3 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Tuesday 3/4/25

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

Texas at Mississippi State

Texas Over 71.5 Points (-118)
Tre Johnson Over 21.5 Points (-105)

The SEC is gearing up to have plenty of teams in the NCAA Tournament, but the conference is still not done. Texas is currently one of the first four teams out in Joe Lunardi's Bracketology. However, a road win over Mississippi State -- which is 31st in Bart Torvik -- could vault the Longhorns back into the field.

The Bulldogs rank 46th in Bart Torvik's adjusted defensive efficiency compared to 26th on offense. Opponents average 73.1 points per game (45th percentile) paired with a 51.4% effective field goal percentage (44th percentile) when facing Mississippi State's defense. With Texas recording 78.0 points per game (84th percentile) while reaching 80 points in three of the last five, the Longhorns going over 71.5 points is my best bet for this matchup.

Texas' shot distributions haven't been great -- such as sitting in the 44th percentile for close twos -- but it gets to the line often by making 15.6 free throws (79th percentile) and attempting 20.8 free throws per game (76th percentile). This isn't a category where MSU excels, for it cedes 13.7 free throw makes (52nd percentile) and 19.7 free throw shots per contest (41st percentile). Plus, the Bulldogs log 16.9 personal fouls per game (51st percentile).

Stud freshman Tre Johnson (20.6 PPG) leads the Longhorns and will likely give Mississippi State's wings fits. At 6-foot-6, Johnson should be primarily guarded by Riley Kugel (0.94), and he has the second-worst Defensive Bayesian Performance Rating (DBPR) in the Bulldogs' rotation, per EvanMiya.

This goes hand in hand with our next pick as Johnson going over 21.5 points is promising. While seeing a prop this high in college ball causes some pause, Johnson is a different beast as a projected top-10 NBA Draft pick. Plus, he's reached at least 24 points in four of the last five games, logging 27.2 PPG during the five-game span.

As a true freshman, Johnson has been an extremely consistent scorer while shooting 44.6% from the field and 39.0% from three. In a got-to-have-it game, look for Johnson to keep putting up mind-boggling numbers.

This is a favorable matchup for Johnson, too. Mississippi State is in the 8th percentile for three-point shot distribution allowed, and the freshman guard takes 42.0% of his shots from beyond the arc. Bart Torvik labels Johnson as a wing guard, and against this position in conference play, the Bulldogs allow 17.3 points per 40 minutes (third-most in the SEC). MSU also cedes 7.1 three-point attempts per 40 minutes to SEC wing guards (second-highest in the conference) while they shoot 42.6% from deep. Johnson to make at least four three-pointers is another line worth some attention (+220).

Ultimately, Texas' offense should have plenty of success tonight. And if its leading scorer is humming, going over 71.5 points shouldn't be a problem.

BYU at Iowa State

BYU +9.5 (-114)

No. 23 BYU has emerged as one of college basketball's hottest teams at the perfect time, winning six straight games while going 6-0 against the spread (ATS). A road test against No. 10 Iowa State could end the winning streak, but another cover feels imminent.

This spread is set at 9.5 points. Keep in mind the Cougars beat Kansas by 34 on February 18th, followed by a win as seven-point 'dogs against Arizona. This isn't just a streak; BYU is hammering opponents with an average margin of +14.2 points per game during the six-game stretch.

The Cyclones finally got healthy over the weekend as Keshon Gilbert (13.8 PPG) played in his first game since February 18th. As six-point favorites, ISU won by 17 against Arizona. We could see the Cyclones get hot ahead of the postseason thanks to a rejuvenated roster.

With clear upside from both teams, this is a tough moneyline pick. Simply put, this spread feels disrespectful to the Cougars, though. Bart Torvik's game projections have ISU winning by only four points. The matchup is present for a cover as BYU ranks 13th in Bart Torvik while the Cyclones are 11th.

Led by the 5th-best adjusted offensive efficiency, the Cougs are in the 95th percentile of three-point shot distribution. Iowa State allows 22.5 three-point shots per game (53rd percentile) and a 39.1% shot distribution from deep (48th percentile). Both marks are meh, suggesting BYU should still have its way from three-point land.

We have a couple of more categories where the Cougars could excel. The Cyclones are in the 94th percentile of free throw attempts per game, but BYU averages only 15.7 personal fouls per game (79th percentile). Additionally, the Cougs rank 9th in defensive rebounding percentage while ISU is 74th.

With a list of advantages and red-hot play of recent, I'm backing BYU on the road.

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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.