College Basketball Picks: Picks, Odds & Predictions for Sunday, January 8

College Basketball Picks: Picks, Odds & Predictions for Sunday, January 8

This article is part of our College Basketball Picks series.

The focus on CBB intensifies as conference schedules are in full swing now as the football seasons wind to a close and I'm getting hot at the right time! I'm on a 5-1 run in this space and look to stay hot with Sunday's smaller but intriguing slate of games. Let's have a look, shall we? 

Oakland at Wright State

I'm going to be honest here, there are basically zero trends that favor backing Oakland today. Wright State has dominated this series of late, winning and covering 9 of the last 10 matchups. However, it is important to put context into that recent history. Wright has been one of the top teams in the Horizon while Oakland has been in rebuild mode. After 3 straight losing seasons, Greg Kampe's efforts at Oakland is starting to pay off with a winning season last year, 3 returning starters from that team, and an impressive list of transfers coming in, including former Michigan State guard Rocket Watts. So why are the Grizzlies 5-11 this year? One reason is a very tough non conference schedule. The second is injuries. The Grizz are 0-5 in games when either Jalen Moore or Blake Lampman were missing. Since the duo have returned in the starting lineup on December 29, Oakland is 3-0, including a win at KenPom #226 Northern Kentucky on Friday. I see 5.5 as a few too many points to give Oakland and would not be surprised to see a 4th straight win from the Grizz today. 


College Basketball Best Bet: Oakland +5.5 (@ DraftKings) 

American vs Boston U

The Eagles of American have been a team I've been on this year and they have been quite profitable for me. After getting their legs under them following an 0-2 start, American has taken teams through the car wash, rattling off wins in 11 of their last 12 games with their lone loss coming to KenPom #165 Siena. During that run, they have pounded teams that site outside the Top 200 and with BU coming in at #254, the Eagles should notch another comfortable victory. Boston has yet to stay with anyone in the Top 200 and are just 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games overall and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 road games. On the flip side, American is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 and 6-3 ATS in their last 9 lined home games. With trends and the situation favoring a team I like, I'll give the smallish number. 


College Basketball Best Bet: American -4.5 (@ FanDuel)

Washington at Arizona State

I believe I've mentioned my distrust for Arizona State in this space previously. If not, hey everyone, I don't trust Arizona State. In their two conference home games, the Sun Devils beat KenPom #95 Stanford by 4 and were handled by #12 Arizona. Now, I'm not here to say I trust Mike Hopkins' teams either, but I do have to give his Huskies credit. They are 0-3 on the road this year, but they have been by 1 (Oregon State), by 17 (Gonzaga in a game that was closer than that) and most recently by 3 at Arizona on Thursday. Both teams are around .500 ATS in this situation (ASU home favorites and UW road dogs) and in that situation, I'll take large number of points almost every time. 


College Basketball Best Bet: Washington +9.5 (@ FanDuel)

 

Sunday College Basketball Best Bets:

Here's a recap of my best college basketball bets for Sunday:

  • Oakland +5.5
  • American -4.5
  • Washington +9.5

For up-to-date information on the latest college basketball odds and props from multiple sportsbooks, check out the College Basketball odds page on RotoWire.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eric  Timm
Eric is celebrating his 22nd season as a featured handicapper with Nelly's Sportsline! He specializes in the NFL, College Football, College Basketball, and MLB. His positive demeanor coupled with a steady and measured approach has helped his clients attain both short and long-term success, making him one of the most respected handicappers in the Midwest.
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