Best College Basketball Bets Today – Free (Saturday 1/14)

The 2022-23 college basketball season is in midseason form, and we get some exciting matchups as conference play begins and 2022 comes to an end. Below are my favorite bets for Saturday’s slate. Let’s have some fun.

Miami vs. NC State

(Line: NC State -3.5, DraftKings Sportsbook)

We have an interesting guard battle here as we get two elite backcourts in Miami’s Isaiah Wong and Nijel Pack going up against NC State’s Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner. The Wolfpack have been playing well lately coming off two impressive wins over Duke and Virginia Tech, even a little banged up without Jack Clark and Dusan Mahorcic. Miami has control over the No. 2 spot in the ACC standings with their only stumble being on the road against a streaky Georgia Tech squad. With NC State shooting up the KenPom rankings (36^th), I like the sell-high spot here going up against a rock-solid Miami backcourt that will be able to handle the Wolfpack extended defensive pressure. Similar to their first matchup this year, both backcourts should find success in the up-tempo game environment, but it’s the frontcourt battle that will be the key to this game. This is matchup where the short-handed Wolfpack may feel the loss of Clark and Mahorcic the most so far as Norchad Ormier and Jordan Miller should be able to find a ton of success. NC State wants to funnel everything into the paint and DJ Burns won’t be able to handle Ormier’s quickness and Clark’s absence strengthens Miller’s ability to attack. I have this game capped as a pick and with a clear advantage in the frontcourt (and a coaching advantage) I’ll be backing the Canes.

The Pick

Miami +3.5