3 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Wednesday 3/5/25

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

Florida at Alabama

Will Richard (FLA) 3+ Made Threes (+152)

Wednesday's star-studded slate is headlined by a top-10 matchup in Tuscaloosa when No. 5 Florida visits No. 7 Alabama. I'm not seeing much value in the spread (Alabama -3.5) or over/under (178.5 points), but there's plenty to like in the prop market with a total this high.

With Alabama leading the country in adjusted tempo and letting up an SEC-high 82.4 points per game, I'm most interested targeting some of the visiting Gators. With +152 odds for 3+ made threes, Florida's Will Richard has a threes prop worth consideration.

Richard is averaging 2.3 made threes per game in conference play, but he's hit at least 3 triples in half of his league games. That in itself puts this prop on my radar given the +152 odds implying just 40% probability.

'Bama is the right opponent to target for this kind of prop, too. Though they actually have one of the country's lowest three-point attempt rates allowed, they've still given up north of seven made threes per game in SEC play. The Crimson Tide have allowed 10 different players to make 3+ threes in a single game against them, with half of those coming in Tuscaloosa.

Now, Florida's faced only six opponents in the top 100 for adjusted tempo, but Richard made at least 3 threes in 50% of those. He's additionally made 11 threes in the last two games alone and has drained 3+ triples in 8 of his last 13 games.

In the biggest pace-up spot of the season for the Gators, consider Will Richard 3+ made threes at +152 odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.

UMass at St. Bonaventure

St. Bonaventure -7.5 (-120)

UMass-St. Bonaventure may get lost in the shuffle with so many good high-major games on Wednesday, but this spread commands our attention. Despite previously dismantling the Minutemen by 14 points on the road, the Bonnies are only 7.5-point home favorites for tonight's rematch.

With that, this is the right spot to target St. Bonaventure -7.5.

St. Bonaventure got out to a 13-point halftime lead in their February 15th date with UMass and didn't look back. They held upwards of a 20-point lead in the second period before UMass made things look respectable with an 11-1 run late.

But that didn't do much for the final tally, and it still showed how much better the Bonnies are. St. Bonaventure is up to 101st nationally on KenPom, fifth highest among A-10 teams. They've had an up-and-down league season at just 7-9, but four of those wins came by double-digits and they're responsible for one of VCU's two conference losses.

UMass has an identical conference mark, but they're down at 205th on KenPom. The Minutemen have the third-worst net rating in the A-10 and have suffered six losses by at least eight points. Further, we've seen UMass really struggle against top defenses this season. They're 1-10 with a -11.9 average point differential against teams in the top 100 for adjusted defensive efficiency; wouldn't you know, the Bonnies are 77th in that metric.

KenPom, Bart Torvik, and Haslametrics all have St. Bonaventure projected to win by double-digits here. Considering how lopsided the first meeting was, I'm more than happy backing the Bonnies -7.5.

This isn't a bad spot to target an alternative spread, either. St. Bonaventure -10.5 is available at +136 odds on FanDuel Sportsbooks, coined "Alternate Spread 3" under the "Alternates" tab.

Tennessee at Ole Miss

Under 137.5 (-108)

The No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers hit the road for a date with Ole Miss and their league-average offense. Tennessee doesn't typically light up the scoreboard themselves, but they're among the best defensive teams in college basketball and play at a snail's pace. This game's 137.5-point total doesn't reflect that, however, so we can look at the under here.

Tennessee isn't just one of the best defenses in the sport; they're the best, at least according to KenPom. The Vols lead the country in adjusted defensive efficiency. That, coupled with their 344th-ranked adjusted tempo, has resulted in plenty of low-scoring games. Tennessee's games against Power Conference teams have averaged only 135.1 total points. Half of their SEC games have finished with fewer than 138 points.

Ole Miss isn't bad on defense, either. The Rebels are 22nd in adjusted defense, and they're right around the conference average in scoring defense (75.4).

Now, only two of their SEC games have finished with fewer than 138 points, but another six finished within 4 points of that mark. We've seen the scoring drop against slower-paced teams this season, too. Of their nine total games against teams outside the top 200 in adjusted tempo, five finished with fewer than 138 points. The three games in that split that also featured a top-50 defense on the other side resulted in 140, 125, and 118 points.

With KenPom and Torvik both projecting this game for fewer than 134 point, there's value in under 137.5 given Tennessee's slow tempo and lockdown 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.