We had a nice 2-1 Tuesday night to start the new year on a good note in the college basketball space. Let's build on it tonight with more marquee conference matchups.
Here are our best college basketball bets for Wednesday night.
Indiana @ Nebraska (-5, O/U 150)
Who would've thought Nebraska would be favored in a Big Ten contest in early January? Especially against Indiana? I had to stare at this line for a minute to make sure it was right because it's so rare for Nebraska to be a favorite against conference competition.
But the Cornhuskers have earned it with an 11-2 record and a massive home win over Michigan State in early December. However, they lost to a lowly Minnesota team earlier that month.
Indiana's had an up-and-down campaign but faced stiff competition in the season's first two months. The Hoosiers have a quality Big Ten road win over Michigan and competed against Kansas a few weeks ago. Indiana's inconsistent performances worry me, but I'm not convinced Nebraska is a legitimate threat in the Big Ten. Indiana will expose the Cornhuskers tonight.
Pick: Indiana +5
Clemson @ Miami (+1, O/U 155.5)
This is a difficult game to handicap because two of Miami's best players are questionable to play. Nijel Pack has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, and Miami coach Jim Larranaga said he's unsure if Pack will play against Clemson. Wooga Poplar is also considered day-to-day. If both Pack and Poplar sit, the Tigers are worth playing as 1-point road favorites.
Clemson won nine straight to open the season - including victories against Pittsburgh, TCU, and South Carolina - before Memphis beat the Tigers by two in December. Clemson is a legit contender in the ACC, and Miami is too when healthy. Even if Pack and Poplar do play, they likely won't be at 100% health. The Tigers will go on the road and earn a resume-building conference win.
Pick: Clemson -1
Duquesne @ UMass (-1, O/U 154.5)
UMass is coming off a relatively successful holiday trip to Hawaii, where it went 2-1 with dominant wins over Portland and Old Dominion and a narrow defeat to Georgia Tech.
The Minutemen's inconsistency has haunted them at times, but that's to be expected early in the season with a young backcourt. UMass' strength is in the frontcourt with talented veterans leading the charge. Josh Cohen scored 28 against both Old Dominion and Portland, while Matt Cross carried the scoring load with a team-high 24 against Siena on Saturday.
Duquesne, a formidable Atlantic 10 foe, is stiffer competition but lacks the personnel to shut down UMass' frontcourt.
Pick: UMass -1
Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @soshtry for more betting coverage.
