College Basketball Best Bets & Player Props Today: Friday (Dec. 12)

My college basketball best bets and player props today look to maintain our profitable week from our first eight plays on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Though Friday’s college basketball slate has just eight D-I games, that gives more opportunity to hone in on the marquee matchup from Hartford as No. 5 UConn hosts Texas. Both of my player prop wagers are taken from that matchup, while my more traditional ATS and O/U plays come from smaller conference tilts.

🏀 College basketball best bets & player props: Dec. 12

💰 College basketball expert picks today

See all of our experts' college basketball picks based on the latest college basketball odds.

🐶  South Carolina State vs. Queens prediction: South Carolina State +16.5 (-108 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐

South Carolina State is one of two remaining winless D-I teams (Gardner Webb), and it continues its crazy nonconference schedule with a trip to Charlotte for its 10th road game in its first 11 games.

Queens trots out a unique positionless lineup for an ASUN team, one that is predicated on hunting mismatches and being prolific in drive-and-kick sets. But this is also the Royals’ first game in nine days, and is in a prime letdown spot with games against ACC and SEC teams (Wake Forest, Arkansas, and Auburn) looming in the next three matchups.

For as bad as the Bulldogs have been in covering just three of nine road games, Queens is an even worse 0-3 ATS following a win.

DraftKings is the only one of our best sports betting sites offering better than -110 to take the +16.5. Its -108 odds carry a 51.92% implied probability, and would net $9.26 in profits on a winning $10 wager.

⬇️  East Tennessee State vs. Austin Peay prediction: Under 142.5 (-105 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Austin Peay is a nightmare to prepare for on the offensive end, as the Governors constantly change defenses from zone pressure schemes, to zone pressures, to selectively hard-hedging on ball screens. As a result, Austin Peay has held two of its last three opponents to fewer than 60 points.

Meanwhile, the Governors were projected to have a solid day offensively in their last game against an undersized UT Rio Grande Valley team that did not figure to put up much resistance against the inside-out offense of Collin Parker and the rim-attacking Rashaud Marshall. But Austin Peay shot just 38.1% from inside the arc and connected on just 2-of-15 3-point attempts.

East Tennessee State has the size with three players 6-foot-8 or taller in its frontcourt to make life even more difficult for Austin Peay’s frontcourt tandem that averages 26.4 points per game, and is two of the team’s four scorers averaging double figures.

Not only is FanDuel the only one of our best sports betting apps with a total of 142.5, compared to the rest of the market at 141.5, but it is charging less than the standard -110 juice to back the Under. If the Under cashes, my $10 winning wager would return $9.52 in profits.

⛹️ College basketball player props today

Search the best college basketball player prop odds for any team or player across every market from legal sportsbooks in your area.

⬇️  Tramon Mark, SF, Texas: Under 6.5 points (-105 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐

Though Tramon Mark is in his second season with Texas after spending four years combined at Houston and Arkansas, he has yet to crack the Longhorns rotation enough to play meaningful minutes.

Mark has scored in double figures in four games this season, but none of those have come against teams inside KenPom’s top 70. 

Against elite top 30 teams like Duke, N.C. State, and Virginia, Mark has averaged 5.3 points per game on just 15 total shot attempts, and is 1-for-7 from 3-point range with just three free throw attempts in three games against Tier A KenPom opponents.

bet365’s -105 odds carry a 51.22% implied probability, and would net $9.52 in profit on a winning $10 wager.

⬇️  Alex Karaban, PF, UConn: Under 1.5 made 3-pointers (-125 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐

Alex Karaban is coming off a game with three 3-pointers made, and he has now connected on multiple 3-pointers in six of 10 games. But prior to the last game, he was 1-for-9 from beyond the arc in his previous two.

While Texas ranks 289th, allowing opponents to shoot 36.3% from 3-point range, it also runs teams off the line at an effective rate. Opponents are attempting just 33.9% of their field goal attempts from deep, which has the Longhorns ranked 41st in that metric.

FanDuel is charging a price of -152 (60.32% implied odds) for Karaban to make two-plus 3-pointers. If it had an O/U line on 3-pointers made, I would surely back the Under for better value. But in the meantime, I am laying down my $10 wager at bet365 in the hopes of returning $8 in profit.

ine that mentions the best odds (and sportsbook) available at time of publish, the implied probability at those odds, and the profit on a $10 bet.