Top College Basketball Picks for Thursday, December 2 (2021)
It’s been a very profitable week for BettingPros readers. We went 2-1 last night and are now 7-2 through the first three days of the week. Thank you to those who are paying attention. It’s more fun winning with people who tail!
Let’s keep it going tonight, December 2, with three more plays.
All odds via BettingPros consensus
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Missouri vs. Liberty: Missouri +4.5 (-110)
(7:00 PM ET tip)
I know Missouri hasn’t been all that great. I get it. But let’s give the SEC a little bit of credit. Missouri is more talented than Liberty. They’ve already defeated SMU, and while that game went to overtime, the Tigers got the job done there. They held on strong against Wichita State, only losing 61-55, and are now facing a Liberty team that is 3-3 on the year.
Liberty has lost to LSU, Iona, and Manhattan and beat two of the worst teams in college basketball between Bethune Cookman and Maryland Eastern Shore. And Liberty only won those games by 8 and 12. So we’re going to sit here and let Missouri get +4.5 points and not do anything?
Missouri is dominating the defensive glass, and while the defense on the perimeter hasn’t been all that, Liberty is only shooting 30.1 percent from long range. The Flames will turn the ball over at a high rate and struggle with getting offensive rebounds in the first place. Sounds like a lot of one-and-done’s against Missouri on the offensive end.
Wright State vs. Purdue Fort Wayne: Purdue Fort Wayne +5 (-110)
(7:00 PM ET tip)
Purdue Fort Wayne has kept most games close other than their game against a Big Ten opponent like Minnesota. The Mastodons defeated Austin Peay earlier this year and played Western Michigan into overtime on a neutral court. At home, against a Wright State team that is 1-5, there’s some disrespect here with a +5 number for Purdue Fort Wayne.
Sure, Purdue has struggled defensively, but offensively they can stay in the game. Purdue has an effective field goal percentage of 49.8 percent and shoots 33.6 percent from long range while knocking down 49.4 percent of shots inside the arc. On the other hand, Wright State is allowing teams to shoot an effective field goal percentage of 54.9 percent and 58.5 percent inside the arc on the year.
Plus, Purdue Fort Wayne has been really bad at defending the three, allowing 41.9 percent of threes to fall this year. Wright State is shooting just 23.6 percent from long range. On the road, against Purdue Fort Wayne, that number might go up slightly for Wright State, but not enough to make a difference. I’ll take the points.
Southern Utah vs. Eastern Washington: Eastern Washington +4.5 (-118)
(9:00 PM ET tip)
Tonight, Eastern Washington will play their first home division I game of the year. They’re 3-3 on the season and just knocked off a top 50 team in Washington State, on the road, over the weekend. Eastern Washington shoots 35.9 percent from long range, and while turnovers can get a bit high, Southern Utah isn’t a significant threat to force turnovers.
On the other hand, Eastern Washington holds teams to just 29.2 percent from long range and has a massive height advantage compared to Southern Utah.
Both teams lack depth and shoot plenty of threes. Southern Utah is only hitting 27.1 percent of threes on the season and will more than likely lose the rebounding battle in tonight’s game. Let’s roll with Eastern Washington and the points at home.
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Jason Radowitz is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him @Jason_Radowitz.