With Selection Sunday just three weeks away, we’ve officially hit the home stretch of the 2021-22 college basketball season. And as scheduling fate would have it, that home stretch begins with a quartet of matchups on the Saturday college basketball odds board pitting Top 25 teams against one another.
The most anticipated of them all tips off in prime time in Waco, Texas, where No. 5 Kansas will attempt to complete a season sweep of No. 10 Baylor in a critical Big 12 showdown. A pair of pivotal SEC battles are also featured on the Saturday college basketball odds menu, as No. 6 Kentucky travels to No. 18 Arkansas and No. 3 Auburn visits No. 17 Tennessee.
At the back end of the day’s betting card is a West Coast Conference rematch between No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 23 St. Mary’s. Also out West, No. 16 USC pays a visit to Oregon in a key Pac-12 clash.
Multiple oddsmakers provided insights on opening/current lines and action for all five of these games that dot the Saturday college basketball odds landscape. Check back throughout the day for action updates.
Saturday College Basketball Odds and Betting Action
No. 5 Kansas Vs No. 10 Baylor (8 p.m. ET)
UPDATE 7:40 PM ET: Less than a half-hour before tipoff, there’s been no change in the point spread for this marquee matchup, as Baylor remains -2.5 at WynnBet. Tickets and cash continue to favor the home team, as 72.3% of wagers and 64.5% of the handle is on the Bears. The total also is holding steady at 148 (down from the opener of 149.5).
It’s nearly a dead-even split in ticket count, with 51.1% of bets on the Over. However, a hefty 80.9% of the cash is on on the Under.
UPDATE 3:25 PM ET: Baylor remains -2.5 at WynnBet, same as the opening line. The Bears are still seeing the majority of the action, with 73.3% of tickets and 57.8% of handle on the defending champions. The total remains at 148, with a slight majority of the tickets on the Under (54.6%) and nearly all the dollars on the Under (98.1%).
UPDATE 1:30 PM ET: As of noon ET, Wynn Bet had Baylor holding firm at the opening number of -2.5. The Bears were catching the majority of the action, as 75.7% of early spread bets and 78.9% of the money was on the home team. The total was down 1.5 points, from an opener of 149.5 to 148. While there was a 50-50 split in terms of ticket count on the total, the Under was catching an eye-popping 98.4% of early cash.
UPDATE 11:30 AM ET: Fresh off its highest-scoring performance of the season, Kansas (23-4, SU, 13-13-1 ATS) heads to Waco looking to move closer to clinching the Big 12 regular-season title by beating Baylor for the second time in three weeks.
The Jayhawks destroyed in-state rival Kansas State 102-83 on Tuesday, easily cashing as a 12-point home favorite. KU has now won four in a row and six of its last seven (5-2 ATS). With Big 12 leading scorer Ochai Abaji (20.2 points per game) leading the way, the Jayhawks have tallied at least 70 points in seven straight contests.
Like Kansas, Baylor (23-5 SU, 14-12-2 ATS) also picked up a victory early this week, but it wasn’t nearly as easy, as the defending national champs needed overtime to edge Oklahoma State 66-64 as a 4.5-point road chalk. The Bears have won four of five, but they’re 2-5-1 ATS in their last seven games. They’re also 2-5-1 ATS in their last eight at home.
Baylor, which trails first-place Kansas by 1.5 games in the Big 12 standings, will be looking to avenge its worst loss of the season, an 83-59 drubbing at Kansas on Feb. 5. The Jayhawks cashed as 2.5-point faves in that one, moving to 6-1 ATS in the last seven series meetings.
Although Kansas was favored in each of its first 27 games this season, DraftKings opened Baylor as a 3-point favorite. That spread remains -3, although 81% of the tickets/54% of the money are on the Jayhawks.
The total has plummeted to 147 from an opener of 150. That movement is in line with this solid trend: Seven of the last 10 Kansas-Baylor clashes have stayed Under the total, including four of the past five.
No. 1 Gonzaga Vs No. 23 St. Mary’s (7 p.m. ET)
UPDATE 7:40 PM ET: Gonzaga is pegged to -10.5 on the Saturday college basketball odds board at WynnBet, down from the opener of -11 but unchanged from three hours ago. St. Mary’s is still the preferred side among bettors as far as the spread is concerned, with 56.5% of wagers and 74.8% of money on the Gaels.
