College Basketball’s Best Bets December 19th: Our Top 3 Picks including #11 Iowa State and #19 Texas

A solid slate of games today. Coming off an amazing day of top ranked matchups yesterday, we hope Sunday provides as much excitement as Saturday. 

Saturday started with West Virginia taking on UAB. A very close game that West Virginia was able to win 65-59. UAB got off to a strong start in the first half with a 29-26 lead, but West Virginia took over in the second half to secure the win. Our next games was #13 Auburn taking on Saint Louis. It was an amazing game where Auburn came back from 13 points with under eight minutes left to win the game 74-70. Finally the game of the day as top seed #1 Baylor took on Oregon in another thriller. Oregon definitely gave their all against the defending champs as they led in the first half, but Baylor proved again they are the best team in the nation. Baylor came back to win 78-70 to improve to 10-0. 

Let’s take a look for the best bets ahead of Sunday.

SE Louisiana vs. #11 Iowa State 

The Bet: Iowa State -19.5 

Iowa State is off to a hot start to the season at 10-0 and 7-0 at home. They have not lost a game this season and look to continue that against struggling SE Louisiana. 

Iowa State is a great team and should be in the top 10 very soon. What sets them apart from most great teams however is that they are an amazing defensive team. They only allow 57 points per game to opponents. They held a great Iowa team to only 53 points and Memphis to 59. They are now coming off a win where they held their opponent to 37 points. Even though they only scored 47 themselves, scoring has not been a problem for most of the season. They average over 70 points per game and are led by senior guard Izaiah Brockington. Brockington is in his first season with the Cyclones however, he is a Penn State transfer. Brockington has found a home with Iowa State as he averages 16.6 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. He does that while shooting 50.8% from the field and 47.8% from three. He leads this team and is counted on every game. 

SE Louisiana is off to a poor start this season with a 4-7 record and a 1-5 away record. They have not played great competition and struggle to play consistently. Considering they are going into the Cyclones home and have struggled heavily on the road this should not fare well for the Lions. However SE Louisiana is a good offensive team that does average 78.7 points per game. If they can score at an efficient rate they can make this a game.

With SE Louisiana’s struggles on the road and Iowa State’s great defense we like the Cyclones to cover the 19.5 point spread. 

#19 Texas vs. Stanford 

The Bet: Over 129.5 

A solid matchup between two good teams in #19 Texas and Stanford. Both good teams, but Texas definitely has the advantage in this matchup today. They may have the advantage, but Stanford is not far behind them on the offensive side. 

Texas off to a good start to the season at 7-2 and look to continue today. Texas is a great well rounded team, but has not played their best against good competition so far. They are 0-2 against top 25 teams, but are 7-0 against unranked teams and have dominated in all seven of those games. Texas averages 73.2 points per game on 48.3% shooting from the field. Texas plays well against unranked teams, specifically their offense. They should have no problem scoring and proving why they are a top 20 team in the nation. 

Standord is a good team that is off to the season with a 6-3 record. They have looked inconsistent at times, but usually find a way to win. Their offense carries them as they average 72 points per game. Their defense however has been poor all season. They allow 71 points per game and can’t seem to stop opponents no matter what. They force very few turnovers and teams have no problem scoring at a high rate against them. The only ranked team Stanford has faced so far was #1 Baylor where they lost 86-48. Texas is no Baylor, but they are a great team that should have no problem scoring almost as much as Baylor did. 

With two good offenses and Stanfords poor defense we like the over 129.5 points to hit. 

Kansas State vs. Nebraska 

The Bet: Kansas State even 

Kansas State heads into Nebraska Sunday night. The bookmakers definitely got this line right as this should be a competitive match up between two even teams. 

Kansas State is 6-3 and has looked pretty good so far this year. They have won all the games they were supposed to win and have played very good competition well. Kansas State has been more than impressive so far and are looking to continue making a statement all the way through March. They are solid on both the offensive and defensive ends. They average 71 points per game and allow 59.7 points per game. Their offense is good, but their defense sets them apart from other teams. They have shown in dominant wins how good their defense can be. 

Nebraska is off to a shaky start this season. After starting off 5-2 they have four straight games. In the past three games they have lost by 13, 29, and 35 points. Nebraska has looked terrible the past two games especially, allowing 99 points to Auburn and 102 to Michigan. Nebraska’s offense carried them in the earlier games in the season, but now even that has stalled. Their offense has not been playing well lately and with their defense that allows 77.5 points per game, there is no question why they have lost four straight. Nebraska looks to be on a downward spiral and hopes to turn it around today. 

With Nebraska’s recent struggles we like Kansas State to win the game.