While there are only eight games on the college basketball slate for Thursday, we still have two best bets from our staff, headlined by the Cy-Hawk Showdown.
Read below for today’s college basketball best bets, including two NCAAB expert picks, predictions, and odds for Wednesday, December 10.
College Basketball Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college basketball betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 6:30 p.m. | |
  | 8 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Green Bay vs. IU Indy Pick
For all the (often rightful) B.S. that Doug Gottlieb has taken over the past year, his Phoenix are starting to show some real potential.
Beating UMass and Iona are two quality neutral-court wins. Losing to Yale by six and to Minnesota in overtime are two quality losses.
The Phoenix have found a legit dribble creator in Justin Allen, alongside two other double-digit scorers in Marcus Hall and C.J. O’Hara. Combined, those three are averaging nearly 14 free throws per game while seldom turning the ball over.
Taking care of the ball against IU Indy’s super press is very important, and the Jaguars’ overly aggressive defense means they are foul-prone, which is a bonus for Green Bay’s foul-drawing trio.
However how electric and novel IU Indy’s fun-and-gun style is — known as “The System” — the Jags are being overvalued because of it. This is a super unathletic team, and if you can beat the press without coughing up the ball, you will get a free fast-break bucket.
That’s why the Jaguars are 3-7 ATS while ranking dead last nationally in transition points per game allowed (36). And while the Phoenix don’t run much, they’ve been efficient when doing so (1.17 PPP, 73rd percentile).
Gottlieb has been mixing in way more zone lately, which theoretically doesn’t match up well with IU Indy’s ball movement and shooting. That said, the Jags have been a lousy zone offense so far (.81 PPP, 16th percentile).
Regardless, I project Green Bay's ML over -160, so I'll happily back Doug's crew while fading the overvalued Jags.
Check out all of McGrath's CBB Projections for Thursday here:
Pick: Green Bay ML (-115, bet365)
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Iowa vs. Iowa State Pick
By Jim Root
For Iowa, getting manhandled by Michigan State holds no shame in the long run. The Spartans will do that to a lot of opponents.
Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, they now face an opponent that's arguably just as physically relentless as Sparty.
Iowa’s more undersized frontcourt faces a challenging task against Jefferson, Buchanan, and Pleta, who are all massive and brutish around the bucket. If Iowa gets bullied as it did in East Lansing, the Cyclones will get second chances at will.
Additionally, Iowa State’s elite ball pressure via Tamin Lipsey and Killyan Toure could wear Bennett Stirtz down and force Kael Combs and others to create.
Iowa State’s bigs are also fully capable of hard-hedging out to half court, easily removing the ball from Stirtz’s capable hands. Alvaro Folgueiras may be a vital safety valve and 4-on-3 playmaker in the short roll.
Historically, this rivalry has been dominated by the home team. Before the 2024-25 season, the home team had won eight of the last nine meetings.
However, this is a new era with Ben McCollum taking over, and this is only the second double-digit spread between these two arch rivals across the past 15 years (Fran McCaffery’s Iowa team covered easily on that one as a 13-point home favorite).
McCollum’s style profiles extremely well for an underdog: the Hawkeyes play extremely slowly, manufacture extra possessions via turnovers, and can hit 3s (41st nationally in 3P%).
But I fear Iowa State’s ability to turn them over and dominate the offensive glass will doom an athletically overmatched Hawkeye squad, particularly in front of a rabid Hilton Magic crowd.
I have to lay this here, given the matchup and potential for a home landslide, even as my numbers question if this spread is too high.
I wouldn't take it much past -12, though.
Check out Jim's full Cy-Hawk breakdown here:
Pick: Iowa State -11.5 (-110, bet365)
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