The total has not budged from WynnBet’s opening line of 145, even though the Over is getting the vast majority of bets (82.1%) and a solid majority of cash (58.5%).
UPDATE 3:25 PM ET: WynnBet customers believe there’s value on the home underdog in this one, as host St. Mary’s has shifted from +11 to +10.5 on the Saturday college basketball odds board. A slight majority of the tickets (57.7%) are on the Gaels, but they’re attracting a sizeable chunk of the cash (70.9%). The total remains at WynnBet’s opening number of 145, but there’s been solid two-way action with 81.3% of bets on the Over and 61.2% of the cash on the Under.
UPDATE 11:30 AM ET: For the second time in two weeks, No. 23 St. Mary’s (22-6 SU, 18-9-1 ATS) will attempt to hand Gonzaga its first West Coast Conference loss of the season — only this time, the Gaels get to host the top-ranked team in the land.
St. Mary’s traveled to Spokane, Washington, on Feb. 12 and gave Gonzaga a good battle before eventually falling 74-58, pushing as a 16-point road underdog. Since then, the Gaels have ripped off three straight wins (2-1 ATS), including Thursday’s 60-46 rout of San Diego laying 12 points on the road.
St. Mary’s — which has the ninth-best point-spread record in the nation — is 11-2 SU/9-3-1 ATS in its last 13 games and 15-0 at home this season (10-4 ATS).
Gonzaga (23-2 SU, 14-10-2 ATS) stretched its winning streak to 17 in a row with Thursday’s 89-73 takedown of San Francisco as a 10.5-point road fave. The Bulldogs are 10-5-2 ATS during their hot streak, which stretches back to Dec. 9. Gonzaga has won its five conference road games by an average of 26.2 points per contest, going 4-1 ATS along the way.
The Zags, who are riding a seven-game winning streak against St. Mary’s (4-2-1 ATS), opened as an 11-point road chalk at DraftKings. The line remains -11, despite lopsided action on the visitors as 77% of early tickets and 87% of early money is on Gonzaga. It’s the 23rd time in 25 games this season that the Zags have been a double-digit favorite.
The Over/Under has jumped to 145 after opening at 143.5 early Friday evening. Nearly all of the action at DraftKings is on the Over, which is catching 97% of all tickets and 99% of dollars.
No. 16 USC Vs Oregon (7 p.m. ET)
UPDATE 7:40 PM ET: Oregon is holding strong as a 4.5-point home favorite at WynnBet, which is up two points from the overnight line of -2.5. However, USC is now getting most of the support, with 60% of tickets and 52.6% of money on the Trojans.
The total is unchanged from the opener of 139, although it’s one-sided action on the Over in terms of both tickets (77.8%) and money (93.4%).
UPDATE 3:25 PM ET: After a significant two-point swing in the spread, Oregon has settled as a 4.5-point favorite at WynnBet. Some 6 1/2 hours before tip, this Pac-12 matchup is setting up as a Pros vs. Joes tussle, with 57.3% of all bets on road underdog USC and 53.5% of the handle on the host Ducks.
There’s been no movement in the total, which remains at the opening number of 139. That said, 80% of tickets and 94.7% of money has poured in on the Over.
UPDATE 11:30 AM ET: USC (24-4 SU, 13-15 ATS) takes a five-game winning streak to Eugene, Oregon, for a late-night Pac-12 battle with the Ducks, who need a victory to enhance their shaky NCAA Tournament résumé.
The Trojans required overtime to get past last-place Oregon State on Thursday, prevailing 94-91 but never threatening to cash as an 11-point road favorite. Although USC has been getting the job done on the court (7-1 SU last eight), it has been failing miserably at the betting window, going 2-7 ATS in the last nine.
Oregon (18-10 SU, 11-16 ATS) held off No. 12 UCLA on Thursday 68-63 as a 2.5-point home underdog. Despite the victory, the Ducks are just 2-3 SU in their last five games. However, they’ve now cashed in consecutive contests following an 0-5 ATS funk. Oregon also had no trouble with USC in Los Angeles back in mid-January, rolling 79-69 as a six-point underdog.
At DraftKings, Oregon opened -1.5 (-115) Friday evening but has shot all the way up to -4 (-115). Although 52% of tickets are on the Ducks, 92% of the cash at DraftKings is on the home team. The fact Oregon is laying points in this one is interesting from this perspective: During its ongoing 2-7 ATS slump, USC is 0-for-7 as a favorite but 2-for-2 as an underdog. In fact, the Trojans are 3-1 SU/4-0 ATS as a pup this season.
