As usual, Wednesday is the busiest night of the week in college basketball. We’ve scoured matchups from the top conferences and some mid-major conferences to find the best betting picks on Wednesday’s schedule.
Iowa (13-10) vs Rutgers (12-12)
While Rutgers scored a big win over Illinois in its last home game, it’s still hard to look at the Scarlet Knights as a favorite, especially by more than a handful of points. Keep in mind that Scarlet Knights are just 3-6 against the spread this season as a favorite. They’ve also become overly reliant on Dylan Harper to carry them, so that lack of balance is a concern, even against an Iowa team that’s lost six of its last seven games. It’s gotten ugly for the Hawkeyes lately, especially with leading scorer Owen Freeman out for the season. But Iowa has also played a brutal schedule over the last couple of weeks. Plus, the Hawkeyes still have good shooters and unselfish guards who distribute the basketball. They should be able to score enough points to keep Rutgers from winning comfortably and covering the spread.
Pick: Iowa +6.5
Florida State (14-9)vs Wake Forest (18-6)
Wake Forest has proven to be among the better teams in the ACC this season. But they have some obvious shortcomings, most notably a 29% shooting percentage from the perimeter and amassing more turnovers than assists. This explains why they are 1-7 against the spread this season when favored by seven points or more. As for the Seminoles, they snapped a four-game losing streak with a win against Notre Dame over the weekend. That game came right after Leonard Hamilton announced his retirement at the end of the season. Florida State should be inspired to send its coach out the right way, which is why the Seminoles will find a way to make this game interesting and beat the spread.
Pick: Florida State +7
Chattanooga (17-8) vs Samford (19-6)
This game could easily be a preview of the SoCon championship. It’s also a rematch of Samford’s 73-69 win in Chattanooga earlier this season. Of course, even with the Bulldogs playing at home this time, Wednesday’s game figures to be just as close as that one. The Mocs have won five in a row since that earlier loss to Samford while also going 5-0 against the spread. That stretch includes two straight-up wins as a road underdog. In fact, Chattanooga is 5-1 against the spread as an underdog this season. It’s hard to imagine either of these teams winning by more than five points in a matchup that should be considered more of a tossup, which is why the best bet is taking the underdog and the points.
Pick: Chattanooga +5
Arizona State (12-22) vs #12 Texas Tech (18-5)
Texas Tech is undoubtedly the superior team in this matchup despite coming off a road loss to Arizona. Of course, the big spread gives the Red Raiders a lot of points to cover. That being said, Texas Tech is 7-5 against the spread as a double-digit favorite this season. They are also one of the most explosive teams in the Big 12, averaging over 80 points per game, so they have enough scoring depth to put up big numbers against a lackluster Arizona State team. The Sun Devils are coming off a 13-point road loss to Oklahoma State, another team in the bottom half of the Big 12, making it unlikely that ASU can make things interesting against Texas Tech. Arizona State has consistently struggled against the Big 12’s elite teams, so they are likely to be blown out again Wednesday night.
Pick: Texas Tech -15.5