With the NHL on an Olympics break and the NBA heading into All-Star Weekend, it’s finally time for college basketball to take center stage on the sports calendar. The college hoops regular season has already treated us to some excellent games this season, and the action should only heat up from here on out. Ahead of a wild weekend of basketball, Friday serves as a nice appetizer of what’s to come and is headlined by a massive game in the Big Ten between the Michigan State Spartans and Wisconsin Badgers from the Kohl Center at 8:00 pm ET on FOX.
Ahead of this abbreviated hoops card on Friday, I have settled on a college basketball best bet that I like more than the rest, and it comes in a game that features the best mid-major team in the nation at the moment.
Let’s break down our college basketball best bets for the action on Friday, February 13, and don’t forget our NCAAB predictions for all of the biggest college hoops matchups every day throughout the season.
College Basketball Best Bet: St. Louis Billikens -18.5 over Loyola-Chicago Ramblers (-110)
Odds available at Fanatics Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to St. Louis -19.5.
This is not going to be a very popular game, but my favorite mid-major bet on the board comes in the Missouri Valley — where the St. Louis Billikens should win and cover this massive number on the road against an overmatched Loyola Chicago team (ranked 311th in KenPom). These teams are coming off very different results, with the Billikens demolishing La Salle last Saturday while Loyola Chicago got destroyed by Davidson a week ago. That type of blowout loss has been a common theme for the Ramblers, while St. Louis has made its living by annihilating inferior competition all season long, especially in conference play. In fact, 5 of the last 8 St. Louis victories have come by at least 22 points, while Loyola Chicago has dropped 4 games in Atlantic 10 play by at least 20 points. I’m banking on that trend to continue on Friday.
St. Louis has an easy recipe to success against any team given how the Billikens play, and the results speak for themselves. After all, St. Louis leads the nation in effective field-goal percentage on offense while also ranking inside the top 5 in 2-point and 3-point percentage defense. Conversely, the Ramblers are an absolute mess on both sides of the ball. Loyola has the worst offense in the Atlantic 10 by far, and it will likely struggle to put up any points in what projects to be a very difficult matchup against a superior opponent.
St. Louis plays at a fast pace (22nd in tempo per Barttorvik), doesn’t turn the ball over and is an elite shooting team from all areas of the court. Everything on paper points to this game being a non-competitive affair, and St. Louis needs to keep blowing teams out in order to maintain its seeding position and march toward an NCAA Tournament appearance. Even on the road, I’ll lay the points with the Billikens in this one.
Now find out our Michigan State vs Wisconsin predictions for tonight’s huge Big Ten matchup on FOX
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