College basketball best bets for Saturday, 2/10: Massive home spot for Colorado | Pickswise

The College Basketball season is in full swing and Saturday brings us an absolutely fantastic slate, packed to the brim with matchups between AP Top 25 teams and showdowns between top conference foes from the blue bloods to the mid-majors. In all, Saturday should be filled with nonstop action and marquee Games from noon until deep into the night on the east coast.

While the college hoops market is as sharp as its ever been, there are still a few good value bets of which to take advantage of. Let’s take a look at my best bets for these games on Saturday, but make sure you also check out our college basketball picks for the biggest games of the day.

Colorado Buffaloes ML over Arizona Wildcats (-115)

Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -140.

In what is arguably the best situational spot on the board, Colorado has a massive opportunity to potentially punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a win over Arizona on Saturday. The Buffaloes are not only looking for revenge after the Wildcats drubbed them 97-50 in Tuscon last month, but they’ll have a fully healthy roster on hand this time around. Cody Williams and Tristan da Silva didn’t play in that matchup, so you can essentially throw that game out in my book. Colorado has dealt with a ton of injuries this season, but the Buffaloes appears to be rounding into form at the right time.

Not only is Colorado focused on grabbing a crucial win for its tournament resume while extracting revenge on the top dogs in the Pac-12, the Buffaloes are also the far more well-rested team in this spot. Arizona is coming off an exhausting triple overtime victory over Utah in Salt Lake City less than 48 hours before this game tips off on Saturday night. Having to play yet another game in altitude against a quality opponent is disaster material for a Wildcats team that will likely be playing with heavy legs. Boulder should be absolutely rocking throughout the game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Colorado won by 10+ points in this spot. Let’s back the home team with confidence

Kentucky Wildcats -3.5 over Gonzaga Bulldogs (-110)

Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to Kentucky -4.5

It’s a pivotal Saturday for the blue bloods across the college basketball nation, including the Kentucky Wildcats, who are coming off a couple of demoralizing losses at home to Tennessee and Florida due to poor defensive efforts. The good news for John Calipari’s team is that I don’t expect a reeling Gonzaga side to be able to keep up with Rob Dillingham, Antonio Reeves and company. Simply put, this is not the Gonzaga program that we have been used to seeing over the last decade plus. After all, the Bulldogs are a dismal 0-5 in games against Quadrant 1 opposition and hold a very poor mark of 1-3 against teams in Quadrant 2.

Kentucky holds a significant edge in the backcourt and on the wings in this matchup, which doesn’t bode well for Gonzaga’s 3-point defense. And while I do think the Bulldogs should see some success in the paint with Anton Watson and Graham Ike, it’s hard to keep up with an elite offense when you’re trading 2-pointers for threes. This is a terrific spot for a much more talented Kentucky team to pick up a convincing win over a quality program at home, so I have no trouble laying the short number with the Wildcats in this one.

Kansas Jayhawks -5.5 over Baylor Bears (-110)

Odds available at BetRivers Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to Kansas -6.

Last week, I targeted a massive home spot for Bill Self and Kansas to make a statement against Houston, and that’s exactly what happened as the Jayhawks shot nearly 70% from the field and completely dominated for 40 minutes in a decisive victory. And while this is far from a vintage Kansas team, there are pretty clear and obvious spots for when to back Self’s bunch in Big 12 play. This team can be a bit Jekyll and Hyde on the road, but Saturday happens to be another one of these prime Allen Fieldhouse spots, fitting into a trend we’ve seen with Kansas this season and in recent series history against Baylor.

Not only have the Jayhawks have taken a significant leap forward in recent Games thanks to the emergence of Johnny Furphy, but they’ve been outstanding at home in “must-win” spots this season, knocking off the likes of UConn, Houston and Oklahoma by double digits. Baylor’s offense is terrific but the Bears have historically struggled at the Fieldhouse (like most Big 12 teams), particularly in this spot. Scott Drew’s team was hot heading into the Phog in each of the last two seasons and was served a double-digit loss both times. Even the Baylor national title team of the 2020-21 season lost by double figures in this building, so I can’t see the tide changing in this one. I have major concerns with the Bears’ defense (75th in adjusted efficiency per KenPom), so look for Kansas to get out in transition and attack the paint en route to another convincing victory at home.