2 College Basketball Best Bets for Thursday, February 2

Ready to build up your bankroll before Super Bowl week? We’re getting into the thick of conference play in college hoops, so it’s the perfect time to start investing in some teams. It’s also an ideal time to start fading some teams that have already mailed it in for the season.

Here are 2 College Basketball Best Bets for Thursday, February 2. Best of luck with all your plays! Let’s go for a perfect 2-0 with these!

Florida Atlantic Owls @ UAB Blazers

FAU is riding high as they have won 20 straight games. With a 21-1 record and sitting at #19 in the country, their only loss came to Mississippi on the road in early November.

Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin have led the way for the Owls this season. They are combining for 25.3 points, 10.6 boards, and 2.7 steals per game.

As a team, they are ranking inside the top 50 in both offensive and defensive adjusted efficiency, according to KenPom. The one weakness of the Owls has been their inability to knock down the freebies at the charity stripe. They rank 241st in the country with a combined 69.7% free throw shooting percentage.

UAB has been up and down this year. They’re 15-7 thus far but are coming off back-to-back wins over Louisiana Tech and Rice.

Jordan Walker, the senior guard and former Tulane transfer has been playing the best ball of his career. He’s averaging 23.8 ppg and shooting 40% from long range.

While Walker has controlled things in the backcourt, Trey Jemison has used his 6’11” frame to lock down the paint. Jemison is nearing a double-double average and has blocked 1.8 shots per game.

The Blazers are sneakily ranked #7 in the country in offensive rebounding percentage. It is the 2nd chances that they create that have led them to their winning record.

Best Bet: UAB -0.5

FAU has been amazing all season, and they still likely have a tournament birth in their future, but they are running into a UAB team that matches up better against them.

The offensive glass will get controlled by UAB, and in a game that has a spread near a pick ‘em, we expect the game to come down to free throws. That benefits the Blazers as well since FAU has had its struggles from the line.

Key Trends:

• FAU is 2-8 SU in their last 10 meetings against UAB.
• FAU is 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 games against UAB.
• Home team is 12-3-1 ATS in the last 16 meetings.
• UAB is 6-0 SU in their last 6 games when playing at home against Florida Atlantic.

Houston Cougars @ Wichita State Shockers

#3 Houston is 20-2 on the season and has won 11 of their last 12. They did have a slip-up on the road against a subpar Temple Owls team. Marcus Sasser is posting 16.2ppg and is knocking down nearly 38% from 3-point range.

While Sasser has led the team on the offensive end, it has been a team effort on the defensive end as it’s historically been. They have the 3rd best defensive-adjusted efficiency numbers in the nation.

Wichita State is not the same team that many have remembered over the past 10 or so years. They are just 11-10 on the year. They are coming off a good road win, 85-72, over East Carolina on Sunday.

Craig Porter Jr. and Jaykwon Walton are the only Shockers averaging double figures. Both guards do a good job on the glass, as they rank 2nd and 3rd on the team in boards per game. While the scoring has not been super high, the Shockers have been efficient and rank inside the top 20 in effective field goal percentage.

Best Bet: Wichita State +12.5

On paper, this game should be a complete blowout. However, the same would have been said when Houston went to Temple, where they walked away with just their 2nd loss of the season.

We don’t believe the Shockers have enough to pull off the upset here, but they’ll be efficient enough on the offensive end to keep this one close enough to cover the number here. Take the points!

Key Trends:

• Houston is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against Wichita State.
• The Favorite is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 meetings.
• Wichita St is 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
• Wichita St is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games when playing at home against Houston.