3 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Saturday 2/15/25

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 college basketball 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

Miami at Pittsburgh

Over 149.5 (-110)

Pittsburgh is the latest ACC team to get a crack at Miami's defense on Saturday, so we should see plenty of points in Western PA. With both sides ranking inside the top 60 of KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency metrics, this is a spot to consider over 149.5 total points.

Both Pitt and Miami are considerably better on offense than defense. The Panthers are 29th in adjusted offense and 87th in adjusted defense, whereas Miami is 54th in adjusted offense and a staggering 341st in adjusted defense.

Now, Pitt has averaged just 70.2 points per game in ACC play, even with those strong efficiency metrics. But they've only had the pleasure of facing one of the conference's three truly horrific defenses -- the three which rank 200th or worse in adjusted defense. They didn't disappoint, however, netting 86 points against Cal to help the game produce 160 total points.

In total, Pitt's 11 games against sub-100 adjusted defenses have averaged 149.5 total points.

Meanwhile, Miami's five games against top-50 offenses have averaged 151.4 points. The one of those that came against a team which also ranked outside the top 50 in adjusted defense netted an eye-popping 191 total points.

It doesn't hurt to have college basketball's top projection models on our side, either. Bart Torvik, Haslametrics, and KenPom all project north of 153 points here. With Miami's abysmal defense leading the way, I'm all over the over in this Miami-Pitt game.

Houston at Arizona

Caleb Love Under 19.5 Points + Rebounds (-106)

If not for Auburn-Bama, Houston-Arizona would be the top game of the weekend. The No. 6 Cougars and No. 13 Wildcats own the top two records in the Big 12, so Saturday's bout will go a long way in deciding the Big 12 regular season title race. Entering the weekend, Houston has -210 odds to win the Big 12 regular season as 'Zona sits +390.

Houston is a 1.5-point road favorite leading into Saturday, and the Cougars are the side of this spread I'd prefer to back. In addition to their 20-4 record, Houston has been an analytically darling. They're third in KenPom's power ratings, narrowly behind Duke and Auburn. Arizona is a distant 14th.

Even so, I can't quiet get there backing Houston on the road -- not when Arizona's yet to lose a Big 12 home game. But I still like the Cougars' chances of containing Arizona's offense, so I'll back Houston instead by riding Caleb Love under 19.5 combined points and rebounds (PR).

Love is averaging 20.3 PR on the season -- and 22 PR in Big 12 games. But he's only gone for 20 PR in 7 of 14 conference games, and the bulk of those came against the conference's bottom-dwellers. Only seven of the Big 12 foes Love has faced have ranked inside the top 50 in KenPom's power ratings, and he hit 20 PR in just three of those matchups.

That's not ideal heading into a date with Houston. On top of their No. 3 standing on KenPom, the Cougars rank fourth in adjusted defensive efficiency. They sport the country's top scoring defense and have, predictably, stifled the perimeter.

In Big 12 play, Houston has given up the third-fewest points and fewest rebounds (per 40 minutes) to opposing guards. Of the 15 Big 12 guards that played at least 30 minutes against the Cougars, just five notched at least 20 PR. Four of those five did so in games that went to overtime. They've yielded the second-fewest shot attempts (per 40) to the position.

Love, meanwhile, has struggled against top defenses. He's faced six teams ranked inside the top 25 of KenPom's adjusted defense metric, averaging 13.7 points and 4.2 rebounds (17.9 PR) in such matchups. The senior notched at least 20 PR in just two of those six games, posting an ugly 32% field goal percentage in the process.

Against arguably the country's top defenses -- and in a definitive pace-down spot -- it's hard to like Caleb Love's chances of racking up counting stats. As such, taking the under on Love's 19.5 combined points and rebounds prop is my preferred way to play this game.

Kentucky at Texas

Texas -1.5 (-112)

No. 15 Kentucky is a road underdog against unranked Texas on Saturday night, and at first glance, it may be tempting to back the 'Cats. Kentucky is fresh off a home win over Tennesse which saw them notch 75 points on the nation's No. 2 scoring defense. The Longhorns, meanwhile, have dropped three straight games by at least eight points -- two of which came on their home floor.

But Kentucky is now down their top two guards as both Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler have joined Kerr Kriisa on the bench in recent games. Without two of their top three scorers, the 'Cats will face an uphill battle despite Texas' recent struggles. With that, I'm looking to back the Longhorns in a bounce-back spot to cover as 1.5-point favorites.

Though Texas has had a tough go of late, their home numbers are still strong for the season. The Longhorns are 10-5 with a +16.8 average point differential at home. They've taken down a pair of top-20 teams on their home floor in addition to keeping home dates with Auburn and Tennessee within five points.

Kentucky, on the other hand, has struggled away from home. They're 2-4 in true road games this season with two of those four losses coming to teams ranked lower in KenPom's power ratings than Texas. The 'Cats are 345th (out of 364 teams) in Haslametrics' away-from-home metric. Playing without your two lead ball-handlers likely won't help that inefficiency.

On top of that, Texas (34th in adjusted offense) has fared well against the lesser defenses on their schedule. They're 4-2 against power conference teams ranked outside the top 50 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Kentucky is 80th in that metric and owns a measly +0.9 average point differential against top-50 offenses. They've let up over 80 points per game to top 50 offenses; Texas is 6-2 when scoring at least 80 points.

This is a classic get-right spot for the Longhorns against a suspect Kentucky defense down their top two guards. Even with their recent results, I'll jump at the chance to back Texas on Saturday night -- and would even consider an alternate spread further in the Longhorns' direction.

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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.