This article is part of our College Basketball Picks series.
High-major conference action continues on Wednesday, as we have another helping of big-time college hoops action on tap. On today's slate, I'm breaking a trio of matchups tipping off from all across the country, featuring teams from the Big East, Big 12, and ACC.
Top College Basketball Best Bets for Today
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Seton Hall 
at Villanova 
Seton Hall has been brutal offensively, although it does one thing extremely well that plays directly against Villanova.
The Pirates are among the best on the offensive glass, ranking 17th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage, a strength that has carried into the conference season, where Seton Hall leads the Big East. At the same time, the Wildcats often struggle to box out, ranking 266th in defensive rebounding percentage, and they have only gotten worse against league competition, ranking second-worst in the Big East. The advantage of generating second-chance opportunities cannot be overstated because Seton Hall has poor shooting numbers despite its respectable resume.
Seton Hall typically doesn't need to score many points to win because it plays at an elite defensive level. The Pirates' defense ranks among the top 20 teams nationally in adjusted efficiency, effective field goal percentage allowed, turnovers, and two-point field goal percentage allowed, holding opponents to 46 percent on shot attempts inside the arc. This elite defensive skill set has translated into success against conference opponents, ranking among the top two in the Big East in efficiency, effective field goal percentage allowed, and turnover percentage. Villanova has performed decently on offense, though it ranks below Seton Hall's defense in the offensive components of those categories.
For these reasons, I'm setting sail with the Pirates and taking the points on Wednesday.
College Basketball Best Bet: Seton Hall +7.5
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BYU 
at Oklahoma State
This is a great 'buy-low' opportunity with BYU. The Cougars stumbled into their first losing streak of the season, dropping back-to-back games in their most challenging matchups to this point (vs. Arizona and at Kansas).
Now, they have a prime opportunity to get back on track with a visit to Sillwater.
On paper, BYU has performed substantially better than Oklahoma State at both ends of the court. Oklahoma State ranks outside the top 60 teams in both offensive and defensive adjusted efficiency, while BYU ranks among the top 40 in both, including the nation's 10th-highest offensive rating. The differences remain similarly stark when we focus on conference-only data. BYU ranks in the top eight in both offensive and defensive efficiency, while Oklahoma State ranks 10th on offense and 13th on defense.
The latter should be of the utmost concern to the Cowboys because the Cougars typically play at an extremely high offensive level. BYU boasts the highest offensive rebounding percentage among Big 12 teams during league play, with OK State lacking defensively in rebounding, ranking ninth in the Big 12. Additionally, BYU has made 54 percent of two-pointers against conference opponents, the third-highest mark in the Big 12, while OK State has allowed league opponents to make 54 percent, the fifth-worst.
These two teams are not close to being on the same level. I'm laying the points with the Cougars.
College Basketball Best Bet: BYU -6
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Clemson 
at Stanford 
Stanford earned a pair of impressive home wins early in January against Louisville and North Carolina, but it has since fallen back to Earth. Following its extremely unlikely victory over North Carolina (KenPom gave UNC an 80 percent chance of winning with under two minutes remaining), Stanford has lost four straight games, including double-digit home losses to Duke and California.
Now, the Cardinal welcomes a team that has performed better than the host at both ends of the court throughout the season. Clemson sports superior adjusted efficiency rankings on both offense (67th vs. 92nd) and defense (15th vs. 80th). The difference remains essentially the same when we focus on stats from the ACC conference season. During league play, Clemson ranks eighth in offensive efficiency while Stanford ranks 14th defensively. Similarly, the Tigers are making 57 percent of two-point attempts against conference opponents, the fifth-highest in the ACC, while Stanford is allowing league opponents to make 54 percent (10th in the ACC).
At the other end of the court, the difference is far more extreme, nearly polar opposites. Since the conference season started, Stanford's offense ranks among the four worst ACC teams in efficiency, effective field goal percentage, free-throw attempt rate, and two-point field goal percentage (barely making a league-worst 46 percent). During the same span, Clemson's defense boasts the best efficiency rating and two-point field goal percentage allowed (45 percent) in the ACC. The Tigers are also among the top three ACC teams in effective field goal percentage allowed, turnover percentage, and defensive rebounding.
It's easy to make a big deal about the cross-country road trip, although the travel distance didn't prevent Notre Dame from winning at Palo Alto by a final score of 47-40, or Duke from winning by 30 when it visited in mid-January.
All things considered, I'm taking the better team and swallowing the points. I'm on the Tigers in this one.
College Basketball Best Bet: Clemson -3.5
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Thursday College Basketball Best Bets:
Here's a recap of my best college basketball bets for Thursday:
- Seton Hall +7.5
- BYU -6
- Clemson -3.5
For up-to-date information on the latest college basketball betting odds and props from multiple sources, check out the college basketball odds page on RotoWire.
