2 College Basketball Best Bets for Wednesday, February 18

The Wednesday college basketball slate is loaded, and our top insider is locked and loaded. Get his 2 best bets for February 18 in this preview. Best of luck with all your action. Let’s get into it!

Arkansas Razorbacks vs Alabama Crimson Tide

#20 Arkansas heads to #25 Alabama as the Razorbacks come into this matchup as one of the most reliable ATS teams in the country. The Razorbacks are 19-6 overall and 9-3 in conference, and they’ve covered this number in 5 of their last 7 road games, including three straight.

Breaking down this matchup, Arkansas has the offensive output to keep this game close. They’re scoring 88.8 points per game and shooting 57.0% effective field goal percentage, while Alabama allows 82.7 points per game while allowing 48.4% opponent effective field goal percentage.

Arkansas also takes care of the ball extremely well, ranking 3rd in the country at offensive turnover rate. Alabama, on the defensive side, ranks near dead last in college basketball at creating turnovers, ranking 364th.

Defensively, Arkansas has the ability to contest shots, protect the rim, and bring a rebounding edge in this matchup. Arkansas averages 41.3 rebounds per game compared to Alabama’s 36.4. That alone could help prevent Alabama from opening this game up with second-chance points.

✅ Suggested Pick: Arkansas +4.5(-108)

Illinois Fighting Illini vs USC Trojans

#10 Illinois heads out west to take on struggling Big Ten foe USC, in a favorable payback spot. Last season, USC went into Illinois and won outright by 10 and USC has a chance to hang around inside this number.

USC scores 80.4 points per game and shoots 51.9% effective field goal percentage, numbers that are important vs a strong defense. USC also gets to the free throw line at a high rate, 2nd in the country, which they could use to slow this game down and allow Illinois less possessions.

Defensively, USC is good enough to make Illinois work on that end. Illinois is more efficient, but USC has the size and physicality to contest shots and force longer possessions. USC rebounds well but will have to hang their hat on the glass if they want to stay inside 10 points tonight. Illinois is one of the best offensive and defensive rebounding teams.

USC has also been extremely reliable at home covering +9.5 100% this season, while Illinois is just 2/7 covering this line on the road. If USC can compete on the glass and create extra scoring opportunities at the line, they absolutely can cover this number at home.

✅ Suggested Pick: USC +9.5 (-107)