NCAA Basketball Best Bets for January 2: Oregon & Illinois Close Busy Thursday Card
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Willie Bee
- January 2, 2025
Top NCAAB Pick: Oregon -4.5 (-105) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
There are plenty of opportunities on Thursday’s college basketball card, and our handicapper found value at top-rated sportsbooks on a couple of late-night matchups.
A new year begins on the collegiate hardwood with conference schedules in full swing, and a couple of late-night affairs in the West Coast Conference and Big Ten are in the spotlight as our best bets.
Portland Pilots vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs
Thursday, January 02, 2025 – 09:00 PM ET at McCarthey Athletic Center
It was a rather pedestrian December for Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs who closed out 2024 by dropping three of six games in the month. One of the wins was their WCC opener on Monday, and they’ll look to make it two in a row at home against Portland on Thursday.
Pilots Currently on 3-1 ‘Over’ Run
It’s beginning to look as if the highlight of Portland’s season is going to be taking Oregon to overtime as a 27-point underdog way back on November 12th. Even though it was a loss, the Pilots really haven’t played much better than they did in that contest since.
Portland was tasked with facing the WCC’s newest members Oregon State and Washington State to begin the league slate and dropped both contests. The latest came Monday in Corvallis where the Beavers dropped an 89-79 final on Portland.
Too Close for Comfort
After dropping a close decision as a small favorite to UCLA in Los Angeles last weekend, Gonzaga bounced back into the win column with an 89-82 victory at home over Pepperdine on Monday in the Bulldogs’ conference opener.
Favored by 20.5, the Bulldogs coasted into halftime with an 18-point lead before almost letting the game slip away. The Waves came out hot in the second half with an immediate 19-4 run that changed the complexion of the game, and Gonzaga failed to cover for the sixth consecutive game after beginning the season 6-2 ATS.
The last 3 Meetings Fall Short of the Totals
As they have against many a West Coast foe, the Bulldogs have dominated the Pilots to the tune of a 109-66 advantage in the rivalry. Gonzaga has won the last 17 after sweeping last year’s two meetings, and triumphed the last 17 matchups in Spokane with Portland’s last win at McCarthey occurring way back in 2003.
The Bulldogs covered the 28.5-point spread on NCAAB odds boards last year with a 96-64 rout, the contest staying just ‘under’ the 161-point total. That’s the same total as this game, and the result will be the same.
NCAAB Pick: Portland/Gonzaga Under 161 (-108) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Oregon Ducks
Thursday, January 02, 2025 – 10:00 PM ET at Matthew Knight Arena
I’m not sure I’ll ever wrap my head around Illinois and Oregon meeting each other in a Big Ten affair, but I’m certainly thankful to have this top-25 clash to help put an end to a strong Thursday night card.
The nationally televised contest from Eugene finds the Ducks favored by 4.5 at BetOnline where the total is 156.
Illini Playing Just 2nd True Road Game
It’s also weird to think about a Big Ten team making a West Coast swing as part of the league schedule, but that’s what Brad Underwood’s gang is doing with this contest in Eugene followed by a trip to Seattle to take on Washington during the coming weekend.
The Fighting Illini tuned up for the journey with what amounted to little more than a scrimmage against Chicago State last Sunday. The contest was competitive for about 2 minutes before Illinois zoomed away for a 117-64 win. The Fighting Illini almost had the 38-point spread covered at halftime.
Chalking It Up
Oregon had a similar walk-through to get ready for the new year against Weber State. The Wildcats scored the first bucket of the game, and the Ducks then rolled to an 89-49 final as 21-point chalk.
The victory was the third in a row for Dana Altman’s cagers since dropping their only game of the season on a last-second shot by UCLA four weeks ago during the early dip into the Big Ten slate. Oregon ranks No. 12 on the Kenpom chart and projects as a 2-seed by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
Ducks 3-4 ATS & O/U at Home
In addition to being the first meeting between the Fighting Illini and Ducks as conference rivals, it’s also the first time they’ve met in 10 years and only the seventh matchup ever. Illinois is up in the series with a 4-2 mark.
Those two wins for Oregon came when the schools scheduled a home-&-home back in 2013 and 2014. Both results were similar with the Ducks winning 71-64 at home and 77-70 in Champaign. There should be a few more points in this meeting than those contests 10 years ago, but Oregon still comes out as the winning college basketball pick.
NCAAB Pick: Oregon -4.5 (-105) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
