3 College Basketball Prop Bets for Tuesday 1/30/24
College basketball season is in full swing, and FanDuel Sportsbook offers prop bets for key games to dive deeper in the action.
For bettors, numberFire's Matchup Heat Map helps identify favorable game environments, while KenPom and Sports-Reference offer a wide range of team-level statistics. Then, we can turn to Bart Torvik and RealGM for advanced player stats and splits.
Let's check out FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball odds and dive into our wealth of statistical data to find today's best prop bets.
Please note lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published.
College Basketball Prop Bets
No. 14 Illinois at Ohio State
Coleman Hawkins To Make 2+ Threes (-114)
The 14th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini visit the Ohio State Buckeyes tonight.
That bodes well for Illinois' Coleman Hawkins.
The 6'10" senior is having a career year, averaging 11.9 points and 1.7 threes per game. His 36% mark from beyond the arc is a career-high.
While we typically expect players to shoot better at home, Hawkins has been lights-out away from State Farm Center this season. In five true road games, Hawkins has averaged 2.0 threes per game, making them at a 40% clip. He's nailed multiple triples in four of five road games -- and 9 of 17 games overall.
He'll have a good chance to match that number tonight against an Ohio State defense that struggles to defend the three.
Among high-major teams, the Buckeyes allow the 11th-highest three-point field goal percentage (35.7%). They've surrendered double-digit threes in each of their last four -- and in five of nine Big Ten games. In conference play, Ohio State has given up 8.8 threes per game (tied-second most among 14 teams) to be made at a 42% clip (highest).
It doesn't hurt that the Illini are just 3.5-point favorites and that the over/under is set at 146.5.
A favorable game environment coupled with Ohio State's lackluster three-point defense should allow Coleman Hawks to make at least two threes.
No. 3 North Carolina at Georgia Tech
Armando Bacot Over 8.5 Rebounds (-110)
North Carolina's Armando Bacot has averaged double-digit rebounds for three consecutive seasons. He enters tonight's action averaging 10 rebounds per game.
Yet, his rebound prop is set at 8.5.
There's a reason for that; Bacot's been uncharacteristically quiet on the glass in recent games. After grabbing double-digit boards in 9 of his first 16 games, he's been held to single digits in each of the last four.
Still, tonight's matchup is a good chance for him to bounce back.
While Georgia Tech does well on the offensive glass themselves, they're an abysmal defensive rebounding team. Among 94 high-major teams, the Yellow Jackets rank 68th in offensive rebound rate allowed. They've been even worse during ACC play, allowing 10 offensive rebounds per game (second most in the conference).
Although Bacot hasn't been as dominant on the offensive glass this season (2.9 OREB per game compared to 4.2 the last two years), he remains a force to be reckoned with. He's grabbed at least four offensive rebounds seven times this season, including during a win at Clemson earlier this month.
In 9 ACC games, Georgia Tech has allowed 10 different players to reach 9 rebounds. With Bacot's track record, he has a good chance of becoming the 11th tonight.
Mississippi State at Ole Miss
Tolu Smith Over 8.5 Rebounds (-122)
We'll close things out with another rebounding prop, as I like Mississippi State's Tolu Smith to go over 8.5 boards.
A preseason All-ACC first-teamer, Smith's season was delayed due to injury. He made his season debut at the end of December and has since averaged 8.0 rebounds per game -- on par with last year's 8.5-rebound mark.
He's been even better on the glass of late, pulling down double-digit boards in three of his last five games and averaging 9.4 a game over that span. That's coincided with an uptick in playing time. After being held under 30 minutes in his first five, Smith has seen 30, 32, and 34 over his last three.
Tolu Smith is trending in the right direction and should feast tonight against one of the worst rebounding teams in the country, Ole Miss.
The Rebels have allowed the highest offensive rebound rate among all 94 high-major teams. They're just 47th in offensive rebound rate themselves and rank 283rd among 362 Division I teams in total rebound rate. Their -1.6 average rebounding margin ranks 281st.
That should allow Tolu Smith to snag at least nine rebounds just as he did when the Bulldogs traveled to Oxford last season. He went for 12 boards in that win, providing a rationale to dive into the alternates market. Tolu Smith To Record 10+ Rebounds (+132) is appealing at plus odds -- as is Tolu Smith To Record 12+ Rebounds (+300).
If you’re betting on any college basketball action on January 30th, you can take advantage of FanDuel Sportsbook’s Boost Builder. See the promotions page for more information.
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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.