College Basketball Betting Guide: Lines, Trends & Picks For Thursday, Dec. 8

Today's College Basketball Betting Lines, Odds & Picks

Today's college basketball slate features a pair of Big Ten battles as well as a rivalry matchup between Iowa State and Iowa. Who will take home the Cy-Hawk trophy? Let's find out.

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UMass Lowell at Massachusetts Prediction

These are two teams that have found success early this season thanks to their ability to score. UMass Lowell is averaging 83.4 points per game and is shooting over 50% from the field on the season. Not to mention they are draining 3s at just under 38%. The Minutemen aren't shooting the ball quite that well, with a mark of 44% on the season, but did pour in 53% of their field goals during their most recent outing against Albany, in which they put up 87 points. While both of these defenses are decent and hold opposing offenses to 60-65 points per game, I think we could see this game turn into an offensive slugfest where the two teams trade baskets all night.

My pick: UMass Lowell at Massachusetts Over 144

Iowa State at Iowa

There is a huge showdown tonight in Iowa City with the Hawkeyes taking on the Cyclones in the Cy-Hawk series. Iowa is coming off of a bad loss against Duke, but thankfully for the Hawkeyes, Iowa State doesn’t present the same challenges that the Blue Devils did. The Cyclones are a great defensive team, especially when it comes to guarding the perimeter where they are holding opponents to just 26% from deep. That’s not going to matter much tonight, though, because Iowa isn’t a 3-point shooting team. In fact, they’ve only hit 18 3s all season. Iowa State is also great at forcing turnovers. Unfortunately for them, Iowa is the best team in the country at taking care of the basketball.

However, Iowa does most of their damage scoring in the paint and around the rim. That’s an area where the Cyclones struggle to defend. Iowa State also struggles to rebound, which is something that Iowa does well and should be able to take advantage of tonight. So give me Iowa to bounce back and cover at home in a huge rivalry game.

My pick: Iowa -4

Rutgers at Ohio State

Rutgers at Ohio State is one of tonight's Big Ten matchups that I'll have my eye on. With the Scarlet Knights coming off a big win over Indiana on Saturday, I'm interested to see if they can take that momentum on the road with them. One thing that I think will carry over is their effort on the defensive end. Steve Pikiell's team is only allowing opponents 54.1 points per game, good for the fifth-best mark in the country, and just held a very good Indiana offense to 48 points. In fact, the Scarlet Knights have only given up more than 50 points on three different occasions this season. While Ohio State's calling card this season has been their offense, their defense isn't all that bad either, limiting opponents to just 27% from 3-point range. This is going to be a classic grind-it-out Big Ten battle in Ohio State's first conference game of the season, which is why I like the under.

My pick: Rutgers at Ohio State Under 136.5

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