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College Basketball Odds, Picks & Predictions: Monday (1/1)

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New Year’s Day is not just about bowl games and the College Football Playoff, as a handful of intriguing college basketball games should catch bettors’ attention. There have been some crazy results in the post-Christmas action, even on yesterday’s smaller slate, as Stanford downed No. 4 Arizona. What is in store for this holiday edition of college basketball?

We are 5-0 combined over our last two college basketball articles, and we look to keep the holiday momentum going with two more plays to begin a new week and a new year.

Read on for Monday’s College Basketball best bets.

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Monday’s College Basketball Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

UT Arlington @ Texas (-18) | O/U 145.5 (-110/-110) 

UT Arlington enters this matchup on a two-game losing streak, losing to in-state rivals Texas Tech and North Texas by an average of 18.5 points. So why wouldn’t the Longhorns, the best team in the state not named Houston, beat the Mavericks by more than that?

UT Arlington does a great job at sharing the basketball, ranking in the top 18 in the country in assists per field goal made. However, they are awful at taking care of the basketball, turning the ball over on 22.3% of possessions (ranks 355th). Meanwhile, Texas has held three of its last four inferior opponents to 55 or fewer points in three of the previous four games, and point guard Max Abmas is coming on strong with four 20-point performances in the last seven. While there is some speculation over this pick if Texas has a holiday hangover, the Longhorns defense has not shown any cracks lately to show that the Mavericks can stay within 18 points even if they do not bring their best.

Pick: Texas -18 (-110)

North Alabama @ Texas Tech (-18)| O/U 145 (-110/-110)

North Alabama has just six victories on the season; two have come against non-Division-I teams, while three others have come against teams ranked 323rd or worse, according to KenPom. The Lions are one of the few teams that have not taken the court since the Christmas break, and in their last game, they allowed 83 points to one of the worst-shooting Power 6 teams, the Indiana Hoosiers. North Alabama struggles to keep teams out of the lane, and its lack of dribble containment has resulted in a bottom 55 free throw attempt per field goal attempt rate in the country (40.6%). Thus, while Texas Tech has attempted 3-pointers at a top 55 rate, it will likely take advantage of the Lions’ poor interior defense and force North Alabama to pick its poison defensively.

Grant McCasland’s Red Raiders defense does not have many of the same tendencies as the “no middle” philosophies of Chris Beard and Mark Adams before him. Texas Tech ranks 79th in effective field goal percentage and outside the top 100 in 3-point percentage allowed. The Under may be 2-5 in North Alabama’s seven road games and cashed in all three of Texas Tech’s games played on 2-3 days of rest this season, but we expect a lack of focus defensively from the Red Raiders with a game against rival Texas in store five days from now.

Pick: Over 145 (-110)

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Monday:


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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.

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