The total opened and remains at 138.5, with a slight juice modification of -115 to the Over. Early on, there’s lopsided action on the Over, at 82% of tickets and 89% of money.
No. 3 Auburn Vs No. 17 Tennessee (4 p.m. ET)
UPDATE 3:25 PM ET: Less than an hour before tipoff, Tennessee is still holding at -3, down from the opener of -3.5. Auburn is getting the bulk of the action, though, with 83.6% of tickets and 56.6% of cash on the Tigers. The total also hasn’t budged from the morning line of 140.5, which is up a point from the 139.5 opener. The betting public is anticipating a high-scoring game, as 77.8% of all wagers and 54.3% of the dough is on the Over.
UPDATE 1:30 PM ET: Tennessee opened -3.5 (-105) on the Saturday college basketball odds board at WynnBet, but had dipped to -3 (-110) by about noon ET. Auburn was taking the majority of bets (87%), but the Vols were attracting slightly more dollars (51.7%). The total jumped from 139.5 to 140.5 on significant two-way action, with 81% of tickets on the Over but 78.2% of money on the Under.
UPDATE 11:30 AM ET: Tennessee (20-7 SU, 16-11 ATS) will try to remain unbeaten at home — and hang in the race for the SEC regular-season crown — when it welcomes No. 3 Auburn to Knoxville.
The 17th-ranked Vols pounded Missouri 80-61 as a 10.5-point road favorite on Tuesday, and in the process improved to 9-1 SU/6-4 ATS in their last 10 SEC games. Tennessee is 14-0 in its building this season, including 7-0 against SEC rivals. However, the Vols have covered in just three of those seven league home games.
Auburn (25-3 SU, 18-10 ATS) stands alone in first place in the SEC, one game clear of Kentucky and two games ahead of both Arkansas and Tennessee. Most recently, the Tigers took down Ole Miss 77-64 on Wednesday, but came up short as a 15.5-point home favorite.
Since starting the season 17-5 ATS, coach Bruce Pearl’s squad has cashed just once in its last five outings. Auburn also has failed to cover in four consecutive road games.
Despite being 0-6 SU/ATS in its last six battles with the Tigers — including five losses as a favorite — Tennessee was installed as a 3.5-point home chalk (-105) at DraftKings. The Vols are now down to -3 flat, with 82% of tickets and 78% of money on Auburn.
The total opened at 139.5 but is now sitting at 140 (Over -120). That line move makes sense, given that the last eight series meetings have gone Over the total.
No. 6 Kentucky Vs No. 18 Arkansas (2 p.m. ET)
UPDATE 1:30 PM ET: Wynn Bet installed Arkansas as a 1.5-point favorite, but the line now sits at -2. There’s a Pros vs Joes situation developing on this point spread, as 57.4% of tickets are on Kentucky, but 62.9% of money is on the Razorbacks. The total opened at 146.5 and is now down to 144. As with the side, the total is seeing two-way action, with 67.4% of bets on the Over, but a whopping 87.5% of the cash is on the Under.
UPDATE 11:30 AM ET: It’s not often that you see the sixth-ranked team in the country as an underdog against that’s barely inside the Top 20. Then again, it’s not often that you see a team on a 12-1 SU/ATS roll. That’s the case with No. 18 Arkansas (22-6 SU, 18-10 ATS), which opened as a 2-point home favorite against No. 6 Kentucky at DraftKings.
The Razorbacks continued their blazing-hot run Tuesday at Florida, winning 82-74 and cashing as a 1.5-point road favorite. Arkansas has now covered the spread in nine consecutive games overall, and its only blemish on the scoreboard in the last 13 games was a one-point loss at Alabama on Feb. 15. The Hogs also have won seven straight at home (6-1 ATS).
Kentucky (23-5 SU, 13-15 ATS) arrives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, fresh off back-to-back home wins over Alabama (90-81 as a 5.5-point favorite) and LSU (71-66 as a 7.5-point chalk). The Wildcats are 12-2 SU in their last 14 games, but 6-9 ATS in their last 15. They also have cashed just once in their last five SEC road outings.
At DraftKings, Arkansas is up a tick from -2 to -2.5, although 67% of all wagers and 58% of the cash is on Kentucky. The total opened at 147.5 early Friday evening but has since tumbled 4.5 points to 143. The Over is getting 77% of the tickets and 60% of the money.