On a night with just 30 college basketball games, we truly have quality over quantity. While we do have the A-10, MAC, Mountain West, Ohio Valley, and Big South, we also have the Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC, and Big East all in play, so the big boys will be on the floor tonight. That includes the Michigan vs. Purdue preview I wrote up specifically for that heavyweight fight.

One of the MAC matchups features Miami of Ohio looking to stay perfect against UMass, a game that was decided by just two points last month and now we’ve got the rematch tonight. It’s a good night for hoops all the way around and college basketball bettors should be excited for this evening’s slate.

For more college basketball best bets today, check out Greg Peterson’s daily article and Tyler Shoemaker’s TSI Projections/Best Bets on weekdays.

As always, I want to give a shout-out to Bart Torvik (BartTorvik.com), Erik Haslam (Haslametrics.com), and KenPom, as they provide a lot of great data.

This season, we’ve also connected with CBBAnalytics.com to access their data and I’ll be working that into my article. Use promo code VSIN30 for $30 off at CBB Analytics and find your betting edge.

This article will run Monday-Saturday. Lines will be from DraftKings, as they are widely available to readers. Shop around for the best prices.

Check the latest college basketball odds for legal U.S. sportsbooks across the country and our Vegas odds if you share a state with us here at VSiN. Also, give the college basketball betting splits (DraftKings) and Circa CBB Betting Splits a look for these or any other college basketball games today have your interest.

Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publish.

Ball State Cardinals at Ohio Bobcats (-9.5, 142.5)

7 p.m. ET

Ohio looks for revenge in this one, as the Bobcats host the Cardinals a month after losing in Muncie. That was a 76-71 win for Ball State and they did have a noticeable advantage in the free throw department, which could be a bit of a concern for some. But, those late-game situations are important with a lead and Ball State, despite numerous flaws, is shooting nearly 74% from the stripe in MAC play.

This handicap is pretty simple for me. Ball State is No. 1 in the conference in TO% on both offense and defense. Ohio is shooting just 29.9% on 3s in league play. Without extra possessions and with too many empty one-and-dones on offense, covering double digits feels like a bit of a chore. Ohio is 11th in the conference in ORB%, so they aren’t getting a ton of second-chance opportunities.

In the first game, Ohio was 4-of-16 from 3 and only had eight offensive rebounds. Even with some modest improvements in those two areas here, winning the game by 10+ is a tall ask. This is also an Ohio team that really has no bench, so they’re just running out the same five game in and game out. They have to be wearing down this late in the season and we may see that with their 37% 3P% allowed in conference games. The tired legs are showing up on the defensive end of the floor.

Ball State’s been struggling a lot lately, as head coach Mike Lewis has been trying to work in some different personnel and find some usable combinations, as they’ve really been bad offensively in the last four games, but this is also a noticeable step down in class.

Pick: Ball State +9.5

Wisconsin Badgers (-1.5, 157.5) at Ohio State Buckeyes

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8:30 p.m. ET

The Badgers and Buckeyes exchange pleasantries for the second time in 2.5 weeks, as Wisconsin won 92-82 in Madison back on Jan. 31. It was a very strong offensive performance for Wisconsin with nearly 1.31 points per possession, as they had 30 shot attempts at the rim to 21 for Ohio State and 10 more made shots in close proximity to the bucket.

Wisconsin had 16 assists on 32 made field goals as well, while Ohio State had just nine on 28 made shots. Now the Buckeyes are also trying to navigate life without John Mobley Jr., their second-leading scorer who is out indefinitely after hand surgery. His absence was felt in the non-conference loss to Virginia 70-66 over the weekend, as the Buckeyes had just 1.004 PPP and barely got to the free throw line.

Mobley is a 40% 3-point shooter for a team that takes a lot of long jumpers and it will be interesting to see who picks up that slack, given that the 6-foot-1 Mobley is a lot shiftier than the other guys on the roster. Mobley’s 22.8% Usage Rate was the same as Bruce Thornton’s, as Thornton had a 33.5% Usage Rate in the loss to the Cavaliers and wore down defensively late in the game.

Ohio State’s Net Rating doesn’t change with Mobley off the floor, but they are -9.0 in Offensive Rating. That’s a huge deal against a Wisconsin team that is shooting 36% from 3 and has the lowest TO% in the conference. Wisconsin is really hard to hold down offensively and is also an 80.1% team at the free throw line, so if they have the lead late, they should be able to protect it or even widen it.

Pick: Wisconsin -1.5

The post College Basketball Picks for Tuesday, February 17 from Adam Burke appeared first on VSiN.