Best Sports Betting Picks Today: College Basketball Predictions for February 18th | Deadspin.com

Options are limited on Tuesday, with the NBA and NHL still on their All-Star breaks. 

But there is plenty of college basketball action to get in on. With 32 men’s college basketball games scheduled, there is still a game for everyone.

If you want to narrow down the list, check out our best bets for Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Best Bets Feb. 18: NCAAM

Oklahoma vs. Florida

The new year has not been kind to the Sooners. In 2024, Oklahoma was undefeated (13-0). But since the calendar turned from 20254 to 2025 and conference play got underway, they have struggled pretty badly. With an 82-79 loss to LSU on Valentine’s Day, they fell to 3-9 in SEC play.

As for Florida, the No. 2 Gators have been on a roll the last couple of weeks. With an 88-67 win over South Carolina on Valentine’s Day, they won their fourth in a row since losing to then-No. 8 Tennessee on Feb. 1. The streak includes two wins over ranked teams, No. 1 Auburn and No. 22 Mississippi State.

These are two teams going in opposite directions, with Florida on the rise and Oklahoma fading fast. It’s a big spread, but with how well the Florida offense is playing and how poorly the Sooners defense has been, they’ll probably cover it.

Our Pick: Florida -14.5 (FanDuel)

Colorado vs. Iowa State

The Buffaloes are another one of those teams that got off to a solid start in non-conference play (9-2), only for things to get real once conference play got underway. To say they’ve struggled in Big 12 play would be an understatement. Their 76-63 win over UCF on Valentine’s Day was their first conference win of the season (1-13).

No. 8 Iowa State, on the other hand, is having a good season. They went 10-1 in non-conference play, with the one loss coming against then-No. 4 Auburn. Conference play got off to a solid start (7-1) before the Cyclones hit a rough stretch against Arizona, K-State, and Kansas.

But they have since rebounded with a three-game winning streak that includes an 81-70 win over Cincinnati on Valentine’s Day.

This will be the third meeting for these teams this season; Iowa State won both, 99-71, on Nov. 27, and again on Dec. 30 in Boulder, 79-69. While the spread is big (-17.5 points at -108 via DraftKings), Colorado has been struggling for weeks, while Iowa State is one of the ten best teams in the country.

Our Pick: Iowa State -17.5 (DraftKings)

Illinois vs. Wisconsin

Illinois has a heck of a gauntlet to run to end the regular season with ranked opponents in four of their last five games, starting with No. 11 Wisconsin. But the Badgers will not be pushovers. They’ll take a four-game win streak into this contest, including a 94-84 win over then-No. 7 Purdue on Valentine’s Day.

The Illini have played well on both ends of the court but have struggled against unranked teams the last few weeks. They’ve gone 5-6 over their last 11 games, with four of those losses coming against unranked opponents. The other two losses were both against a ranked Michigan State team.

I expect Illinois to give the Badgers a pretty good fight, but I don’t think they have what it takes to beat Wisconsin in Madison.

Our Pick: Wisconsin -3.5 (FanDuel)