College Basketball Best Bets: Three Favorite Picks for Thursday, January 5

Our college basketball best bets are 10-2 over the last four days, and a great slate of games awaits on Thursday, January 5. We're looking to give you some winning best bets using a combination of key stats and trends, as well as some artificial intelligence from our DimersBOT NCAA basketball predictions. With that said, keep reading so that we can help you narrow down what you should be taking on a solid Friday of NCAA basketball betting. If you want insight into our best bets to win the NCAA National Championship, you can check out our best CBB futures. Today we lock in on games in the Big Ten conference, with picks for Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Maryland Terrapins, Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Purdue Boilermakers, and Indiana Hoosiers vs. Iowa Hawkeyes.

If you haven't already, you should consider signing up for DraftKings ➡️ here ⬅️ as you can turn a $5 pre-game moneyline bet on any game into a free $200 if your team wins. 

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College Basketball Best Bets for Thursday, January 5

Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Maryland Terrapins - 6:30PM ET

Two teams trending in opposite directions take the court here at the building formerly known as the RAC, which has been a house of horrors for even the best teams in the Big Ten conference for years. Rutgers is 24-7 at home in the past three seasons, and with a veteran core, Rutgers has proven to be a contender in this league this season.

Maryland has not - to put it lightly. Since Thanksgiving, Maryland is 1-4 against top 200 opponents in the country, with their only win being Illinois, who is one of the worst teams in the league right now. Maryland is coming ogg a 35 point loss at Michigan, which is an easier place to play than Rutgers. This is a broken team, and we don't expect them to get right in this one.

BET: Rutgers -5 (-110) at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏀 Rutgers vs. Maryland Predictions
📈 Betting preview: Rutgers vs. Maryland

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Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Purdue Boilermakers - 7:00PM ET

Ohio State is quietly one of the best teams in the sport, and will stake their claim as the best team in the Big Ten with a win against Purdue tonight. The Buckeyes have the 2nd-ranked offense in college basketball, and one of their biggest strengths in three point shooting vs. their elite three point defense. Ohio State is 7-0 at home this year, and 49-9 at home under Chris Holtmann in games played before February.

Purdue, who worked their way all the way up to the #1 spot in the country, has been underwhelming for the better part of two months, but many people haven't noticed. The Boilermakers are 0-8 against the spread in their last eight games. We trust Ohio State more, and like the home team to get it done tonight.

BET: Ohio State -1.5 (-110) at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏀 Ohio State vs. Purdue Predictions
📈 Betting preview: Ohio State vs. Purdue

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Indiana Hoosiers vs. Iowa Hawkeyes - 9:00PM ET

A fascinating matchup here presents an opportunity for both teams to get back on track. That will be easier said than done for Iowa, as one of their best players, Patrick McCaffery announced yesterday that he will be taking an indefinite leave of absence to deal with his battle with anxiety. Iowa has lost six of their last nine games, including the worst lost in the history of the KenPom database, losing to Eastern Illinois by nine as 30+ point favorites at home.

Despite public perception of Indiana being a bit "meh" at the moment, they have taken care of business against non-elite teams all season long. The Hoosiers are 10-0 against teams outside of the Kenpom top 15, and even without point guard Xavier Johnson, they still have plus matchups in the backcourt thanks to Jalen Hood-Schifino and Tamar Bates.

BET: Indiana +1.5 (-110) at DraftKings Sportsbook

Best College Basketball Parlay Today

There are numerous different ways you can wager on College Basketball games in 2023, such as the moneyline, spread, total, player and team props, and, of course, parlays. While we normally suggest taking our picks on their own, we also really love parlays! With that said, check out the fat payout you can get by throwing all of our best bets together tonight. 

🔥 Rutgers -5
🔥 Ohio State -1.5
🔥 Indiana +1.5

*All odds and lines correct at time of publishing