College Basketball Best Bets for Friday
Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images. Pictured: NCAA logo
It's another light slate in the college basketball world, but that doesn't mean betting value can't be found.
In fact, we have college basketball best bets, including Three Man Weave's three Friday picks for December 8.
Matt Cox, you're up!
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 p.m. | ||
| 7 p.m. | ||
| 7 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. | ||
Illinois Chicago vs. Jacksonville State
By Matt Cox
True to their name, the Flames were lava hot during November, rattling off four straight wins and nearly claiming their MTE championship in Baha Mar.
However, they opened up league play a bit hungover, dropping the conference home opener to in-state rival Illinois State.
UIC’s now had a week to digest that troubling trip up and reset for a very beatable opponent, Jacksonville State. Last year, a younger version of these Flames charted the following course leading up to the New Year: a strong non-conference start, then minor conference setback, then rekindled surge in December.
This is a ripe opportunity to replicate that path this season in a prime bounce-back spot with ample time to rest and prepare.
The host Gamecocks do the bulk of their damage at the rim, where UIC’s vaunted rim protection will be waiting to thwart them.
The key will be containing KyKy Tandy, but Luke Yaklich is a renowned defensive schemer, and should have a buttoned up plan to corral the former Xavier transfer.
Flame On, Flames.
Pick: UIC -1 (Play to -2)
North Carolina A&T vs. High Point
By Matt Cox
Don’t overthink this one. This matchup pins together two teams in polar opposite headspaces.
High Point, led by first-year head honcho Alan Huss, is a stock arrow pointed to the moon. The Panthers are still soaring, fresh off a dominating 26-point win over Western Carolina on Tuesday to improve to 7-3 on the year.
Meanwhile, North Carolina A&T’s transition to its new regime has been much rockier.
Monte Ross is sitting at 0-7 in his first season at the helm, and has failed to come within double digits in any contest. The Aggies were shelled last weekend by the Citadel, 85-68, which marked their third loss of the season by 15 points or more against opponents ranked in the bottom 250 in KenPom.
On the other side, laying three touchdowns with a non-power program seems rich, but High Point swiftly dispatched Morgan State by 18 at home last week.
This NC A&T squad looks helpless compared to Morgan, so that transitive property web holds merit in this handicap.
In short, take the Panthers in a runaway.
Pick: High Point -20.5 (Play to -22)
In 2024, the Tar Heel State will launch North Carolina sports betting fully online. Keep up with the latest legal happenings.
Navy vs. Quinnipiac
By Matt Cox
The Midshipmen may be rebuilding this season, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have value in the betting markets, especially with Ed DeChellis still roaming the sidelines.
Since 2020, DeChellis is 65-50 against the number, covering by an average of 1.2 points a game — it’s rare to find coaches that are undervalued over a multi-year stretch, but DeChellis is in rarified air.
Furthermore, Navy is one of the grittier road teams in college basketball, boasting a 35-23 ATS mark during that same span in games outside of Annapolis.
Tonight’s trip to Connecticut should feel like a breeze compared to the Midshipmen's west coast excursion earlier this month.
In fact, since returning to the eastern time zone, Navy has covered three in a row, culminating in a near defeat of A-10 upriser George Washington on Tuesday. The young Midshipmen figure to improve rapidly, especially as they settle into a more reasonable travel schedule to close out the non-conference.
Matchup wise, Navy should win the possession battle tonight, fueled by its relentless pursuit of the offensive glass and unorthodox zone front, which is generating turnovers at the eighth-highest rate in America, per KenPom.
Quinnipiac’s backcourt is poised, but not unflappable, and the Bobcats haven't seen a defense quite like Navy’s.
Pick: Navy +5 (Play to +4)
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