saturday 2/22/25

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 to select some of Saturday's best college basketball bets and player props.

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

Today's Best College Basketball Betting Picks

Tennessee at Texas A&M

Zakai Zeigler (TENN) Over 18.5 Points + Assists (-106)

Alongside Iowa State vs. Houston, Tennessee vs. Texas A&M presents us with a top 10 matchup on Saturday. I'd rather avoid this game's tight spread (Tennessee -1.5), but there is value in the prop market.

That value's with Tennessee senior Zakai Zeigler. One of the most well-rounded point guards in the country, Zeigler is averaging 13.4 points and 7.5 assists on the year, upping that scoring average to 15.3 per game in SEC play.

Yet, for Saturday's road date with Texas A&M, Zeigler's combined points and assists prop is set at just 18.5. Considering he's gone over that mark in 10-of-12 conference games, he's certainly someone to consider in the prop market.

Now, this game environment isn't ideal. A 131.5-point over/under between two of the SEC's three slowest-paced teams doesn't exactly scream points and assists. Coupled with Texas A&M's fifth-ranked adjusted defense, and I can understand any reservations backing player prop overs.

But, while A&M is a fearsome defense, they've been pretty friendly to point guards. Yes, they're permitting the fourth-fewest points (per 40 min) to SEC point guards, but that hasn't stopped them from allowing the third-most assists (per 40) to the position.

In fact, the Aggies are letting up a truly astronomical 71.8% assist rate in conference play -- a byproduct of their league-leading 18.4% forced turnover rate. Then next-closest SEC team is at 55.8%, and the SEC average is 51.2%.

We've seen Zeigler dice up Buzz Williams' defense in the past, too. He cooked them for 15 points and 6 assists on the road last season, only to chef up 9 points and 14 (!) assists against them later in the season.

That makes Zakai Zeigler over 6.5 assists an enticing wager at +104 odds if you'd rather steer clear of the combo market.

But A&M's defense and this game's low total have resulted in Zeigler's points and assist props getting discounted too much. That's something we should be quick to take advantage of, even if the game environment isn't great at face value. As such, getting him over 18.5 combined points and assists at -106 odds feels like real value in a game otherwise lacking intriguing player props.

Oregon at Wisconsin

Wisconsin -7.5 (-120)

There aren't many teams in the country playing as well as Wisconsin right now. The Badgers have rattled off five straight wins to open February, the last four of which have come by double digits.

They haven't just beaten up on the Big Ten's bottom feeders, either. They hung 94 and 95 points on Purdue and Illinois the last two games -- both schools which have better defenses than Oregon.

Yet, even with the Badgers at home, Wisconsin is only favored by 7.5 against the Ducks on Saturday. Though Oregon's won three straight against the bottom half of the Big Ten, the competition gets revved up to 100 against Wisconsin.

As such, this is a spot to target Wisconsin -7.5.

We've been following how the west coast Big Ten teams have looked on the road this season closely. At least for Oregon, the early returns aren't great. The Ducks are 3-3 when traveling to conference schools not on their side of the country, but their three wins have come by a combined 4 points against three teams with sub-.500 conference records. Their three losses came by 7 (to Minnesota), 4 (to Michigan), and 12 (to Michigan State).

That doesn't inspire much confidence ahead of their trip to Madison -- not with how well the Badgers are playing. Wisconsin is up to 7th on KenPom for the year, and they're third on Torvik if you just look at February results.

Their success can be largely attributed to the country's sixth-ranked offense -- one leading the Big Ten in scoring.

Oregon has faced six teams in the top 25 for adjusted offense, losing four times by an average of 8.6 points. They let up 79 points or more in five of those, so I'm not at all confident they can slow down the Badgers.

And while the Ducks are a respectable 33rd themselves in adjusted offense, they're only averaging 72.4 points in Big Ten play -- 3 less than the league average.

There's just not a lot going for Oregon here, and that's reflected in the sport's top projection models. KenPom, Bart Torvik, and Haslametrics all have Wisconsin winning by at least 9 points, allowing me to back the Badgers with confidence.

Illinois vs. Duke

Illinois +9.5 (-105)

Illinois and Duke square off in a rare February non-conference matchup from Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Though the third-ranked Blue Devils are the No. 1 team on KenPom and sport the second-shortest odds to win the National Championship (+420), expecting them to win by double-digits on a neutral floor feels like a big ask against a team with as much upside as Illinois.

With KenPom, Bart Torvik, and Haslametrics all projecting Duke to win by single-digits, I do see value in Illinois +9.5 at -105 odds.

Though Illinois has dropped out of the AP Poll following a 5-7 stretch since early January, they're still 21st on the season by KenPom's metrics. They haven't been playing that bad either, ranking a respectable 32nd in Torvik's power ratings dating back to January 11th.

Duke is 10-1 and No. 3 on Torvik over that same stretch, so they're the rightful favorite here. But Torvik's projections still only have the Blue Devils favored by single digits even if we only input both teams' metrics over the last month.

It's hard to ignore how much tougher a slate Illinois has faced, too. The Illini have faced five top 30 KenPom teams in the calendar year, including two top 15 teams in the last week alone. Duke, meanwhile, has only faced one top 30 team since December -- Clemson, who they lost to by six.

Now, that's not to say Duke can't beat good teams, just that they haven't proven capable of blowing them out of the building. The Blue Devils are just 5-3 against top 50 teams this season, and only one of their four non-conference games against top 50 schools saw them win by double-digits.

Yes, Illinois is just 2-6 against top 25 teams, and half of those resulted in a double-digit loss. But they were still competitive against elite competition out of conference. The Illini lost to 'Bama by 13 and Tennessee by 2 before downing Missouri on a neutral floor.

Illinois also has the makeup of a team that can beat anyone in the country -- what with their 36.4% offensive rebound rate (20th nationally) and 47.2% three-point attempt rate (26th).

The Illini can win this game straight up if they're hitting from deep, but their ability to generate extra possessions on the glass should keep them in it even if the shots aren't falling. Considering how few good teams Duke has played over the last two months, I'm not anticipating a blowout against true jump in competition. With that, we can confidently consider backing Illinois to cover as 9.5-point underdogs.

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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.