4 College Basketball Best Bets for Saturday, February 14

Welcome to the Saturday college hoops slate, and Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours. Just a friendly piece of advice: make sure you have some lovely lunch or dinner plans with your significant other. Watching college basketball all day is fun, but neglecting your boss is a sure-fire way to misery for weeks to come.

Now that the PSA is over, let’s get into the loaded college hoops card. Here are my 4 college basketball best bets for Saturday, February 14. Best of luck, my friends!

Best Bet: Iowa +1.5 (-110) (BetMGM)

Purdue at Iowa: 5:00 PM on FOX

I’m hoping that lots of public money will come in on Purdue to push this line up to +2 or better for us on the Hawkeyes. We have to ask ourselves, “Why is the No. 13-ranked Purdue squad ONLY laying 1.5 against an unranked Iowa team?” It’s because the books know that this is a potential letdown spot here on the road for the Boilermakers.

Purdue is coming off a humongous road win over Nebraska in overtime to the tune of 80-77. So, not only is this a tough back-to-back road game spot, but their legs may also not be quite as fresh after playing the extra period of OT. On the flip side, Iowa should be in a pretty foul mood after losing at Maryland as double-digit favorites.

So, to summarize, we want to buy low on Iowa and sell high on Purdue. I’ve been making money with this angle in college football and college basketball for over two decades. It also doesn’t hurt that the Hawkeyes have won 4 of their last 5 and that they have the better defense and better turnover margin. Let’s take the points and sprinkle that moneyline if it ever moves to plus money.

Best Bet: Boston College 1H +1.5 (-120) (Fanatics)

CAL at BC: Noon on ACC Network

I know it’s tough to bet on bad teams, but sometimes the situation is just too good to pass up. That’s what I feel like we’re getting on Saturday at noon with Boston College. This early tipoff time will feel like 9 AM to the Cal Golden Bears. As I often say in football, never underestimate the power of the circadian rhythm.

The early start time is bad enough for Cal, but they’re also coming off a devastating loss in two overtimes at Syracuse just three days ago. There’s no way their legs have fully recovered from that outing, especially since they’ve been on the East Coast sleeping in hotel rooms instead of their own beds. On the flip side, this is Boston College’s third straight home game, so fatigue won’t be a factor for them.

The Golden Eagles have some ugly metrics, but they have key edges in both rebounding and defense. That should be more than enough for them to cover this first half spread. I’m going that route because they have a tendency to fade late in games and Cal usually gets a little stronger in the 2nd half. Let’s go BC!

Best Bet: Florida State 1H +3.5 (-105) (Fanatics)

FSU at VT: 2:00 PM on ACC Network

Blacksburg will be rocking, so this is another tough wager to hit submit on. That being said, Virginia Tech just pulled off a huge upset at No. 20 Clemson earlier this week as 8.5-point underdogs. That type of road upset could have led to some serious partying the whole way back home. It’s hard to get back up after an emotional upset just three days later, so I’m expecting the Hokies to come out a bit flat in this one.

On the other side, Florida State has been playing much better ball of late. The Seminoles won three straight ball games before losing by just 3 points to Virginia on Tuesday night. FSU isn’t blessed with tons of talent, but Robert McCray V does a good job of scoring and getting the ball to open shooters.

I prefer the Noles in the first half of this one instead of the full game. Virginia Tech is a better 2nd half team, but if they come out sluggish like I think they will, FSU has a very good chance of covering this first half line for us. My power rating makes the Noles just a 1.5-point underdog in the first stanza. Let’s get it!

Best Bet: Texas +1.5 (-115) (FanDuel)

TEX at MIZZOU: 8:30 PM on ESPN2

I don’t get this line at all. Yes, I know that both teams are about equal as far as talent is concerned, but this is a Texas spot if I’ve ever seen one. For one, the Longhorns come into this game with a 4-day rest advantage over Mizzou. The Tigers have been playing well, but they’re coming off a draining 1-point win over Texas A&M just three days ago.

After the spot has been taken into account, my numbers have Texas favored by 2 points here on the highway. The Horns have edges both on the glass and on offense. As an added bonus, Texas also whips Mizzou at the free-throw line by a wide margin. The Horns rank 92nd in that category, while Mizzou ranks near dead stinking last at 338th.

In the end, I think Dailyn Swain will find a way to get Texas a key road win. Swain leads the team in points (17.3), rebounds (7.3), and assists (3.5). I could see him getting Missour’s star, Mark Mitchell, into some early foul trouble. Give me the points, and we’ll sprinkle the moneyline if it moves to plus money.