College Basketball Odds, Picks & Predictions: Monday (12/23)
Today’s college basketball action is the last we will see before Christmas Day, as no Division I games are scheduled for Christmas Eve.
On today’s slate, Tennessee battles in-state rival Middle Tennessee as the only top-25 team in action. Elsewhere, four Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic games provide bettors plenty of opportunities to make wagers deep into the night.
Keep reading for a detailed breakdown of our college basketball best bets and top picks for Monday, December 23rd.
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Monday's Best College Basketball Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Middle Tennessee (+26.5) @ Tennessee (-26.5) | O/U 143 (-1081/-112)
With certain teams, one has to worry about their motivation levels this close to the holiday break, especially with no students on campus to attend the games. After Tennessee’s last game against Western Carolina, it does not seem that one has to worry about much about the Volunteers heading into the break.
Tennessee’s 84-36 win over Western Carolina on Tuesday was the best defensive performance in the history of the KenPom database, as the Volunteers held the Catamounts to 0.49 points per possession. Now they face a Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) team that entered the Myrtle Beach Invitational last month with the fifth-worst spacing rating, per ShotQuality metrics.
MTSU also entered that tournament shooting 22% from three-point range, which was 0.22 points per possession under expectancy. The Blue Raiders are up to 31.2% from deep, but that still ranks 263rd in the country. Hitting from the perimeter is a necessity against a team like Tennessee that walls off the paint.
Meanwhile, MTSU ranks eighth in defending the three-point line (27.1% allowed), which should allow it to focus more on slowing down Zakai Zeigler’s dribble penetration.
The under has cashed in seven of Tennessee’s 11 games and two of Middle Tennessee’s three games as road underdogs. I expect it to be the right side of the total again.
Pick: Under 143 Points (-112)
Charleston (+3.5) @ Loyola Chicago (-3.5) | O/U 147.5 (-110/-110)
Loyola Chicago suffered a heartbreaking loss in the opening game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, as it fought back from a 10-point deficit to take a one-point lead with 21 seconds to go against Oakland, only to allow the game-winning basket at the buzzer.
Loyola Chicago is very shorthanded this week, playing without second-leading scorer Jayden Dawson (12 points per game) as well as Justin Moore, who contributes a team-leading 5.3 assists. In addition, the Ramblers spent the majority of the time leading up to this tournament preparing for Oakland’s unique zone defense and have a much different prep for a dangerous mid-major in Charleston.
Charleston plays at a top-55 tempo, and I look for the Cougars to speed up and eventually wear down the short-handed Ramblers. If this becomes a battle of free throws down the stretch, a big edge goes to Charleston. The Cougars rank 57th in the country in free-throw percentage compared to Loyola Chicago’s No. 337 ranking, as the Ramblers make fewer than 65% of their free throws.
Pick: Charleston +3.5 (-110)
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Monday:
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.