2 Best College Basketball Picks and Player Props for Monday 1/26/26

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

Louisville at Duke

Mikel Brown Jr. to Score 15+ Points (-128)

We've got a pair of big-time matchups tonight, and the first takes place at Cameron Indoor Stadium as the Duke Blue Devils host the Louisville Cardinals.

My favorite bet in this ACC showdown is Mikel Brown Jr. to score 15+ points.

A star freshman, Brown has been limited to 11 games due to injury. He missed a little more than a month of action prior to returning Saturday against Virginia Tech. In that one, Brown netted 20 points and played 29 minutes, so he should be ready to rock tonight.

Brown is scoring 16.9 points per game for the season, and he's shown the ability to rise to the occasion on the big stage. He poured in 29 points at home versus Kentucky and scored 22 points at Arkansas, which is his only true road game thus far.

Brown is not shy, especially from deep, as he has taken at least nine threes in four of his 11 games. This matchup at Duke is a tough one -- KenPom ranks the Blue Devils fifth in defense -- but I like Brown to fill it up on the big stage of Cameron.

Arizona at BYU

Over 165.5 Points (-110)

This is a high total for a college game; I think it should be a little higher.

In what could end up being one of the best regular-season matchups in college basketball this season, Arizona and BYU have the ability to go over 165.5 points.

Arizona is fourth in KenPom offense while BYU is 12th. On top of that, both of these squads play pretty fast -- Arizona is 28th in adjusted tempo while BYU is 55th. Although Arizona is an elite third in defensive rating, BYU is just 25th in defense, and they can be the main drivers of the over.

There have been an average of 167.0 total points across BYU's last seven games, and while Arizona doesn't take many threes -- 362nd in three-point attempt rate (27.6%) -- they are 31st in the nation in free-throw attempt rate (42.9%) en route to scoring a whopping 89.8 points per game.

I like this Big 12 clash to give us plenty of offensive fireworks.

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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.