Daily Dunk: Best College Basketball Bets Today (Predictions for Louisville-UNC, Houston-Kansas, and More)

Happy Monday, my friends, and welcome to a fresh week of college basketball action.

We're now entering the final stretch of regular season play before conference tournaments begin, so let's make the most of things. Tonight's slate of games isn't exactly a loaded one, but there are a couple of interesting matchups, and I've found three bets on tonight's schedule that I like quite a bit. Let's dive into them.

Best College Basketball Bets Today

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Louisville -2.5 (-105) vs. UNC
UT Rio Grand Valley +9.5 (-102) vs. McNeese
Houston -2.5 (-110) vs. Kansas

Louisville vs. UNC Prediction

This is a great stylistic matchup for Louisville. The Cardinals love to shoot the 3-ball, ranking third in the country in 3-point shot rate. Fortunately for them, that's exactly the best way to attack this UNC defense. The Tar Heels have a phenomenal defensive front court, smothering any team that tries to attack them down low, but they struggle when it comes to defending the perimeter. UNC ranks 178th in opponent 3-point field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot 33.9% from beyond the arc.

That means that as long as Louisville's perimeter shooting doesn't have an off day, the Cardinals should be able to attack UNC where they're at their weakest and get the job done as short road favorites. I'll lay the points with Louisville.

Pick: Louisville -2.5 (-110)

UT Rio Grand Valley vs. McNeese Prediction

I was a bit surprised to see the spread in this game set as high as 9.5. Texas Rio Grande Valley is 61st in the country in effective field goal percentage and 106th in defensive efficiency. By comparison, McNeese ranks 175th in effective field goal percentage and 33rd in defensive efficiency. That doesn't seem like enough of a difference to justify a 9.5-point spread.

It's also worth noting that McNeese ranks inside the top 100 in two-point shot rate, and now it faces a UT Rio Grande Valley team that ranks 89th in opponent two-point field goal percentage, keeping teams to shooting just 49.5% from two-point range.

Pick: UT Rio Grand Valley +9.5 (-102)

Houston vs. Kansas Prediction

It's hard to trust Kansas in this game with the state its roster is in. The Jayhawks have plenty of injury troubles with depth players, and Darryn Peterson has been hit or miss, sometimes deciding not to play right before tip-off, and other times asking to be subbed out after putting forward minimal effort.

That's a recipe for disaster against a Houston team that prides itself on discipline and defensive prowess. This major difference is illustrated in the stat called effective possession ratio, where Houston ranks second in the country, and Kansas ranks 139th.

The Cougars style of basketball is going to be too much for Kansas to handle tonight.

Pick: Houston -2.5 (-110)

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!