Back desperate bubble teams for Tuesday's CBB bets

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With less than a month to go until Selection Sunday and conference tournaments a few weeks away, the college basketball landscape is heating up. Dozens of teams are vying for limited NCAA Tournament spots.

Hoop fans have no choice but to tune into the college game this week as the NBA is on hiatus until Thursday.

Here are our three best bets for Tuesday's slate.

Parlay: Villanova ML and Wake Forest ML (-107)

Let's get creative by taking a two-team moneyline parlay. We're banking on two desperate teams to play hungry and motivated in what are essentially must-win spots to keep their tournament hopes alive.

Both Villanova and Wake Forest are currently on the bubble and on the outskirts of the field of 68, according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi.

Villanova is a 6.5-point home favorite against Butler, which is better-positioned to make the tournament. But the Wildcats could flip that with a win over the Bulldogs, who are 3-5 away from home.

Wake Forest, meanwhile, lost two straight games, including a heartbreaking loss to Virginia on Saturday. But both of those defeats were on the road. The Demon Deacons are a completely different team at home, where they are a perfect 13-0. Expect that streak to continue against Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

Odds: -107 (playable to -125)

Baylor @ BYU (-4, O/U 156)

BYU's transition to the Big 12 has been smooth. Although the Cougars are .500 in league play, they are 18-7 overall and, like most Big 12 teams, have a massive advantage when playing at home.

BYU is 13-2 overall at home and 10-4 against the spread as a home favorite. Baylor outlasted BYU last month, but that was a road contest for the Cougars, who are 2-5 away from home.

This should be a fast-paced, high-scoring affair, as both teams have prolific offenses and mediocre defenses. Expect the home team to stay hot for longer in a win.

Pick: BYU -4

Maryland @ Wisconsin (-6.5 O/U 130)

These are two of the Big Ten's best defenses and worst offenses.

Maryland has the conference's best scoring defense and Wisconsin has the fourth best.

At the other end, the Terps have the second-worst scoring offense and Wisconsin has the fourth worst.

Wisconsin is slipping after a hot start to the season and dropped to fourth in the conference after losing five of its last six games.

Maryland's having a disappointing season but isn't showing any quit and continuing to compete defensively despite its pitiful offense.

It's even more important for the Terps to lock in defensively on the road, which they should do at Wisconsin on Wednesday night. Maryland's games go under the total 65% of the time, and Big Ten fans will witness another defensive battle where points are hard to find.

Pick: Under 130

Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X @soshtry for more betting coverage.