Top College Basketball Picks for Wednesday, December 8 (2021)
Last night, only one of three bets hit. At least we didn’t give out a Virginia wager last night, though! Anyway, we’re back on the grind for Wednesday, December 8, and I’ve got three more bets I’ll be taking a look at tonight. Let’s get right to it!
All odds via BettingPros consensus
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New Hampshire vs. Bryant: New Hampshire +1.5 (-115)
(7:30 PM ET tip)
The New Hampshire Wildcats will be a force in the America East Conference this season. Not only are the Wildcats disciplined offensively, but they’re also shooting the ball at a solid rate, especially from three-point range. New Hampshire is turning the ball over just 13.5 percent of the time while knocking down 35.2 percent from downtown this season.
Meanwhile, Bryant has struggled from downtown, shooting just 27.6 percent from deep this season. The Bulldogs are also shooting 45.1 percent from inside and have struggled on the glass on both ends of the floor.
Bryant is allowing 35.7 percent offensive rebounds on the defensive end and has earned just 28.4 percent on the offensive end. The Wildcats allow just 21.7 percent offensive rebounds on the defensive end and should dominate Bryant on the glass on the offensive end, knowing how bad Bryant has been.
Give me New Hampshire, on the road, with the 1.5.
Buffalo vs. Western Kentucky: Western Kentucky +3.5 (-110)
(8:00 PM ET tip)
Western Kentucky is finally starting to get in a groove. After starting the season 1-3, the Hilltoppers have won four straight games. However, those wins came against Alabama A&M, Tennessee Martin, a non-D-I opponent, and Eastern Kentucky. That Eastern Kentucky win was solid, but the other wins don’t tell me much.
However, I do think Western Kentucky is on the right path. Now they’ll get a home game against Buffalo with an offense that could have real success tonight. The Hilltoppers are shooting an effective field goal percentage of 52.3 percent and knocking down 34 percent of threes and 53.1 percent from inside the arc. The one area where Western Kentucky struggles is with turnovers. However, Buffalo’s defense isn’t a real threat to force turnovers. The Hilltoppers will still make a couple of errors but not nearly as many as they have been this season.
On the other hand, Buffalo isn’t getting to the line at a high rate and should ultimately turn the ball over a little bit more than Western Kentucky. The Bulls are shooting 35.9 percent from downtown and 53 percent from inside the arc. The Bulls might even win more offensive rebounds in this game. But it’ll be a close game throughout, and we’re getting points with Western Kentucky at home, knowing that the Hilltoppers should be able to win the turnover battle and get to the line more.
Utah vs. TCU: Utah +2 (-110)
(8:00 PM ET tip)
The TCU Horned Frogs still haven’t played a road game this year. It’s hard to evaluate teams based on neutral and home games. But they’ll get another semi-home game tonight and won’t have to worry about a true road game for another 10 days. Still, TCU dropped a game to Santa Clara already this year, 85-66. They’re beatable.
Meanwhile, Utah took two losses to BYU and USC around the end of November but came back, at home, to knock off California on Sunday. This year, the Utes don’t have any insane wins, but defeating Boston College, Tulsa, and California isn’t terrible for the resume.
This year, the Utes have played very good defense, holding opponents to just 25.4 percent from downtown and 46.7 percent from inside. If Utah can keep TCU off the glass, the Utes will have plenty of success in this game. Utah has the more consistent offense, but TCU has the rebounding advantage.
The Utes are one of the top 20 teams in the nation when it comes to height. If they can box out TCU slightly more than other teams have, Utah will find a way to win this game outright. I’ll play it safe with +2.
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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.