3 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Tuesday 1/14/24

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

Illinois at Indiana

Illinois Over 80.5 Total Points (-114)

No. 19 Illinois travels one state over to take on conference rival Indiana tonight. Though I do see value in taking the Illini to cover as 3.5-point road favorites, my preferred way to back the visitors in via their 80.5-point team total.

Illinois comes into tonight's game averaging 88.4 points per game. They're 23rd nationally in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency metric and 14th in adjusted tempo. Their high-flying offense has carried over into conference play, too. Through six Big Ten games, the Illini are averaging 84.2 points per game.

The Hoosiers are 49th in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency, but they've let up a pedestrian 75.2 points in conference play. They've been torched inside against league foes, letting up the Big Ten's third-highest two-point attempt rate and two-point field goal percentage.

That bodes well for Illinois given how much they've struggled from deep. Despite hoisting threes at the highest rate in the conference, they've posted a below-average three-point field goal percentage from distance. That hasn't hurt their scoring two much, primarily because the Illini have the fourth-highest two-point field goal percentage in the conference.

Indiana hasn't faced many offenses of Illinois's caliber, but when they have, it hasn't gone well. In four games against top-50 adjusted offenses, the Hoosiers have surrendered 83.5 points per game. They've let the opposing team reach 81 points in two of those, both of which were top-25 offenses (like Illinois).

It doesn't hurt that both sides are in the top 100 in KenPom's adjusted tempo, too. Illinois fared well when matched up against other fast-paced teams, averaging 89.3 points in three games against top-100 tempo teams.

Against a good-not-great Indiana defense, Illinois is in a nice spot to cruise over their team total tonight.

Texas A&M at Kentucky

Over 156.5 Total Points (-105)

Tuesday's most high-profile game will take place in Lexington when No. 11 Texas A&M visits No. 8 Kentucky. Both sides feature strong offenses, revealing value in the game to go over 156.5 total points.

Kentucky currently sits at No. 3 in adjusted offense, and they've averaged the second-most points (90) in SEC play. Texas A&M, too, has scored with great success in conference play. They're averaging 82.7 points against league foes -- up from the 76.2 points per game they averaged during non-conference play.

Facing other strong offenses has resulted in some truly bonkers game environments for the Wildcats. In seven matchups against top-50 adjusted offenses, Kentucky's games are averaging 169 total points. Texas A&M is 29th in adjusted offense.

That's in part thanks to Kentucky's lackluster defense. The Wildcats are just 87th in adjusted defense, and they've allowed an SEC-high 90.7 points per game in conference action.

Texas A&M hasn't had those same troubles, ranking 13th nationally in adjusted defense. But they're just 10th in scoring defense through three conference games, and their defensive tendencies could spell trouble against the Wildcats. Texas A&M has let up the highest three-point attempt rate in the SEC, and they're below the conference average in three-point defense.

Kentucky, meanwhile, ranks fourth in the league in three-point attempt rate and fifth in three-point field goal percentage.

Bart Torvik's model projects this game to finish with 158 total points, so I'll back the model and trust Kentucky's high-powered offense to push this total over.

Ole Miss at Alabama

Mark Sears (ALA) Over 19.5 Points (-120)

Lexington isn't the only place a top-25 SEC matchup will take place tonight as No. 21 Ole Miss will visit No. 4 Alabama at 7pm ET. Though the Crimson Tide are riding an eight-game winning streak into tonight's game, I'd rather back them from the prop market than pick a side of this 11.5-point spread.

With how well Alabama guard Mark Sears is playing right now, it's hard not to like him to go over 19.5 points tonight.

Sears is averaging 19.1 points per game on the season, but he's been on an absolute heater over the last month and a half. Since December 1st, Sears has averaged 22.1 points on a 36.3% usage rate. He's cracked 20 points in seven of his last eight games, including all three of the Crimson Tide's SEC contests.

Now, Ole Miss will be a challenge for Sears. The Rebels are 21st nationally in adjusted defense, and they've been SEC's top scoring defense early in the conference season.

But much of their recent success has come due to some unsustainable three-point defense. Despite allowing an above-average rate of threes in their first three league games, opposing league foes are shooting just 19.4% from three against them. Against power conference team in non-conference play, that number was at 30%.

Sears has the shooting ability to change that quickly. He's hoisted 6.8 threes per game this season, nailing multiple triples in 10 of 17 games this season. Considering his 40.6% 3P% at home, he's in a nice spot to light the Rebels up from distance, going over 19.5 points in the process.

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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.