College Basketball Picks

As we head toward Christmas, the college basketball slate is thin, but we do get an in-state matchup between Middle Tennessee State and Tennessee. Despite being a huge favorite, my MTSU Blue Raiders vs Tennessee Volunteers prediction is the Vols to cover -26.5. MTSU and UT have not played in over a decade, despite the close proximity of the schools, and when the Blue Raiders make the couple hours’ drive across the plateau from the Boro to Knoxville, they will walk into a rowdy arena that is stinging from a football loss and ready to take it out on any opponent their #1-ranked basketball team faces. While I think MTSU has a pretty good squad this year, they are walking into a bad spot against a white hot team, and Tennessee has covered gigantic spreads several times this season already.

The undefeated Vols have won 6 of their 11 games by 25 points or more, and even more impressively, only Illinois has stayed within single digits of the Vols. While I don’t think this Volunteer team is quite that good, there is no question that they are playing at their peak right now, and until something changes, I will keep backing them. They have a talented and experienced point guard, another lethal shooter who transferred in via the portal, and a balanced roster all the way around. KenPom sees them as the #2 defense (behind Duke), which is to be expected, but also has them as the #15 offense, which is a surprise. This is no knock on MTSU—at 9-3, the Blue Raiders have been good so far this year, and they have a lot of talent too. They can make a run at the Conference USA crown, in fact. But coming to Knoxville to face the #1 team in the country who is hitting on all cylinders? No thanks. Give me the Vols at -26.5.

Middle Tennessee State vs Tennessee Prediction: Tennessee -26.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The Fighting Illini get ready to take on the Missouri Tigers Sunday afternoon as they look to rebound from a tough loss against Tennessee. Illinois has only played two conference games so far this season, and they’ll have their fifth straight game against a quality opponent and it’s not going to be easy. Missouri has won 10 games in a row, and they’ll be looking to make it 11, but it’s not going to be easy against this Fighting Illini team.

Missouri has been playing exceptionally well this season, averaging 88.7 points per game while giving up 66.7 points per game on average.  Missouri has four players averaging double digits per game, Caleb Grill averages 13.6, Mark Mitchell with 13.5, Tamar Bates with 12.3, and Anthony Robinson II with 11.5 points per game.  As for Illinois, they average 84 points per game while giving up 64.6 points per game.  Illinois also has four players averaging double digits, and leading the Fighting Illini this season is Kaspara Jakucinois who averages 16.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.  This Illinois team has had its ups and down so far this season, and they have proven they can score a lot of points, but their defense has been shaky at times.  This Missouri has proven they can score, and they were able to beat Kansas earlier in the season.  I expect this game to come down to the wire, and that’s why I’ll be backing Missouri as my best bet of the day. 

Illinois vs Missouri prediction: Missouri +3 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Ivy League and Big 12 get ready to battle it out on Sunday afternoon as the Brown Bears get ready to take on the Kansas Jayhawks. Brown is 7-4 on the season and will be hoping to pull off a massive upset against No.8 ranked Kansas.  Kansas has struggled in their last couple of starts, going 3-2 in their last five games.  These two teams have faced off twice against each other, and the last these two played dates back all the way to 1997. Kansas is 2-0 lifetime against Brown and they’ll be hoping to make it 3-0 after Sunday’s matchup.

The Bears haven’t played a single team this season that comes close to the level of talent that Kansas has.  The Bears lost to Holy Cross, Maine, and Siena this year, and neither of those teams have the talent of a Big 12 school.  Kansas has three scorers who average double digits per game, and they’ll be looking for Hunter Dickinson to have a big game against this Bears team as he averages 15.6 points and 10 rebounds per game.  As for the Bears, they have four players averaging double digits per game, and leading this team is Kino Lilly Jr who’s averaging 20.2 points per game.  I think the Bears will be amped up in this game against Kansas as they want to make a statement in the college basketball world, but unfortunately for them, I don’t think they’ll come away with a victory.  However, I do think this Browns team has enough talent and will be playing with everything they got to give Kansas a hard enough time.  Look for Brown to give it their all and score enough points to cover this large spread, making the Brown Bears my best bet of the day.  

Brown vs Kansas prediction: Brown +24.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Georgetown Hoyas will travel to Newark on Sunday evening to play a Big East Conference game against the Seton Hall Pirates. Georgetown won their first conference game on Wednesday with a win over Creighton while Seton Hall will look for their first conference win after losing to Villanova on Tuesday. The Pirates are just 5-7 on the season and are in desperate need of a win but they are a slight home underdog in this one. It should be a close contest, but our best bet of the game Is the under-point total.

The total is currently set for 130.5 points and that is our expert pick. We like the under here because neither team has shown great offense thus far and have played good defense. Seton Hall is ranked #14 in opposing points per game and Georgetown is ranked #26. According to Bartorvik, Seton Hall’s defense is ranked #28 in defensive effective field goal percentage and Georgetown is ranked #35. Seton Hall has one of the worst offenses in the country and plays at one of the slowest paces, which gives the under a great chance. The Pirates are ranked #358 in adjusted tempo and #309 in effective field goal percentage, according to KenPom. Take the under here.

Under 130.5 available at time of publishing. Playable to 129.

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After a long day of betting on the NFL, we all know why we are here: no one actually cares about Hawaii sports except for bettors, so we are here with your Charlotte 49ers vs Hawaii Rainbow Warriors prediction. With an 11:00 pm eastern tip-off, we have plenty of time to see where we are at on the day and to assess what we need. The Rainbow Warriors opened as 4.5-point favorites, and that has pushed up to -6 already. The line movement says to take the Warriors, and my own evaluation of these teams leads me to the same conclusion. My Charlotte vs Hawaii pick is Hawaii -6.

Charlotte is coming off a great season last year, but the campaign this season has been mixed so far. The Niners lost their top 3 scorers to the transfer portal, and their most significant post player has missed several games with a knee injury. He is questionable for Sunday, but I would be surprised if he plays. Without him, Charlotte struggles horribly on the glass. Hawaii, on the other hand, has quite a bit of size, and they defend really well. We also have two teams that play at a very slow tempo, and whose offenses are not particularly efficient. Things like second shots will make all the difference, and this should be an area of advantage that heavily favors the Rainbow Warriors. Then you also factor in the across-the-continent-and-ocean travel, and Charlotte is in a tough spot here. I’ll take Hawaii to cover.

Charlotte vs Hawaii Prediction: Hawaii -6 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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