Top College Basketball Picks Thursday, December 17th (2020)
With a huge snowstorm impacting much of the East Coast overnight, COVID-19 may not be the only thing affecting today’s college basketball games. All contests that are postponed due to inclement weather will obviously not be available for wagering, but also pay attention to any teams that reported difficulties with traveling to their destinations as that could have a huge impact on a road team’s readiness to play.
Here are a trio of bets for Thursday.
YTD: 24-13-1
All odds via BettingPros consensus
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Kansas at Texas Tech: UNDER 133.5
(7:00 PM ET tip)
While a top-14 matchup should be enough to excite any college basketball fan, unless you are an old-school purist who loves defense, this game will not be easy on the eyes. Simply put, Kansas and Texas Tech are two of the best defensive teams in the country. The Red Raiders are the best in the country in terms of adjusted offensive efficiency, while Kansas ranks sixth. Texas Tech has held six of their first seven opponents under 60 points, as their methodical pace makes it tough for teams to score in the half-court.
Kansas will be by far the most up-tempo team the Red Raiders have faced this season, but they themselves have had their share of struggles on the offensive end. Kansas turns the ball over on 17.1% of their possessions, and they rank just 229th in the country in two-point shooting percentage. The under is 45-18-1 in Kansas’s last 64 road games and is 4-0 in their last four games overall. Meanwhile, the under is 5-1 in Texas Tech’s last six games overall. The Red Raiders should once again be able to keep this game at their pace.
Creighton at St. John’s: OVER 160
(7:00 PM ET tip)
The Creighton-St. John’s matchup will be the complete antithesis of the Kansas-Texas Tech game. While points will be at a premium in the Big 12 matchup, a much more up-tempo and free-flowing game will break out in the Big East.
St. John’s coach Mike Anderson’s full-court style tends to lend itself to track meets, which Creighton is not going to mind. The Bluejays are coming off a disappointing home loss to Marquette, as the Golden Eagles were able to make it a physical half-court contest. St. John’s is not nearly as physical as Marquette and it will show.
These two teams combined for 176 and 162 points in their two meetings last year. Both of these teams should be even better offensively than last year as each roster was comprised of younger players who have now had a chance to grow in their systems. As long as this game stays close and neither team works the shot clock late, we should be treated to a scoring spree.
NC State at Saint Louis: Saint Louis -2.5
(8:00 PM ET tip)
Historically, Kevin Keatts’ NC State Wolfpack teams have struggled with teams who slow the pace and make them score in the half-court. Not many teams are better at that than Saint Louis, who play at the country’s 298th slowest tempo. Not only are the Billikens 5-0 SU on the season, including a big win over LSU, they are also 5-0 ATS. Saint Louis does not get many opportunities to host a Power 5 conference team, so you can be sure their players will be fired up to take on the Wolfpack who are playing their first road game of the year.
Saint Louis is led by three outstanding guards in Javonte Perkins, Jordan Goodwin, and Gibson Jimerson. All of them average in double figures, and none are overly reliant on the three-point shot as they all have the ability to break down defenders and get to the rim. The trio is a big reason why the Billikens rank 22nd in the country with a 58.6% two-point percentage. However, they are not too shabby from deep either as the team’s 45.0% three-point percentage ranks fifth in the country. The Wolfpack have a showdown with UNC on December 22nd but cannot look past Saint Louis in this one because they are one of the best mid-majors in the country.
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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.