3 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Tuesday 11/4/25

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

Nicholls at No. 9 Kentucky

Nicholls +30.5 (-105)

Kentucky impressed with a 78-65 win over No. 1 Purdue in October 24's exhibition contest. However, the Wildcats followed this performance by losing 84-70 on October 30 in an exhibition game against Georgetown -- which ranks 73rd in Bart Torvik's preseason projections. Starting guards Jaland Lowe (shoulder) and Denzel Aberdeen (leg) were absent in the loss, and the injuries could carry over to the regular season as both players are questionable for tonight.

If Lowe and Aberdeen do not suit up, tonight's 30.5-point spread feels too high. While Nicholls ranks 314th in Bart Torvik's preseason adjusted offensive efficiency, its not too shabby on defense by ranking 162nd. A season ago, the Cats finished 32nd for the quickest adjusted tempo. The Colonels will likely look to slow this game, and UK potentially missing two of its projected top scorers will help their case.

Similar to last season, we should expect Kentucky to have a high volume from three-point land. Nicholls defended the three well in the 2024-25 season, ranking 131st in three-point shot distribution allowed while holding opponents to only 30.1% from deep (13th).

On the other side of the court, the Colonels finished 28th for the highest close twos shot distribution last season. The Wildcats' best interior defense should be Jayden Quaintance, but he's still recovering from a torn ACL. Defending the rim could be an issue for UK in the early going -- especially when EvanMiya credited center Brandon Garrison with a meh 1.41 Defensive Bayesian Performance Rating (DBPR) a season ago.

Nicholls should have enough to keep this one within 30 points.

Texas vs. No. 6 Duke

Cameron Boozer Over 20.5 Points (-105)

Prepare for freshmen to take over college basketball. We got a nice preview on Monday as Arizona's Koa Peat dropped 30 points in its 93-87 win over Florida. Darryn Peterson -- who was 247 Sports' No. 1 overall recruit -- got off to a quick start for Kansas by posting 21 points. AJ Dybantsa, who ranked second in the 2025 class, impressed with 21 points in BYU's 71-66 win over Villanova. We could truly go on and on as Nate Ament logged 18 points and nine rebounds for Tennessee while North Carolina's Caleb Wilson recorded 22 points. This freshman class is as special as it gets; we will hear that time and time again this season.

With that said, I'll stay on the freshman bandwagon by backing Cameron Boozer to go over 20.5 points in his Duke debut. Boozer is one of three players who could contend for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, which includes Peterson and Dybantsa. The Blue Devil forward finished as 247 Sports' third-best recruit of the 2025 class. He's looked the part in exhibition games, averaging an absurd 28.5 points, 17.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. This included 24 points, 23 rebounds, and six assists against Tennessee -- which is 13th in Bart Torvik's preseason projections.

With only 35.4% of their minutes returning, Texas could take a step back. The Longhorns certainly have less talent on the roster as freshman phenom Tre Johnson has moved on to the NBA. After finishing 75th in adjusted defensive efficiency last season, Texas' defense should improve, though. In fact, the unit ranks 35th in preseason projections thanks to transfers like Dailyn Swain -- who logged an impressive 3.08 DBPR a season ago.

Swain will likely matchup with Boozer. While he's a solid defender, Swain is about 25 pounds lighter than Boozer. The freshman could play some bully ball tonight. The Longhorns' starting center Matas Vokietaitis (ankle) is also questionable; if he does play, he posted a concerning -0.55 DBPR last season. Texas missing a 7-footer in the lineup should lead to more easy looks around the rim for Boozer.

Considering the jaw-dropping numbers we saw from Boozer in the preseason, I'll take over 20.5 points.

Hawai'i at Oregon

Nate Bittle Over 16.5 Points (-125)

Tuesday's slate is capped by a 10:30 p.m. ET tip off between Hawai'i and Oregon. While the Ducks return only 39.4% of their minutes, they have their best players running it back. Junior guard Jackson Shelstad (13.7 PPG) and center Nate Bittle (14.2 PPG) led the team in scoring last year.

Betting game lines in the early going of college basketball can be tough. Many squads don't turn out as expected, for better or worse. With that said, leaning on known commodities early in the season is usually a good idea. That's the case for Oregon's Shelstad and Bittle. Between the two, who carries the best value for player props?

Preseason projections have Hawai'i ranking 130th in adjusted defensive efficiency. The unit finished 206th in the category a season ago. The Rainbow Warriors mostly struggled to slow opposing paint attacks, ranking 128th in close twos shot distribution allowed compared to 14th against three-pointers. This should favor UO's big man Bittle.

Bittle took 39.0% of his shots at the rim while shooting 63.8% in the split a season ago. While the Warriors gave up a low three-point shot distribution, opponents shot 35.0% from deep (253rd for defense). Bittle is a threat to knockdown triples as he carried a 29.6% three-point shot distribution in the 2024-25 season.

The Ducks should have one of the best big men in the Big Ten; I expect that to be one show against Hawai'i's weak interior defense.

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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.