3 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Saturday 3/8/25

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

Kentucky at Missouri

Caleb Grill (MIZZ) Over 15.5 Points (-104)

Kentucky's been one of my favorite defenses to target in the prop market, and this Saturday is no different. The Wildcats are 28th nationally in adjusted tempo, but just 56th in adjusted defensive efficiency. They've let up the second-most points per game (81.0) and played at the second-fastest average pace in SEC games, leaving Missouri with several enticing options for player props.

For this home date, however, I'm homed in on one name in particular -- wing Caleb Grill. Grill's averaged north of 20 points over his last five games, putting him in a strong position to go over his 15.5-point prop against Kentucky.

Grill's been red-hot of late, clearing this 15.5-point benchmark in four of his last five games. He's reached 20 points in three of those, flashing real upside.

He's been rock-solid throughout the conference season. Across 17 conference games, Grill leads the Tigers with 15.2 points per game. That's inched up to 16-even in eight home SEC affairs, during which he's gone over 15.5 points four times.

Naturally, the sharpshooter has been even better when awarded more playing time. Grill's averaged 18.9 points across the 10 games he's seen at least 30 minutes, which has happened in eight of the last 11 games.

Assuming Mizzou leans on the senior in his final home game, he's positioned well to take advantage of UK's lackluster perimeter defense. In SEC play, the 'Cats have let up the fourth-most points (per 40 minutes) to wings and the third-most to SGs.

Coupled with Kentucky's brisk pace, this is all lining up for another strong performance from Caleb Grill. Thus, we can consider him to go over 15.5 points at -104 odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Iowa State at Kansas State

Kansas State +7.5 (-115)

No. 10 Iowa State hits the road for their finale regular season game as they head to Manhattan to take on Kansas State. The Cyclones are 7.5-point road favorites here -- a jarring line considering what transpired the last time these teams faced off. With Kansas State quietly 5-1 straight up over their last six home games, this is the right spot to back the Wildcats +7.5.

Even if we don't weigh their previous head-to-head matchup more heavily than the rest of their games, this spread feels a touch too wide. KenPom, Bart Torvik, and Haslam all project Iowa State to win by 5 points or fewer, immediately showing value in this +7.5 line.

That's something I can buy into given how much better K-State has played over the second half of the year. If we purely filter results since January 24th, Kansas State is 24th nationally in Bart Torvik's power ratings. Iowa State is 27th over that same span. They're notably 2nd in adjusted defense during that stretch, whereas Iowa State is 74th in adjusted offense.

So, the recent trends support the Wildcats, but that aforementioned prior Iowa State-Kansas State bout is what really seals the deal on taking the 'Cats to cover the spread. Kansas State pummeled Iowa State by 19 points on the road back in early February. They held ISU to just 61 points on 37% shooting in the blowout win, and that came in spite of the Cyclones draining 8 threes at a 44% clip. Five different Wildcats scored in double-figures as the road warriors picked apart Iowa State's defense to the tune of a 53% effective field goal percentage.

Considering how well they've played over the last 1.5 months and how lopsided their first matchup with Iowa State was, this looks like a nice spot to back Kansas State to cover +7.5. And given the recent results, I'm more than willing to sprinkle a smaller percentage of my bankroll on Kansas State moneyline (+240).

Arizona at Kansas

Hunter Dickinson Over 22.5 Points + Rebounds (-118)

Arizona visits Allen Fieldhouse for a regular season finale with Kansas. Arizona's strength lies on the perimeter, so this is a game we could see heavy involvement from big man Hunter Dickinson. With his points + rebounds prop sitting at just 22.5 points as of Friday afternoon, this is a prime spot to target the over.

Dickinson has averaged 17.6 points and 9.6 rebounds through 19 conference games -- good for 27.2 PR. He's notched at least 23 combined points and rebounds in a staggering 16-of-19 league games. That's an 84% hit rate -- up from the 54% implied probability we get from these -118 odds.

So regardless of opponent, this line appears to be underselling Dickinson's Big 12 dominance. But the matchup is ripe for the taking, too.

Though Arizona enters the weekend with KenPom's 25th-ranked defense, they've let up the fifth-most points in Big 12 play. They're 50th nationally in adjusted tempo and third in the conference for average pace, suggesting additional possessions could be in store for the Jayhawks.

That would only further bolster Dickinson's case of going over 22.5 combined points and rebounds. He's averaged 21.8 points alone against teams in the top-50 for adjusted tempo, tacking on 9.3 rebounds for a combined total of 31.3.

On top of that, the Wildcats have ceded more than their fair share of 'boards to opposing bigs. Against conference big men, Arizona has allowed the sixth-most rebounds (per 40 minutes), simultaneously surrendering the Big 12's fourth-highest usage rate to the position.

Matchups aside, this line is just too small for a player of Dickinson's caliber. I'd expect it to inch up as we approach Saturday's 4:30pm ET tip but would be comfortable playing it up to 26 points + rebounds given 'Zona's fast pace and suspect defense.

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Which bets stand out to you across the nation tonight? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest 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.