Best College Basketball Bets Today: Alabama -4.5 to Cover As Road Favorite on Feb 08

There are plenty of college basketball best bets to consider even if Connecticut and Purdue, the teams that met in the title game in the 2024 March Madness bracket, aren’t playing on Saturday.

When looking at the odds of winning March Madness among the teams playing on Saturday, Auburn and Duke have the shortest championship odds at +400, followed by Tennessee at +1000.

Let’s take a look at some options from Saturday’s college basketball schedule.

Top 3 College Basketball Picks Today

1. Alabama (-4.5) To Cover at Arkansas

One of the more intriguing games in the SEC features an Arkansas team looking for its third win in a row facing third-ranked Alabama.

2,500 Career Points 🪣

Mark Sears becomes the 82nd player in Division I history to score 2,500 career points. #RollTide pic.twitter.com/LxjHSHIpyP

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) January 22, 2025

The Crimson Tide have won five games in a row and are 6-1 on the road. Since SEC play began, Alabama is 2-0 outright and against the college basketball spreads as the road favorite.

Freshman guard Boogie Fland has missed the last four games for Arkansas, but keep an eye on Johnell Davis, who is averaging 20 points over his last three games. For Alabama, Mark Sears is averaging 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists in his last two games. All three players are worth considering as college basketball player prop picks.

The last time that Alabama played at Arkansas, the Crimson Tide rolled to a 15-point win as a 1.5-point underdog. Expect Saturday’s game to be a closer contest with the Alabama vs Arkansas best bet being visiting the Tide to cover as the 4.5-point favorite.

Bet Alabama -4.5

2. Arizona (-155) to Win vs Visiting Texas Tech

The teams with the longest active winning streaks in the Big 12 will clash in Tucson, Ariz., when visiting Texas Tech, winner of seven games in a row and 5-0 on the road, faces an Arizona team going for its sixth victory in a row.

𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙩 𝙒𝙖𝙡𝙠-𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝: Catching you up on everything Arizona Basketball ahead of tomorrow’s matchup vs Texas Tech 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/F5m27rYfKg

— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) February 8, 2025

Texas Tech rolled to a 16-point win at home on Jan. 18 in the first meeting between the teams in 12 years.

Arizona hasn’t lost since, with an average margin of victory of 12 points over the last five games. Texas Tech’s last road game was one to remember, with the Red Raiders upsetting a top 10 Houston team in overtime.

We’ll go with Arizona at -155 to win and improve to 11-1 at home in this Saturday night battle when making our college basketball bets.

Bet Arizona ML (-155)

3. Gonzaga vs Pacific Over 151 (-115)

It is not very often that Gonzaga is held to under 75 points in back-to-back games, and it is coming off a 73-point outing against Loyola Marymount on Thursday. The Bulldogs annually rank among the top offensive teams in college basketball.

Gonzaga has averaged 86 points in its last four road games against Pacific. The last time these teams met, the Bulldogs scored 102 points. BetUS Sportsbook lists Gonzaga as a 25-point favorite. That’s a little high to go with the Bulldogs to cover for our taste.

This is not the best offensive team that head coach Mark Few has had at Gonzaga, but Pacific ranks outside the top 300 in defensive rating in the Pomeroy basketball database.

When making your college basketball predictions, roll with the Gonzaga vs Pacific game to land over 151. Take a look at the first-half scoring bets as well, as Gonzaga could get off to a strong start against a Pacific team with just three West Coast Conference wins this season.

Bet Gonzaga vs Pacific Over 151 (-115)

Question of the Day

Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets.