Daily Dunk: Best College Basketball Bets Today (Predictions for Memphis-USF, UC Irvine-Long Beach State, and More)

After two losing days to start the week, we took a step in the right direction in Wednesday's edition of Daily Dunk, going 2-1 for a slight profit. North Dakota State won and covered as favorites against South Dakota State, and DePaul not only covered as 8.5-point underdogs against Seton Hall, but the Blue Demons won the game outright. The only loss was on Arizona, who failed to cover the double-digit spread against BYU.

We move on to Thursday's action and if you like betting on mid-major hoops, today's your day. Let's dive into my top three picks.

Best College Basketball Bets Today

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

Memphis +9.5 (-110) vs. USF
Georgia Southern +100 vs. Georgia State
UC Irvine -5.5 vs. Long Beach State

Memphis vs. USF Prediction

This game reminds me a lot of last night's game between DePaul and Seton Hall, where I'm not so sure what the betting market is seeing to think this matchup is deserving of a 9.5-point spread. The Tigers may be missing some depth pieces tonight, but their top-end talent is still good enough to make this a tight game with USF.

South Florida ranks 90th in the country in 3-point shot rate with 44% of its shots coming from beyond the arc. That fits right into the Tigers' biggest strength, which is its perimeter defense, ranking 15th in opponent 3-point field goal percentage, keeping teams to shooting 29.7% from 3.

That alone is enough to convince me to take the points with Memphis here. South Florida isn't a good enough team on either side of the court to pull away in a game where they're at a stylistic disadvantage.

Pick: Memphis +9.5 (-110)

Georgia Southern vs. Georgia State Prediction

Neither teams in this battle of Georgia are good by any stretch of the imagination, but Georgia State is truly one of the worst shooting teams in the country and they have no business being favored in this spot. The Panthers rank 360th in effective field goal percentage, the sixth-worst mark in college basketball at 44.1%. The Eagles' eFG% is 6% better at 50.1%.

Georgia Southern also ranks 101st in the country in effective possession ratio, which will play a big role in them creating extra scoring opportunities.

I think the wrong team is favored in this game. I'll back the Eagles on the moneyline at +100.

Pick: Georgia Southern +100

UC Irvine vs. Long Beach State Prediction

UC Irvine is going to thrive against teams that attack the interior and struggle against teams that focus on perimeter offense. Thankfully for the Anteaters, Long Beach State is the former of the two. The Beach ranks 90th in two-point shot rate, with 65% of their shots coming from down low. Now, they face a UC Irvine team that leads the nation in opponent two-point field goal percentage, keeping teams to shooting just 41.6% from down low.

To make matters worse, Long Beach State ranks 298th in opponent two-point field goal percentage, which means not only will they struggle to create offense, but they aren't well-suited to guard UC Irvine's front court on defense either.

This is a stylistic nightmare for Long Beach State. I'll lay the points with the Anteaters.

Pick: UC Irvine -5.5 (-110)

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