2 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Thursday 3/6/25

The college basketball season is rolling along, giving us plentiful betting options with so many teams in action each day.

Fortunately, we have abundant tools available that can aid our chances of finding good betting value. Bart Torvik and KenPom are excellent sources that give insights into team-level efficiency, and Sports Reference provides a wide range of useful team stats, as well.

Let's check out FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball odds and select some of the best bets of the day by utilizing the mentioned tools.

Please note lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published.

Today's Best College Basketball Betting Picks

Michigan State at Iowa

Jaden Akins (MSU) Over 13.5 Points (+100)

Michigan State heads to Iowa for Thursday's lone Power Conference game, though it should at least be a fun one. With Iowa ranking 168th in adjusted defense but 56th in adjusted tempo, Hawkeye games have a tenancy to get hectic. Their Big Ten games have averaged 159.5 total points, and tonight's date with Sparty shows a 152.5-point over/under on FanDuel Sportsbook.

That makes this an intriguing spot to dive into the prop market, and I'll do just that with Michigan State's Jaden Akins.

The senior guard is coming off his highest scoring total (19 points) since early January, and I expect him to stay hot tonight. He leads the team with 12.9 points per game on the year and has attempted 11.3 field goal attempts per game in MSU's true road games -- 3.3 more than the next-closest Spartan.

Now, Akins' scoring production has been inconsistent, but that's mostly due to playing time. Akins has seen more court time of late, averaging 28.6 minutes across Michigan State's last five games. In Big Ten play, Akins has cleared 13.5 points in 7-of-13 games he played at least 25 minutes.

The matchup is ripe for the taking, too. Iowa is fifth in the Big Ten in average pace while surrendering the most points per game (82.4) and highest effective field goal percentage (57.9%).

They've been particularly suspect against opposing wings, permitting the highest usage rate and most points (per 40 minutes) to Big Ten wings. They've allowed 12 different starting wings to crack 14 points against them.

Coming off a big game and in a plus matchup, I'll jump on the plus odds here with Jaden Akins over 13.5 points.

Liberty at Middle Tennessee State

Liberty +1.5 (-112)

Liberty-Middle Tennessee State might not make the headlines, but it's a massive game for Conference USA. The Flames and Raiders are tied for second in the conference, both half a game back of first-place Jacksonville State. Liberty, however, is the conference's top-rated team on KenPom (72nd), and they already beat Middle Tennessee State head-to-head (73-63 in early January).

KenPom, Bart Torvik, and Haslemetrics all have the Flames projected to win outright here -- yet they're 1.5-point underdogs on FanDuel Sportsbook. As such, I'm more than comfortable backing them to cover +1.5, giving us a 1-point cushion even if they can't come away with the W.

Though they have the same conference record, there's a sizable gap between Liberty and MTSU. The Flames comfortably lead the C-USA in conference net rating (+12.0), comfortably ahead of MTSU (+2.7). Based on raw point differential, we'd expect Liberty to have an additional conference win and the best record in the league. For the Raiders, their point differential suggests they should have two fewer wins.

That held up in their first matchup. Liberty held a 17-point lead at halftime before a late push resulted in "just" a 10-point win. The Flames nailed 10 threes in the win -- a replicable total tonight considering they're 22nd nationally in three-point attempt rate and get the 8th-highest percent of total points from beyond the arc.

Even so, Liberty's strength lies on the defensive end. They're up to 40th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency and sport the C-USA's second-best scoring defense.

Middle Tennessee is just 128th in adjusted offense and sit at 1-3 against top-75 defenses this season.

We've seen the Raiders be vulnerable at home, too. They've lost to two of the three best teams they've hosted thus far. Assuming Liberty doesn't go cold from distance, they should be able to add another loss to MTSU's resume tonight -- or at the very least keep this contest within a point.

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Which bets stand out to you across the nation tonight? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest college basketball betting odds to see the full menu of options.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.