This article is part of our College Basketball Picks series.
We were a hook away from a 2-1 Sunday, but we're still on a fantastic 11-4 run in January, and I'll keep plugging away and tweaking as we get deeper and deeper into the conference season. Today, I have a wide range of plays that cover a good portion of the country and schools of all sizes.
McNeese State Cowboys at Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders 
Trends are valuable to use while handicapping and a tool I cite often in my work. But, like any handicapping tool, it is one to follow blindly. Case in point, we are spitting directly in the face of every possible trend you can think of in this game. TAMCC has won TEN STRAIGHT in this series, are on an 8-2 SU/7-1 ATS run overall, are 8-2 SU/4-2 ATS in their last 10 at home, and are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 as underdogs. So why in the world am I recommending McNeese here? Context. All Islander wins have come against teams in the KenPom 200s and 300s and even then, they are not infallible with three losses to teams in the 300s. As far as history goes, this is not the same McNeese State we've seen the last five years. After years residing regularly in the 300s, the Cowboys now sit at #84 with new coach Will Wade and a slew of major transfers. This is a case where history and trends are giving us tremendous value on the far better team and I'm jumping all over it.
College Basketball Best Bet: McNeese State -4.5 (universal)
Stony Brook Seawolves vs. Hofstra Pride 
This is a case where trends support my position. Since getting fully healthy as a squad, Stony has been a money maker. Their early CAA schedule has been front-loaded with tough games against #129 Charleston, #152 Towson, and #143 Delaware but the Seawolves hung tough in all of them with six, nine (in OT), and three-point losses, respectively. Stony is 7-3 SU/7-1 ATS in their last 10 at home while Hofstra has really scuffled of late. The Pride is just 1-7 in true road games including January losses at #208 Northeastern and #318 Campbell to accent their recent 0-5 SU/1-4 ATS road skid.
College Basketball Best Bet: Stony Brook +4.5 (@ FanDuel)
Cincinnati Bearcats at Kansas Jayhawks 
I was on the wrong side of both of these teams' upsets on Saturday, but I'm jumping back on Bearcats here for a few reasons. First, Cincy has had road success with a win at #10 BYU and tough losses at #35 Xavier (by 5) and at #15 (by 3). These Bearcats don't get blown out, and KU hasn't done much blowing out of their own this year, and the numbers reinforce that view. KU is just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 overall and are 10-0 SU in their last 10 at home but only 3-7 ATS in those wins. Finally, in their last 10 as favorites, they are 8-2 SU but just 3-7 ATS. Yes, I imagine the Jayhawks will be fired up after giving up 91 at cellar-dwelling West Virginia on Saturday, but that emotion only takes a team so far, and Cincy is not an easy opponent for a bounce-back.
College Basketball Best Bet: Cincinnati +8.5 (universal)
Monday College Basketball Best Bets:
Here's a recap of my best college basketball bets for Monday, January 22:
- McNeese State -4.5 (universal)
- Stony Brook +4.5 (@ FanDuel)
- Cincinnati +8.5 (universal)
For up-to-date information on the latest college basketball betting odds and props from multiple sportsbooks, check out the college basketball odds page on RotoWire.
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