College Basketball Best Bets Tonight: Expert Picks for Dec. 1

Our college basketball best bets tonight highlight the four strongest plays from a small 12-game slate featuring matchups between Division I programs.

My college basketball expert picks include an underrated Big 5 rivalry and a team on the rise after an early-season loss to a Division II opponent.

College basketball best bets: Dec. 1

College basketball expert picks tonight

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

Temple vs. Villanova prediction: Over 148.5 (-108 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐

This is Villanova’s second of three games in a 15-day span, so there should be plenty of rested legs that may shorten the team’s rotation.

Villanova played its last game without the nation’s leading offensive and defensive rebounder, Duke Brennan. His injury forced the team to focus on its lack of rim protection, but left it vulnerable from 3-point range, as Old Dominion made 47.8% of its threes.

Conversely, Temple ranks in the bottom 35 of all D-I teams in 3-point percentage defense (38.8%) and the bottom 30 in turnover rate (13.6%). Thus, there should be plenty of clean trips and good looks from beyond the arc for a Villanova offense that has cashed the Over in three of four games as a home favorite.

This total has come down two points from an opening number of 150.5, but there is still plenty of value on the Over, especially at the lower -108 juice (51.92% implied odds) at FanDuel. Through its price, a $10 winning wager would net $9.26 in profits.

Iona vs. Delaware prediction: Delaware ML (+114 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐

Blue Hens forward Justyn Fernandez did not play in the team’s first three games, which included an inexcusable loss to D-II Wilmington. But early returns with Fernandez back have been promising, as Delaware is 2-1, while he has averaged 14 points per game and two or more steals in both victories.

Delaware has also had success playing more zone defense of late, and even held Southern Illinois to 20% from 3-point range in the team’s only loss with an active Fernandez.

The Blue Hens zone will be integral in slowing down an Iona offense that plays at a top-20 pace thus far.

FanDuel is the only one of our best sports betting sites offering better than +110. Its +114 odds carry a 46.73% implied probability, and would return $11.40 in profits on a $10 wager if the Blue Hens pull the upset.

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

UAB vs. Middle Tennessee prediction: UAB -3.5 (-110 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐

UAB started completely fresh with an entirely new roster that returned zero production from last year’s 24-win team. Thus far, Andy Kennedy’s roster has blended seamlessly with five players averaging in double figures, while ranking in the top 32 in offensive rebounding and turnover rate.

Middle Tennessee’s strength defensively is taking away the perimeter, as opponents have scored just 22.7% of their points from 3-point range against the Blue Raiders. But that should not pose an issue for UAB’s poor perimeter shooting, as the Blazers get the 16th-highest percentage of their points from inside the arc (58.2%).

UAB is a 3.5-point betting favorite across the market. I am headed to BetMGM to back its standard -110 juice at 52.38% implied odds, where a $10 winning wager would net $9.09 in profits.

McNeese vs. Incarnate Word prediction: McNeese -7.5 (-108 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

McNeese is riding high after three wins in three days to secure the Cayman Islands Classic, the school’s first-ever in-season tournament championship.

Arguably, its first win of the tournament over George Washington was its most impressive, as the Revolutionaries had won all four of their games against true mid-major competition by an average of 30 points, and rose to the A-10’s top-ranked team in KenPom.

The Cowboys will have the best player on the floor in most games they play in returning Southland Conference Player of the Year Jahvon Garcia. Garcia averaged nearly 20 points per game in the Cayman Islands Classic, and the Cowboys’ dynamic offense features an incredible combination of low turnover rate (top 26) and high free-throw rate (top 38). 

FanDuel is the only one of the best sports betting apps charging less than the -110 standard juice to lay the points with the favorites. If the Cowboys cover, my $10 winning wager would return $9.26 in profits through FanDuel’s -108 odds.