Over 100 college basketball teams will take the floor on Thursday night, as this is a night for the mid and low-majors. We’ve got one game in the Big 12, two games in the Big Ten, and that’s it as far as major-conference action goes, unless the American Conference is big enough for you to lump into that group.
Tonight is for conferences like the CAA, Big Sky, Big West, and others to shine and have some of the spotlight as we wind down on Friday before really ramping up again on Saturday. Tip times today run from 6 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET, so it won’t be as late of a night tonight as it has been throughout the rest of the week.
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.
Fairfield Stags at Sacred Heart Pioneers (-1.5, 155.5)
7 p.m. ET
A little MAACtion on a Thursday night, as we head to Fairfield for the crosstown rivalry game between Fairfield and Sacred Heart. These two schools are less than five miles apart as the crow flies and less than 15 minutes apart on the roads.
In looking at Torvik’s conference strength of schedule thus far, Fairfield has played the 12th-ranked schedule out of 13 teams in the MAAC. Sacred Heart has played the fifth-toughest slate thus far. Despite the tougher schedule, the Pioneers are second in adjusted offensive efficiency, second in eFG%, fourth in 2P% offense, and first in 3P% offense. Fairfield is fourth in adjusted offensive efficiency, but that’s more about their offensive rebounding and TO%. They are not shooting the ball well, ranking ninth in the conference in both 2P% and 3P%.
Sacred Heart has struggled a good amount defensively, but the Stags don’t make shots at a high volume, so this might be a good opportunity for the Pioneers defense to make some positive strides. Also, the one thing Sacred Heart does well on defense is rebound the basketball, and that should neutralize one of Fairfield’s minimal offensive strengths.
Since Anquan Hill returned on Jan. 9, the Pioneers are 5-3 in MAAC games after an 0-4 run heading into the New Year. Fairfield is 7-3 in games decided by six or fewer points, including their last three conference victories. Some negative regression is likely coming for a team that doesn’t have an impressive profile.
Pick: Sacred Heart -1.5
Elon Phoenix (-1.5, 142.5) at Hampton Pirates
Embed from Getty Images7 p.m. ET
This CAA matchup between Elon and Hampton is tightly-lined, as the Pirates have the home court advantage, but I really don’t think that’s going to make much of a difference here. Hampton has scored .822 and .761 points per possession in their last two games, as Michael Eley continues to battle a foot injury. Even when he has been on the floor lately, he’s played 12, 14, and 18 minutes over his last three games, so he’s been gutting it out at best.
Elon enters this game fifth in adjusted offensive efficiency in conference play, but second in eFG% offense, as they are fourth in both 2P% and 3P%. Hampton is the worst offense in the 13-team conference, shooting just 26.9% on 3s and 47% on 2s. By comparison, Elon is shooting 36.6% from deep and 54.7% on 2s. And those Hampton numbers aren’t adjusted for life without Eley, since I don’t know if he’ll officially miss this one or not.
Because of their poor defensive numbers, the Phoenix have been a high-variance team in conference action. But, this is a spot where their offense should be able to shine and overcome any defensive issues.
Pick: Elon -1.5
The post College Basketball Picks for Thursday, February 5 from Adam Burke appeared first on VSiN.
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