NCAA Basketball Player Props For Wednesday | Jan. 17

Author

Thomas Snodgrass

Updated: Jan 18, 2024

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There’s a boatload of NCAA Basketball games on the schedule for Wednesday, including eight matchups featuring Top-25 teams.

The No. 1 Connecticut Huskies host the No. 18 Creighton Blue Jays in the biggest game of the night.

Also, the No. 5 Houston Cougars host the No. 25 Texas Tech Red Raiders in the other matchup featuring two ranked squads.

Plenty of player props will be available in the college ranks.

Below are some players I’ll be having my eye on tonight.

Let’s examine some of these player props and find some profitable wagering options, and as always, with the best odds!

Javian McCollum – G, Oklahoma Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners have continuously climbed the rankings all season, and much of that success can be attributed to the solid guard pair of Javian McCollum and Otega Oweh.

McCollum is currently in a strong stretch for the Sooners, averaging 16.6 points per game in his last five appearances, which is slightly higher than his season average of 15 points per game.

Tonight’s matchup against the West Virginia Mountaineers provides plenty of scoring opportunities for Oklahoma, especially from their guards.

Here’s how opposing guards have fared against the Mountaineers in their last five games:

WVU OpponentHighest Scoring GuardGuard Results
ToledoRa’Heim Moss21 Points (8-17 FG)
Ohio StateRoddy Gayle Jr.32 Points (11-21 FG)
HoustonL.J. Cryer20 Points (7-12 FG)
Kansas StateCam Carter23 Points (6-14 FG)
TexasMax Abmas32 Points (9-17 FG)

WVU picked up the upset win over the Texas Longhorns on Saturday, so the Mountaineers should not be taken too lightly, even though Oklahoma is a 12-point favorite.

McCollum is a 45.8% shooter from the field this season, and in his last five games he’s hitting 43.2% from downtown, which is much better than his season-long three-point percentage of 38.8%.

West Virginia is allowing 34% of all shots from beyond the arc to drop, which is ranked 210th in the NCAA, so McCollum should sink a few long range buckets tonight.

Pick: McCollum – OVER 16.5 Points

Best Odds: (-110) DraftKings

Armando Bacot – F, North Carolina Tar Heels

I’m going back to the well on Bacot’s rebounds.

Bacot is averaging 10.8 rebounds per game, which is the sixth-most in the entire NCAA, only 0.3 behind Purdue Boilermakers’ star Zach Edey.

The Tar Heels host the Louisville Cardinals tonight, and the Cardinals have not been good around the boards.

Louisville has a rebounding rate of only 50.9%, which is 141st in the NCAA, and they have been beaten in rebounds by their opponents in seven of the last nine games.

The main concern with this prop is that UNC is a 21-points favorite tonight, but considering that Bacot only played 17 minutes in the Tar Heels’ last game against Syracuse (still posted 11 rebounds), I’d expect Bacot to get closer to his typical range of minutes.

Bacot only needs 20 minutes on the floor to pick up a dozen or so rebounds, especially against this Cardinals lineup that is lacking the size to compete with Bacot’s 6-foot-11 frame.

Pick: Bacot – OVER 10.5 Rebounds

Best Odds: (-115) BetMGM

Trey Alexander – G, Creighton Blue Jays

The Creighton Blue Jays have a huge matchup against the No. 1 UConn Huskies tonight, and they’ll need to be at the top of their game to take down the top team in the country.

In both of Connecticut’s losses this season, an opposing guard has tallied five or more assists, so if Creighton is going to pull this thing off, they’ll need strong ball movement, and that starts with point guard Trey Alexander.

Alexander is averaging 4.5 assists per game, and he has totaled five or more assists in four of the last five games.

The Blue Jays and Huskies both average exactly 69.1 possessions per game, so this game could be very close, possibly closer than the 6.5-point spread suggests.

Alexander has finished with five or more assists in four of the six games for Creighton that finished closer than 10 points.

Pick: Alexander – OVER 4.5 Assists

Best Odds: (+106) FanDuel

Antonio Reeves – G, Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats fell to the No. 8 spot in the AP Poll after losing to the Texas A&M Aggies in overtime on Saturday.

6-foot-6 guard Antonio Reeves still put forth a strong effort in the loss, collecting 22 points and six rebounds.

Reeves has played very well in the Wildcats’ backcourt lately, averaging 22.4 points and 4.2 rebounds over the last five games.

Reeves has an interesting chance to fill the stat sheet tonight against a Mississippi State Bulldogs team that is having a difficult time slowing down opposing guards, especially larger guards like Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht.

Here’s how opposing guards have done against Mississippi State in the last three games:

Miss State OpponentGuardG Results
South CarolinaMeechie Johnson24 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts
TennesseeDalton Knecht28 pts, 6 rebs, 1 ast
AlabamaMark Sears22 pts, 1 reb, 2 asts

For tonight’s prop, I like Reeves to tally at least 24 points+rebounds+assists, and in the last three games, each leading guard picked up at least 25 total on the combo.

The three aforementioned guards averaged 24.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, which is an average of 30.7 points+rebounds+assists.

Reeves will join that successful group against the Bulldogs on Wednesday night.

Pick: Reeves – OVER 23.5 Pts+Rebs+Asts

Best Odds: (-105) DraftKings

Author

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A fan of both the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, which is rare! Thomas provides sports betting content with the intent to educate and enter...

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