College Basketball Best Bets for Friday

Saturday's slate is one of the best of the entire season thus far, but first, there's three games with betting value on Friday, including a top-10 battle.

Dive in below for college basketball best bets and Three Man Weave's top Friday picks for December 15. Matt Cox, take it away!

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.

By Matt Cox

There's a fascinating handicapping puzzle here with Corpus Christi and UTRGV, who played 10 days ago at Corpus Christi. The Vaqueros prevailed in a barnburner, despite being obliterated on the glass and losing the turnover battle.

If Corpus Christi can retain that possession edge in tonight’s rematch, with revenge on its mind, that’s an edge for the Islanders.

It may look like the spot favors the Vaqueros, but having nine days in between games at this time of the year may actually be a bad omen. UTRGV might be bored and rusty, as it's been sitting at home waiting for the second leg of this peculiar in-season home-and-home series.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi found its groove on Saturday with a victory over Omaha.

Finally, injuries loom large in this one, as UTRGV could be without two of its top performers — Hasan Abdul-Hakim and DeAnthony Tipler Jr. — which could catch up to it tonight.

Pick: Texas A&M-CC +2.5

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By Matt Cox

Early money is already backing the Bears tonight in an in-state battle between Northern Colorado and Colorado, which returns home after demolishing Miami (FL) at the Barclays Center last Sunday.

That’s plenty of time to travel, rest, recover and prep for Northern Colorado, but if this week is any indication, that lull may work against the Buffs.

Northern Colorado, on the other hand, is fresh off a gut-wrenching double overtime loss at Texas A&M-Commerce, a game it should’ve won had Commerce not made 16 3s. The natural bounce-back spot tonight, in a simple “off-loss versus off-win,” should play well for the dog.

This short trip to Boulder is one head coach Steve Smiley is familiar with, too. The Bears made this same journey last year, and covered, despite needing a late rally to sneak inside the number.

This rendition of the Buffaloes holds more firepower than last year’s rendition, but they're not enough to beat Northern Colorado by three touchdowns, especially given the spot risk.

Note: There’s a slight chance freshman phenom Cody Williams returns, but Tad Boyle seemed non-committal in his weekly presser.

Pick: Northern Colorado +21.5 (Play to +21)

By Matt Cox

Fading UConn in the non-conference has been a losing proposition the last two years, but there’s a few reasons to zig against the zag with the Zags tonight.

The obvious angle is revenge, and it’s a fully loaded revenge, with Gonzaga vividly remembering the smackdown UConn put on it in last season’s NCAA tournament.

Mark Few has been explicit about how important it is that the Zags come out guns blazing in tonight’s marquee matchup.

Fueling that psyche should be the pent up frustration from letting a late lead slip away against Washington last Saturday. Gonzaga held a 59-48 lead with 14 minutes left and simply couldn’t execute down the stretch.

There are real matchup concerns here for Gonzaga — particularly on the perimeter — but it should be up to the task in the paint against Donovan Clingan.

Dan Hurley also noted a desire to “reinvent their offense a little bit” during the Huskies' long layoff, which could backfire in a nip-and-tuck game.

Long term, the reinsertion of Stephon Castle into the lineup could make Connecticut all the more scary, but in the near term, it could ruffle some chemistry feathers with backcourt mate Tristen Newton, who’s playing at an All-American level right now.

In summary, take the Zags in a quasi home game with ravenous revenge behind them.

Pick: Gonzaga +4

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