College Basketball Best Bets for February 9: No. 1 Arizona Takes on No. 11 Kansas, Indiana Continues Push for March Madness Bid

Today’s college basketball slate has some exciting games on it. Headlining the slate is, of course, the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats taking on the No. 11 Kansas Jayhawks.

March Madness is almost here. If you have not been keeping up with college basketball, there is no time like the present to catch up. Heck, you may even want to get in on the action. After all, there is no such thing as having too much in your bankroll for March Madness.

(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)

The odds I used to make the college basketball best bets below can be found at BetRivers.

February 9 College Basketball prediction: Oregon Ducks vs. Indiana Hoosiers

The men’s basketball team is not viewed in the same light as Indiana’s football team. But the Hoosiers are a solid bubble team at 16-8, 7-6 in the Big Ten. Beating a lackluster Oregon squad will not do much to strengthen their case. The Ducks are just 8-15, 1-11 in the Big Ten. But a loss could do some damage.

Losing to Oregon could make it even more vital that Indiana records a win over one of their three remaining ranked opponents (No. 5 Illinois, No. 12 Purdue, and No. 10 Michigan State).

The Hoosiers have been strong at home

Indiana has been a solid home team, going 12-2 and winning its last two in overtime: 78-77 OT vs. Wisconsin (Feb. 7) and 98-97 2OT vs. UCLA (Jan. 31). The Ducks have struggled on the road this season, going 1-5, with the one win coming against Maryland.

• Our Pick: Indiana -10.5 at -114 (BetRivers)

Indiana is a middle-of-the-pack team on offense (seventh) and defense (ninth) in the Big Ten, but the Ducks are having a down year this season. They are among the Big Ten’s worst on both ends of the court (offense—16th and defense—13th). The Hoosiers will need to play a clean game, but there is no reason to think they can’t cover this spread at home.

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February 9 College Basketball prediction: No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 11 Kansas Jayhawks

No. 1 Arizona has not been tested too often this season. Yes, they are 6-0 against ranked teams with wins over two No. 3 teams (Florida and UConn). But those wins came early in the season, and the competition hasn’t been too challenging since then. Since their four-point victory over UConn, two games have been decided by single digits: vs. Arizona State, 89-82, and at No. 13 BYU, 86-83.

They are playing great basketball, but they are also great candidates for an upset if the right time catches them napping.

The Jayhawks could present a rare challenge for the Wildcats

Could No. 11 Kansas be that team? Maybe. The Jayhawks dropped some early games to No. 25 North Carolina, No. 5 Duke, and No. 5 UConn. They entered conference play 10-3. While they have won their last seven, they lost two early Big 12 games, one to UCF and the other to West Virginia.

But they come into this game a little more battle-tested in conference play. Kansas has wins over No. 2 Iowa State (84-63), No. 13 BYU (90-82), and No. 13 Texas Tech (64-61).

• Our Pick: Arizona -1.5 at -113 (BetRivers)

Kansas is coming into this game playing fantastic basketball. The Jayhawks are a legitimate contender to hand Arizona its first loss of the season. However, the Wildcats look just as good, if not better. There is no reason to doubt their ability to pull out the win tonight. I wouldn’t be shocked if  Kansas beat the Wildcats at home, but I think Arizona will win by a basket.