Build Your NFL Playoff Bankroll With Some College Basketball Bets For Wednesday Night

It was a tough season for me in the NFL, but I plan to get back on the horse for the playoffs. Week 18 is not a week I typically like to bet on since it's hard to determine how badly the teams want to win. However, in the meantime, I've been doing really well on college basketball bets.

So, I decided to start putting them down for the OutKick readers. You're welcome.

Without further ado, my best college basketball betting picks for Wednesday, January 3...

College basketball best bets for January 3rd

George Mason (-3.5) at La Salle

The key to betting college basketball is finding lines that don't match the abilities of the two teams. That's really difficult to do in professional sports because sportsbooks sink tons of resources into making sure their lines are correct.

However, many less people bet on lower-level college basketball. Thus, there are advantages to be found. The first for tonight is George Mason over La Salle. George Mason is a Top 100 team according to Ken Pom.

But, La Salle ranks outside the Top 200. They are particularly bad on defense, posting an efficiency rating that ranks 266 out of 362 Division-I schools.

George Mason is on my college basketball bets card for January 3. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

It feels like the bookmakers are giving La Salle way too many points for their homecourt advantage, but I can't remember anyone ever saying, "Man, it's really hard to win at La Salle."

It's not a long trip for George Mason, just a 160-mile drive from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia. Not to mention, the Patriots are 11-2 this season with one of those losses coming against ranked Tennessee.

It's true that La Salle has lost two of its four games to ranked opponents. However, they just had an abysmal loss to Howard (236th overall) as 7.5-point home favorites.

George Mason should be at least 7-point favorites, so let's grab the value here.

Ohio State (-8.5) vs. Rutgers

Again, this line is far too short. Ohio State is over 10 points better than Rutgers according to Ken Pom and they're at home. Unlike La Salle, the Buckeyes have a definitive homecourt advantage, especially against a Big Ten team.

Rutgers is coming off a one-point home victory over Stonehill as 26.5-point favorites. Prior to that, they lost to Mississippi State. Their 8-4 record is misleading and the result of a very easy non-conference schedule.

Ohio State is on my college basketball bets card for January 3. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images)

Ohio State's only losses have come against Texas A&M and Penn State. They beat West Virginia in overtime on December 30, but even that result was a little misleading. Ohio State barely trailed at any point in the game. They've had enough time to rest from that result.

Ohio State deserves to be double-digit favorites at a minimum, so I'll take the value here.

Boston University (+3) at Navy

Plan and simple: Boston is better than Navy. Neither team is particularly good, granted. But Boston is better. Essentially, Navy is getting too many points for their homecourt advantage. The Midshipmen are one of the worst-shooting teams in America, hitting just 27.6% of their three-pointers.

That means that if Boston gets out to an early lead, Navy won't be able to shoot its way back into the game. That's what we're counting on in this one. Part of the reason for that is Boston is much better on the defensive end of the floor than the offensive end.

Expect a relatively low-scoring affair where we have the better team getting a couple points on the spread. Sign me up.

Dayton (-4.5) at Davidson

You'll notice a theme if you become a regular reader of my college basketball betting picks. I love betting better teams as small favorites on the road. Why? I think homecourt often gets too much attention in college hoops.

Dayton is a legitimate NCAA Tournament team that ranks Top 40 in the nation. Davidson is ... not. They're outside the Top 110.

Dayton is on my college basketball bets card for January 3. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Based on the ratings of the two teams, this spread projects as Dayton -11 on a neutral court. Are we saying Davidson's homecourt is worth 6.5 points? I think not. Davidson is another team with a boosted record thanks to a weak schedule.

Dayton shoots a ridiculous 42% from three-point range and they can easily run Davidson out of their home gym. Plus, the Flyers connect on 76% from the free-throw line. Shooting travels, and I don't see Davidson slowing down Dayton here.

St. Bonaventure (+5.5) over VCU

This feels like a line completely based on name recognition. VCU is a team that reached the NCAA Tournament and won several big games under Shaka Smart. However, they aren't quite at that level under new head coach Ryan Odom, who came from Utah State.

Odom led UMBC to one of the greatest college basketball victories of all time back in 2018 when they became the first 16-seed to beat a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. But, he's clearly not at the level of previous VCU coaches.

Bonaventure, on the other hand, is a fringe NCAA Tournament team this year that needs to start picking up some big victories. A road win at VCU is a great place to start. The Bonnies are 12 spots higher in Ken Pom's ratings than the Rams and on a neutral court should be slight favorites. Once again, too much homecourt advantage being applied in this one.

Other college basketball bets to consider

Above are the four bets I plan to place at least one full unit on. Below are games that I am considering for my card, but not committing to. Feel free to do your own research if any of these stand out to you...

Loyola Chicago ML (+115) over Saint Louis

Loyola is a better team than Saint Louis and this should be a pick'em, perhaps Loyola favored by two.

Furman ML (+125) over UNC Greensboro

Same applies here as the Loyola matchup. In fact, I'll probably toss a quarter unit on a parlay of both of these teams to win outright (parlay odds: +385).

Montana (-1.5) over North Dakota State

Montana rates inside the Top 150 teams while NDSU rates outside the Top 250. Projected spread: MONT -5.

Good luck everyone!