This article is part of our College Basketball Picks series.
Several more teams tip off their college hoops season Tuesday night, although it's hard to argue any of the matchups warrant a large spotlight. Even still, this won't stop us from finding value on the board. Here are my best bets for the day.
Bethune Cookman at Texas Tech 
Last year was relatively successful for the Wildcats. They won 17 games, their most since 2018 when they won 18, and they won their first-ever Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament game. Normally this might serve as a stepping stone to a better season, although Bethune-Cookman saw significant roster turnover in the offseason. The Wildcats only return one starter in forward Reggie Ward Jr. and three bench players in Seneca Willougby, Simeon Womack, and Mason Dorsey. Bethune-Cookman also lost some talent in the form of All-SWAC honorees Jakobi Heady and Zion Harmon. Add it all up, and Bethune Cookman has a fair amount of uncertainty heading into the season opener.
Texas Tech, meanwhile, is looking to build off a solid first season under head coach Grant McCasland. The former North Texas leader guided the Red Raiders to an 11-7 record in the Big 12 last year en route to earning a six-seed in the NCAA tournament. The season ended abruptly for the Red Raiders, but the future appears bright if McCasland can repeat the same improvements he's made in the past. Following McCasland's second year at North Texas in 2019, the Mean Green improved their final KenPom ranking every year, finally reaching No. 31 in 2023 when they won the NIT.
Entering Tuesday, KenPom has Texas Tech's defense ranked eighth-most efficient in the country, and it's easy to see why. In McCasland's final two years at North Texas, his team's defensive efficiency rating was top-25 in the country. Offensively, the Red Raiders have a bit more uncertainty. Six players left the team this offseason, including last season's top two scorers in Pop Isaacs (16 points per game, 4 assists per game) and Joe Toussaint (12 ppg, 4 apg). Texas Tech picked up plenty of talent in the off-season to replace last year's production, although it's hard to bet on a lot of scoring in the first game with several new faces.
When Bethune-Cookman visits Lubbock on Tuesday, it will mark just the second-ever meeting between the two teams. When they last played in 2019-2020, Texas Tech won decisively, 79-44. I'm less confident they'll win by a massive margin, but I like their odds of playing a smothering defense while cruising to victory. I'm taking the under.
College Basketball Best Bet: Under 143.5
Idaho State 
at Arizona State 
The Bengals weren't great last year, posting a 14-20 overall record and 7-11 in the Big Sky Conference. Given the unproductive results, it's no surprise that Idaho State underwent significant roster turnover in the off-season.
The Bengals returned four players and approximately 20 percent of their points, rebounds, and minutes played from last year's roster. They brought in 12 new players, three of which are expected to make a notable impact: Jake O'Neil, Dylan Darling, and Joey Madimba. KenPom currently has Idaho State slotted at No. 314 in the overall efficiency rankings, so expectations aren't high, to say the least.
The Sun Devils underwent a similar roster reset. Arizona State is coming off its worst season under head coach Bobby Hurley, a year where they finished 14-18 and ranked 127th in KenPom's final efficiency standings. The Good news for Sun Devils fans is that Hurley went out and pulled off a top-10 recruiting class, ranked No. 9 by 247 Sports and No. 8 by Rivals. The class features five-star freshman Jayden Quaintance, giving them an extra edge entering the season.
That said, Arizona State recently played Duke in an exhibition, and it was a disaster for the Sun Devils, ending in a final score of 103-47. We never want to overreact to one game, especially an exhibition, but at the same time, we also can't pretend the egregiously awful results never happened.
The exhibition against Duke raises questions on both ends of the court for Arizona State, but if recent history is any indication, the Sun Devils should at least come out ready on defense. Under coach Hurley, Arizona State hasn't always been great at scoring, but it's often been effective on defense. The Sun Devils finished with a defense efficiency rating that ranked in the top 65 of the country in each of the past three years, and KenPom has this year's team ranked at No. 55 on defense, so he expects a similar level of performance.
Given the new rosters of both teams and the Sun Devils' penchant for playing stingy defense, I'm betting on a low-scoring game in this one. I'm on the under.
College Basketball Best Bet: Under 139.5
UC Davis 
at Washington 
The Aggies are looking to build off a decent season, one where they finished third in the Big West Conference and came within a game of making the NCAA Tournament, losing to Long Beach State in the conference tournament final.
UC Davis has reason for optimism, as 10 players are returning from last year's team, including star senior point guard Ty Johnson, a potential favorite for Big West Player of the Year. Aggies head coach Jim Les called Johnson "one of the best on-ball defenders in college basketball," giving UC Davis a two-way ace if the coach's words ring true. The Aggies lost another star from last year's team in Elijah Pepper, however, they also return plenty of experience to keep the team going. Entering Tuesday, KenPom has UC Davis ranked No. 178 in overall efficiency, one slot behind where last year's squad finished.
Washington, on the other hand, is entering a whole new world. The Huskies are breaking in a new head coach in Danny Sprinkle while breaking into a new conference in the Big Ten.
Like other high-major programs that hired a new coach in the off-season, Washington built its roster seemingly from scratch. The Huskies return just three players from last season's final roster: Franck Kepnang, Wilheim Breidenbach, and Christian King. None played a significant role on last year's team.
On paper, Sprinkle brought in plenty of talent that might make Washington interesting, but ultimately there's a tremendous amount of uncertainty anytime a team has a brand new roster and head coach.
The Huskies' talent may win out on Tuesday and perhaps they'll win by a big margin, but I'm betting the more cohesive team, one led by a star veteran point guard, will keep the game close enough to cover. I'm taking the points.
College Basketball Best Bet: UC Davis +13.5
Tuesday College Basketball Best Bets:
Here's a recap of my best college basketball bets for Tuesday:
- Bethune Cookman at Texas Tech - Under 144
- Idaho State at Arizona State - Under 140
- UC Davis +13.5
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.
