Best College Basketball Bets Today - Free (Wednesday 1/31)

It’s the last day of January, which means we are almost one month closer to March. It’s important to continue to keep up with injuries and situational spots around college basketball, as we are seeing more and more of them on a daily basis. They may not always work out, but it’s at least a solid basis to your handicap. Let’s take a look at Wednesday’s card and try to find some winners.

All odds are per DraftKings Sportsbook.

Richmond at Fordham

7 p.m. ET
Richmond -2

We talk about sandwiches and situational spots, and Richmond has a huge one here. The Spiders are one of the best stories in mid-major college basketball and are feeling good after a win over Dayton in front of a sold-out Robins Center crowd. Next up for them Saturday is Round 1 with the crosstown rival VCU in a game that they will be highly anticipating. In between those contests is a matchup with Fordham, who isn’t the greatest team in what should be a sleepy atmosphere. The Rams don’t do a lot well, but they are solid offensive rebounders and aren’t terrible at getting to the line. Even though they lost to both Davidson and Loyola Chicago at home, they were leading at halftime. I’m taking Fordham early and coming back later on Richmond at halftime after their coach wakes them up.

The Pick

Fordham +1 (first half)

UL-Monroe at Louisiana

8 p.m. ET
Louisiana -12

I see a path here for plenty of points Wednesday night. The Warhawks offense is absolutely putrid statistically, but they’ve found their ground lately, scoring 80 or more in each of their last three games. Their two strengths are offensive rebounding and getting to the FT line. Two of ULL’s weaknesses are preventing offensive rebounds and fouling way too much on defense. On the opposite side, Louisiana has scored 80 or more in five of their last seven and should see some pace in this game. Monroe is 14th on defense in percentage of total points coming from three-point land. The Ragin Cajuns aren’t terrible shooting from three so that should help as well. Last year these two played games with scores of 86-73 and 84-67. I can see something like that again.

The Pick

Over 144.5

Vanderbilt at Auburn

9 p.m. ET
Auburn -17.5

The Tigers have lost two straight on the road and don’t really have a lookahead situation, so we should get a fully focused Auburn team Wednesday night. These two played just two weeks ago, with Auburn beating Vandy at their place 80-65, posting a 17-point halftime lead. They have the third-best first-half margin in college basketball, leading by an average of 17.4 points per game at home. The Commodores have an awful offense that has scored 62 points or less in three of their last four. They wouldn’t have gotten to it in their first meeting with Auburn if not for a ton of free throws. Now home, the Tigers fresh off two losses should have some fun. Split a unit on these three wagers, and let’s hope to go at least 2-1.