Eight ranked teams are in action in college basketball on Monday, including John Calipari and Arkansas hosting Oakland.
I'm targeting three games with the most value below.
So, here's college basketball best bets and three picks and predictions for Monday, December 30 , including Southern vs. Nebraska.
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 |
|---|---|---|
  | 8 p.m. | |
  | 9 p.m. | |
  | 9:30 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. | ||
Oakland vs. Arkansas
Few underdogs control the pace of the game better than Oakland. Greg Kampe’s Golden Grizzlies are smart enough to know when they're at a talent disadvantage, and as a result, they bleed the shot clock dry on nearly every offensive possession.
In previous matchups with higher-level competition, this intelligent approach has kept the possession count down. In games against Kansas (63 possessions), Boise State (65), Illinois (69) and Michigan State (64), Oakland forced the game to be much slower than those teams prefer.
Three of those four games went under the total, with only the Michigan State game squeaking over the closing number by 1.5 points.
Admittedly, Oakland is in a brutal schedule spot. It played three games in Hawaii over Christmas, made a pit stop back home in Michigan and now has to head down to Fayetteville to take on the uber-athletic Hogs.
However, that should incentivize it further to squeeze the life out of the game.
Running up and down with the Razorbacks after that national tour sounds like a death sentence. So long as the defensive rotations in Kampe’s funky zone stay disciplined, this should be a slow, drawn-out march to an eventual hard-fought Arkansas victory.
Pick: Under 142 (Play to 139)
Southern vs. Nebraska
This is an extremely challenging spot for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Like Oakland, they just returned from the Hawaiian Islands. A key difference, though, is that the Cornhuskers are likely feeling quite good about themselves after capturing the Diamond Head Classic championship on Christmas.
Now, in a pre-New Year’s spot before conference play kicks off in earnest, Nebraska must find a way to get up for a buy game against a feisty SWAC opponent.
If this were a walkover SWAC cellar dweller, perhaps Nebraska could skate by to a blowout. Southern, however, is no joke. The highest-ranked team in the conference, the Jaguars have already proven to be feisty against some high-caliber foes.
Southern lost by 15 at Iowa, 17 at Texas A&M and 13 at Mississippi. A West Coast trip to USC before Christmas went poorly, but Kevin Johnson’s team has enough athletes and discipline to play up against top-shelf competition – especially an opponent that’s in a very vulnerable scheduling spot.
Notably, key point guard Tidjiane Dioumassi missed the team’s West Coast swing to USC and LMU. SWAC reporting is notoriously nonexistent, but after a full week off, there’s a chance he returns.
That would strengthen this bet even further.
Pick: Southern +23.5 (Play to +21)
Loyola Marymount vs. Washington State
Two key factors dictate my wager on Loyola Marymount here.
First, the host Washington State Cougars are shorthanded. Their best player — Cedric Coward — is out for the season; that one is certainly baked into the line.
However, I don't think the line appropriately accounts for the absence of Isaiah Watts, an electric scoring guard who took Coward’s place in the starting lineup.
Losing Watts (not to be confused with teammate LeJuan Watts, no relation) really limits coach David Riley’s rotation. He went a little deeper in a WCC-opening blowout of Portland, but against higher-level foes, Wazzu’s weaponry is running thin.
Secondly, I love the angle of betting a team that is 0-1 in league play – like LMU – against one that is 1-0. There should be a bit more of a desperation factor on the side of the visiting Lions, as they're staring down an 0-2 hole to start out the conference slate.
Crucially, LMU has the talent to play up as an underdog. Jevon Porter could be an NBA player down the line, and coach Stan Johnson has used the transfer portal well to reel in impact players like Jan Vide (UCLA), Caleb Stone-Carrawell (Utah Valley) and Myron Amey Jr. (San Jose State).
It pains me to bet against Riley and his Cougars. They're supremely well-coached and pick on mismatches as well as anyone in the country.
The injuries and the spot both force me onto the road Lions, though.
Pick: Loyola Marymount +8.5 (Play to +8)
