College Basketball Bets for Wednesday, February 8, 2023

I'll be really upfront here: it hasn't been a great college basketball season this year for me. I've been inconsistent. When I share picks I seem to go 2-2 or something, and days I put in one or two bets total for myself, I'm doing pretty well for the most part. Still, I want to help, so if you ever have a question about a specific game, feel free to reach out on here or on Twitter and we can discuss the game or your thought.

Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt, 7:00 ET

Tennessee has dropped in the rankings after last week's loss to the Gators on the road. It didn't help that they then went home and struggled to face Auburn. So the question is have the Volunteers hit a wall or is this just a quick dip during a long season? For this game it isn't a far trip for the Vols, but they will still want to settle in quickly and get the bad taste of back-to-back sub-par games out of their mouths. They should be able to pounce on Vanderbilt fairly easily. Vanderbilt hasn't been playing great lately, but they did escape with a win the other day against Ole Miss. Before that, they dropped three straight games to strong enough opponents. For Tennessee I think it is most important for them to come into the game and establish themselves on defense. They are 10-point favorites, the same as they were against Auburn, but Auburn was able to hang around. I think Tennessee covers in this one, but I think the better bet is to take Vanderbilt under 62.5 points for their team total. Defense will be key to this one for Tennessee.

Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State, 8:00 ET

Texas Tech is having a disaster of a year. They have had some good seasons in recent years, but this one has been quite the struggle. I think they probably have the talent to be better, but they just can't seem to put a nice run together. Texas Tech also has a 1-9 record within their conference play. Oklahoma State hasn't exactly lit the nets on fire all year, but they've turned their season around lately with a nice run. They are 4-1 over their last five games and have won their past three games. I like the fact that this is the second consecutive home game for them as they are now, hopefully, more comfortable in their home gym. I'm taking Oklahoma State to win this game and cover the -6 spread. This is mostly a fade of Texas Tech. They aren't great on the road, but they've been bad overall on the year, I think with Oklahoma State at home we are getting a bit of edge here in a game that should be closer to 8 or 9 points.

There are a lot of other games on the slate today, but I have only a few leans for plays on them. I think the better team in the Temple/SMU game is Temple, but at home, I kind of like taking SMU with the points here. The total is a bit high, but the way both teams are playing I like the over 148 in the Florida vs. Alabama game.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on Twitter: @futureprez2024