CBB Tuesday best bets: Can Memphis stay hot?
It's not the loaded Tuesday card college basketball fans can expect once January rolls around, but there are still marquee nonconference matchups as the calendar year winds down.
Let's dive into our best college basketball bets for Tuesday.
Virginia @ Memphis (-3.5, 131.5)
Memphis has played a difficult nonconference schedule but has proven it can hang with almost any team in the country. It's been an up-and-down season, which is emblematic of Penny Hardaway's tenure.
The Tigers won impressive games against Michigan and Arkansas before losing to Villanova and Ole Miss. Since then, though, they've won three straight - against VCU, Texas A&M, and Clemson.
Memphis is peaking just as it finishes up nonconference play before the new year. Now it has one of its toughest tests of the season against Virginia at home.
Virginia has lost one game - a beatdown against Wisconsin - but it hasn't had a demanding nonconference schedule.
Memphis has a quality offense, averaging 79.6 points per game. While Virginia's known for its lockdown defense, its offense is falling behind. It averages 66.8 points per game, the 283rd-worst scoring mark out of 362 eligible teams.
Virginia does, however, have the second-best scoring defense in the country. Expect a low-scoring affair with the total set at 131.5, but don't back Virginia to keep up with Memphis' offense.
Pick: Memphis -3.5
Florida @ Michigan (+3.5, O/U 157.5)
It's been a weird couple of weeks in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Despite rumors regarding Juwan Howard's possible departure, he returned to the sideline this weekend after sitting out the first 10 games following offseason heart surgery.
The Wolverines are expected to be a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team, and their 6-5 start (1-1 in Big Ten) indicates that. While they've mostly struggled against superior opposition, they only lost by three to both Indiana and Oregon.
Michigan has shown it can compete with talented teams, which Florida is. The Gators' only losses are to Baylor, Virginia, and Wake Forest. Michigan struggles defensively, but it ranks 20th in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
If Michigan can push the pace and force this into a track meet, it'll have the advantage at home.
Pick: Michigan +3.5
Winthrop @ South Carolina (-10.5, O/U 141.5)
South Carolina's off to a surprising 9-1 start in Lamont Paris' second year at the helm. The Gamecocks haven't played the most challenging schedule - their best win came against Virginia Tech, and their lone loss was to Clemson. Things will get rocky once they dive into an exclusively SEC schedule.
Nonetheless, South Carolina is taking care of lesser opponents with ease and is 8-2 against the spread. It should continue dominating lower-level opponents when Winthrop heads to Columbia on Tuesday night. Winthrop is 8-4 but doesn't have the talent the Gamecocks do.
In its three games against major conference opponents, Winthrop has lost by an average of 15.6 points.
Pick: South Carolina -10.5
Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @soshtry for more betting coverage.