Top of the morning to you, sports investors! It was a so-so debut for our 2025 college hoops player props, as we ended up going 1-1. We should have gone 2-1, but I couldn't find a line on West Virginia's Javon Small until it was too late in the day to post.
Igor Milicic Jr. easily stayed under his point total in Tennessee's blowout loss to Florida. Unfortunately, Jalan Lowe just couldn't get anything going for Pitt on the road against Duke. Let's get things rolling with 3 college basketball player props for Wednesday, January 8th. Good luck!
UCONN at NOVA: 6:30 PM EST (FS1)
Let's tip things off with a dynamic Big East rivalry game between UConn and Villanova! The Wildcats were ecstatic to get Poplar in the transfer portal from Miami during the offseason. The 6'5" guard is averaging 13.7 points per game this year for Nova.
While that points-per-game average isn't too bad, it's Poplar's median of 16 points that really piques my interest. I also like the fact that he typically takes at least 12 shots from the field per game, so the volume is there for him to go Over this number.
I get that UConn has had stellar defenses in the past, but they've struggled on that end of the court so far this season. The Huskies have really had a hard time defending three-pointers (334th in opponent 3-point percentage). Give me a plus-money Over to get this party started!
Bama at SC: 7:00 PM EST (SEC)
Now back to our regularly scheduled program of taking some nice, boring Unders! Thomas is a talented young player for South Carolina, but his median is 11 points so far this season. The 6-foot guard typically only takes about 10 shots per game, so he'll have to earn a lot of trips to the free-throw line to go Over this number.
Alabama has a reputation for not playing very good defense, but I think that's not a fair assessment of this team's overall ability. The Crimson Tide gives up a lot of points, but a lot of that is because of the fast pace that they like to run at. Bama ranks a solid 28th in 3-point defense, so Thomas shouldn't be able to do much from beyond the arc.
Thomas is 9-5 to the Under vs. this line in '24-25.
He's scored 12 points or fewer in 6 of his last 8 outings.
Thomas has stayed Under in 5 of his 9 home games this year.
Miss at Ark: 7:00 PM EST (ESPN2)
Pedulla is Ole Miss's best scorer, so this play is a little bit tougher to make for me than most Unders. However, Arkansas ranks 30th in opponent shooting efficiency, so Pedulla may find the sledding to be tough in this matchup.
Also, you can bet that John Calipari will demand a better effort on the defensive end after the Hogs were blown out by Tennessee during their last outing. Pedulla will get his share of looks, but he still only takes about 10 shots per game. His median point total is also just 13 so far this year.
Pedulla is 8-6 to the Under vs. this line in '24-25.
He's scored 14 points or fewer in 3 of his last 4 outings.
Pedulla has stayed Under in 4 of his 6 road or neutral games this year.