The 2026-27 college basketball season began this week, and Wednesday features another action-filled college basketball slate with popular teams such as Auburn, Butler and Saint Mary's taking the court tonight against teams from smaller conferences. These bigger-name schools are all significant favorites, and the SportsLine Projection Model sees good reason for that. The model is backing Auburn, Butler and Saint Mary's to each cover their spreads as part of Wednesday college basketball best bets. Auburn is a 29.5-point favorite against SE Louisiana in the latest Wednesday college basketball odds. Before locking in your college basketball picks, be sure to check out the top college basketball predictions from SportsLine's team of proven experts and the model. Trade on college basketball here with the best Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS55 and get a $55 bonus:
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the 2026-27 season on a sizzling 11-1 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks on betting sites dating back to 2025, and is on a 28-22 run on top-rated CBB side picks. Anybody following on college basketball betting sites has seen strong returns.
Wednesday college basketball best bets (odds subject to change):
- Butler (-27.5) vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
- Auburn (-29.5) vs. SE Louisiana
- Saint Mary's (-13.5) vs. North Dakota State
Combining these three picks into a Wednesday college basketball parlay would result in a payout of +601 (risk $100 to win $601). Bet on college basketball games with the BetMGM bonus code CBSSPORTS for up to $1,500 in bonus bets:
Butler (-27.5) vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
Butler opened with a 96-60 win over Lafayette on Monday, holding the Leopards to 37% shooting, including 17% on 3-pointers. All five Butler starters scored double-digit points. Meanwhile, Fairleigh Dickinson went 11-21 last year, including 8-10 in the Northeast Conference, which is nothing like the competition Butler faces in the Big East. Fairleigh Dickinson went 2-8 against the spread in non-conference games last year and opened this season with a 120-45 loss to Illinois. The model projects Butler to cover in 63% of simulations. Get $200 in bonus bets and three free months of NBA League Pass after your first $5 bet at DraftKings:
Auburn (-29.5) vs. SE Louisiana
Auburn is 5-0 all-time against SE Louisiana and has the longest active non-conference home winning streak in the nation at 67 games. SE Louisiana went 9-22 last season, including 6-16 in the Southland. SE Louisiana has lost 35 straight games against SEC teams, and opened last year with a 30-point loss to SEC Ole Miss. The Tigers return second-leading scorer Tahaad Pettiford. Three of Auburn's first four victories last season came by at least 30 points, and the model projects Auburn to cover in 56% of simulations. Claim the Fanatics Sportsbook promo code CBSFAN350 to get $350 in FanCash:
Saint Mary's (-13.5) vs. North Dakota State
Saint Mary's is coming off its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, going 27-6 last year as the co-WCC regular-season champions with Gonzaga. Head coach Randy Bennett left to coach Arizona State, but Saint Mary's opened with a 90-85 win over Illinois State on Monday under head coach Mickey McConnell, who was the associate head coach and former player under Bennett, so there is familiarity still within the program. Meanwhile, North Dakota State is coming off winning the Summit Conference title and making the NCAA Tournament, but the team lost all five of their leading scorers from last year. The model projects Saint Mary's to cover in 65% of simulations. Claim the bet365 bonus code CBSBET365 to get $200 in bonus bets after your first $10 bet, win or lose:
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