College Basketball Expert Picks For Thursday, Feb. 23

College Basketball Picks, Predictions

There's more college basketball action today, which means even more tough decisions for bettors to go along with NBA, NFL, NHL and college football this week. To help you make the best bets today, the BetQL editors have picked a few of their favorite college basketball bets below using key trends, data and picks from the BetQL model.

One trend to note is that the BetQL NCAAB model is on fire, going 183-123 (60%) on all picks rated ⭐⭐ and higher in the past three days for a total return of $1,009 on $100 bets! Take advantage of BetQL's free trial and see all of today's best college basketball bets, plus what the model is projecting for this week's NBA, NHL and soccer games! Start your free trial today!

Kate Constable: Illinois -5.5 vs. Northwestern

This game presents an interesting matchup between in-state rivals. Northwestern is great on the road, while Illinois is great at home. Northwestern is content playing at a snail’s pace, while Illinois wants to push the tempo. Northwestern has been exceeding expectations as of late, while Illinois has somewhat underperformed. All that said, home-court advantage in the Big Ten has been a massive difference-maker this season. Northwestern has also won and covered in each of its last five games, which makes me believe the Wildcats are due for a little regression. Plus, with Northwestern’s defense struggling to keep teams off the offensive glass and free-throw line, I have to take the Illini to win and cover tonight.

Dan Karpuc: Saint Mary's -9.5 1H vs. Pacific

Under Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s has gone 19-6 ATS coming off two non-cover, outright wins and I like them to cover as a 19-point favorite, but I’m going to attack the first-half line instead. The Gaels have gone 8-1 ATS 1H at home against teams who make eight or more 3-pointers per game, and 15-6 ATS 1H versus teams who attempt 21 or more 3s per game. Saint Mary’s boasts the sixth-most efficient defense in the country, per KenPom, and plays at the fourth-slowest pace. Pacific checks in ranked 192nd overall on KenPom and since this is the only time these teams will play this season, I expect Saint Mary’s to utterly dominate on both ends of the floor, especially in the first half. Due to that very slow, methodical pace that the Gaels play at, I think there’s a lot more safety attacking the first-half line.

Brad Pinkerton: San Diego-Gonzaga o163.5

This seems like an absurdly high total for a college basketball game, but there's a very good reason -- two very good reasons, actually. Gonzaga (16-11 O/U) ranks No. 1 in points per game (86.3) and adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom. San Diego (19-7 O/U) is no slouch on offense, averaging 77.0 ppg, but it also gives up 80.7 per game, ninth most in the country, and has outperformed its totals by an average of +9.8 points, the largest margin in the nation. Put these two teams together and we should have a track meet that will be tough to keep under this total. It's as high as 165 in some places (and climbing), but you can still get in at 163.5 at FanDuel!

Lucy Burdge: UCLA -6.5 at Utah

UCLA has covered in four of its last five games, and the Bruins are now 15-9 ATS as favorites and 5-2 as road favorites. Plus, UCLA has also covered in four of its last six meetings with Utah, so I like the Bruins to cover once again. The line is -7 at most places, but you can get still get UCLA -6.5 (-110) at PointsBet if you hurry!

Matt Horner: North Dakota -3 vs. W. Illinois

A little off the radar with this pick, but sometimes that’s where the value lies. North Dakota is 11-18 on the season, yet the Fighting Hawks are -3 favorites against 15-12 Western Illinois. That line doesn’t make sense, which is why I love it so much. It’s already at -3.5 at some spots and moving closer to 4, so grab it at the best number you can find, which is at BetRivers as of this writing.

MORE: TODAY’S COLLEGE HOOPS BETTING GUIDE

Take advantage of BetQL's free trial and see all of today's best college basketball bets, plus what the model is projecting for this week's NBA, NHL and soccer games! Start your free trial today!