With a 4-9 team facing a 5-8 squad on Monday Night Football, it's time to focus on college basketball today as there's solid value on the board.
Jim Root of Three Man Weave has three best bets to help you formulate your betting card, so dive in below and get the top college basketball odds and picks for those Monday games.
Monday's Three Man Weave College Basketball Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that Jim is targeting from Monday's slate of games. Click the team logos for one the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
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| Specific bet 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. | ||
Holy Cross vs. New Hampshire
Monday, Dec. 19 7 p.m. ET ESPN+ |
Holy Cross +6  |
By Jim Root
Incredibly, Monday’s slate does not have a single game involving a team from the “power six” conferences. Instead, a true mid-major Monday awaits — and that’s just fine with me.
Holy Cross has played three consecutive strong games.
First, the Crusaders beat Central Connecticut in a near pick'em game. Then, they narrowly lost to Quinnipiac and in-state rival Northeastern (covering both). Not coincidentally, star forward Gerrale Gates has been back in the lineup.
Gates is the Crusaders’ heart and soul, a “bull in a china shop” kind of brute on the block.
The fifth-year senior missed one game against Harvard on Nov. 30, and the results were catastrophic. Holy Cross lost, 72-38, posting just 0.58 points per possession on offense. That game — an outlier when they were short-handed — tanked the Crusaders’ value in the market.
Despite the run of three consecutive covers since, I believe some of that value remains.
New Hampshire is a well-coached team under Bill Herrion, but this year’s version lacks the talent of past editions. The Wildcats were gutted by graduations and transfers; per KenPom, this UNH team ranks 352nd nationally in minutes continuity.
Two potential bonus factors exist here, as well. UNH is owed some harmful shooting regression on the defensive end, as foes have made just 28.2% of their triples against the Wildcats.
Also, point guard Kyree Brown has missed three consecutive games. His status is unclear, but if he’s absent, Holy Cross becomes an even stronger wager.
Pick: Holy Cross +6 (Play to +4) |
What is QuickSlip?
QuickSlip is an Action Network feature that allows users to automatically pre-load their bet slip at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Delaware vs. Rider
Monday, Dec. 19 7 p.m. ET ESPN+ |
Delaware +1  |
By Jim Root
We stay on the East Coast for Pick No. 2, moving south from New Hampshire to New Jersey.
I have backed Delaware quite a bit this season, and though that started out rocky, the arrow is now pointing up on the Blue Hens’ value. They have covered three of their last four games, including two outright wins as a medium-range underdog.
The only against-the-spread loss was an eight-point win over arch-rival Delaware State.
Star duo Jyare Davis and Jameer Nelson Jr. have lived up to their billing. In that four-game stretch, they’re combining to average ridiculous 41.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists per contest. The Blue Hens go as they do, and both are firing on all cylinders.
Rider could be a tricky matchup for Davis due to its size inside. But Davis’ mobility and ability to put the ball on the deck is a strong counter, allowing him to get the bigger Broncs into space.
He and (especially) Nelson should live at the free-throw line in this game, as Rider is one of the most foul-prone teams in the entire country. Those free points will be huge in what could be a back-and-forth battle.
As the line indicates, the market views these squads as near-equals. However, I believe that Delaware is the better — and better-coached — team. To me, the Blue Hens should be favored by two or three points, so I love getting them as an underdog.
Pick: Delaware +1 (Play to -1) |
South Dakota State vs. Oral Roberts
Monday, Dec. 19 8 p.m. ET ORUSN |
Over 158 |
By Jim Root
Summit League play begins today, with five different matchups occurring across the league. By far the most high-profile of those showdowns is this one: reigning champs South Dakota State visiting preseason favorite Oral Roberts.
As is tradition for Summit squads, both SDSU and ORU fit the “the offense is better than the defense” mold.
The Jackrabbits are not the high-octane flamethrower they were last year, but they do have some firepower still in the mix. Zeke Mayo’s sophomore year breakout has not gone as smoothly as many hoped, but he still has plenty of potential. The roster is also replete with promising complementary threats.
SDSU’s main issue offensively has been a total inability to take care of the ball. The Jackrabbits rank 336th in turnover rate, per KenPom, undercutting their typically efficient attack.
Fortunately, Oral Roberts doesn’t pressure much, and SDSU has had strong efforts against more conservative defenses — it beat Valpo by 11, lost by just 13 at Alabama and beat Eastern Washington.
ORU, meanwhile, is that high-octane flamethrower. The Golden Eagles have the country’s 20th-ranked offense, per KenPom, led by star senior guard Max Abmas.
Coach Paul Mills has surrounded Abmas with plenty of talent, including power conference down-transfers Connor Vanover (Arkansas), Issac McBride (Kansas/Vanderbilt) and Trey Phipps (Oklahoma).
ORU never turns the ball over, and every single player who logs significant minutes can knock down open 3s.
Historically, this trended heavily toward the over. The total is 4-1 to the over in the last five and 7-3 in the last 10. Both teams have a ton of trouble stopping the other.
That should continue this season.
Pick: Over 158 (Play to 162) |
