College Basketball’s Best Bets December 4th

Saturday is filled with tons of great games, specifically many great top 25 ranked games. With fifteen ranked games today there will be tons of action that could have a major part on what is to come in March. There were tons of great games Friday night, we expect even better matchups for Saturday.

Saturday’s NCAAB odds should be a major shakeup in future odds and rankings. There are three games however that stand out from the rest.

Today we are focusing on these three matchups that we are confident in. First is a marquee matchup between Ole Miss and #18 Memphis. Later that day another great matchup between #24 Michigan vs. San Diego State. Finally a great game to close out the night and possibly the best matchup all of Saturday is #3 Gonzaga vs. #16 Alabama.

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

#18 Memphis vs Ole Miss

The Bet: Memphis -2

This should be a very competitive matchup between the #18 team in the nation Memphis vs a very well rounded unranked Ole Miss team. Memphis has struggled to find their identity all season. They are a young team however with tons of talent, specifically top prospects Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren. Ole Miss is a good team that is looking to make a statement against a top ranked team. Both teams have had their ups and downs so far this season, with both teams having a 5-2 record to start the season.

Memphis has had very high expectations, especially with top prospect Emoni Bates coming to town. Unfortunately great talent does not always translate into wins. Memphis has looked very inconsistent offensively in some games, while also turning the ball over at a very high rate. They have an explosive offense that can catch fire at night, the issue is playing well consistently and fixing the turnover issues. With that being said they do have a good defense that forces opponents to turn the ball over as well at an extremely high rate. They are one of the nations best at blocking shots and creating steals.

Ole Miss has also been inconsistent on offense as well. They have not had the major turnover problems like the Tigers have had, but they have had trouble playing well on offense night in and night out. Ole Miss however is a good defensive team as well as Memphis. They do not force as many turnovers as the Tigers, but they do a great job of disrupting a team’s offense. 

This is a great matchup because of how evenly matched the teams are. Memphis easily has much more talent than Ole Miss does, but Ole Miss has looked better than Memphis so far early in the season. Ole Miss is also home in this game and the Rebels currently are 4-0 at home, while Memphis is 0-1 on the road. Memphis is coming off of two straight losses where they were blown out by Iowa State by 19 points and a thriller with Georgia where they lost by three. Memphis is looking to bounce back tonight against Ole Miss to get their season back on track. Ole Miss would be a good win for this Tiger team to not only boost their resume, but to gain some of their confidence back. Memphis has struggled playing together with a new team assembled this year. While they have looked inconsistent on offense, they still are averaging almost 80 points per game and shooting 47% from the field. Ole Miss is a good team that has looked like a tournament team thus far in the season, however we like Memphis to bounce back and win this game. Memphis’s team just has too much talent for the Rebels to keep up with. That’s why we like Memohis to cover the 2 point spread.

San Diego State vs. #24 Michigan

The Bet: Michigan -7.5

Another great matchup between two teams that have their eyes on the tournament, as unranked San Diego State takes on #24 Michigan. Both teams have high expectations for their season, but have had an inconsistent start to the season. San Diego State currently has a 5-2 record, while Michigan sits at a disappointing 4-3 record. This game will be held in Ann Arbor where the Wolverines have not played well at home or anywhere else in fact. Michigan is currently 2-1 at home while San Diego State is 0-1 on the road so far.

Michigan has had very high expectations coming into the season after a great run in the tournament last year and one of the best recruiting classes for this season. That has not mattered however as Michigan has struggled early on in the season. Michigan has played some good competition lately, but this team has lost three out of their last five games. This is not the start Juwan Howard envisioned for his Wolverines after such a successful season last year. Part of the reason for the Wolverines early season struggles has been their turnover issues and poor defense. The Wolverines have not even looked great on offense, but in past years their low turnover rate and good defense has carried them. This year they are averaging almost 15 turnovers a game. This is a major increase from past years where Michigan averaged around 10 or less turnovers a game for years. Michigan’s defense has also struggled to force turnovers and stop opposing teams from scoring. Michigan is allowing almost 66 points per game to opponents. The one thing Michigan has going for them is their offense, but even that has looked out of sorts so far. Michigan is shooting 46% from the field and a part of that is big man Hunter Dickenson who is one of the best players in the nation. We expect Dickenson to carry this team in this game against the Aztecs who have struggled to stop the big man so far this season.

San Diego State is an experienced team that has played together for a while now. They have looked very good in some games and very bad in others. They have been great on the defensive end all season. So far the Aztecs have held opponents to an impressive 58 points per game. Opposing offenses struggle to score on this team almost every game, however the offense has been a major issue. San Diego State is currently shooting only 40% from the field and has struggled to score in many of their games so far this season. A recent example of this was their most recent loss to USC where San Diego State only put up 43 points that game. The Aztecs are still looking to find their rhythm on offense, while their defense has carried them.

Both teams have wished for a better start to the season so far. This is a great matchup between two pretty even teams. San Diego State’s poor offense however should hold them back this game and Michigan should expect a great game from their star center Dickenson to carry them to a win against the Aztecs. This is why we like the Wolverines to cover the 7.5 point spread.

#16 Alabama vs. #3 Gonzaga

The Bet: Gonzaga -9

Finally the best matchup of the day starting at 8:00 P.M. E.T. This is easily the best matchup for Saturday’s NCAAB games. Two top ranked teams that are two of the best in the country going head to head. Gonzaga and Alabama both have looked great this season. The Bull Dogs sit at a 7-1 record, while the Crimson Tide has a 6-1 record. Both teams have gotten off to a hot start to the season. Alabama lost a stunner to a good Iona team in a 72-68 loss. Gonzaga lost to a great Duke team in a 84-81 loss. Duke is currently the top ranked team in the nation right now. Both teams have had heartbreaking losses, but besides that have looked amazing thus far. This should be a matchup highlighted by every college basketball fan this season.

Gonzaga has looked dominant to start the season, with wins over at the time #5 Texas and #2 UCLA. Every other game against unranked teams they have dominated. Gonzaga is led by their two star big men in Drew Timme and Chet Holgrem, but so far the most impressive player for the Bulldogs has been Sophomore Julian Strawther. Strawther is currently shooting 52% from the field and 40% behind the three point line. With his great shooting he is also somehow leading the Bulldogs in rebounds even with two of the nations best big men on the roster. Gonzaga is a very well rounded team. They are explosive on offense, great defensively, rebound at a high rate, and play very well as a team. Gonzaga is shooting an impressive 54.5% from the field, averaging over 86 points per game, and even almost 20 assists per game as well. This team looked like they could go undefeated in the regular season again until they played in arguably the game of the year against Duke.

Alabama is one of the best teams in the nation as well. Gonzaga may be good, but the Crimson Tide can compete with anyone. Gonzaga has a great offense and Alabamas may even be as good. The Crimson Tide had an amazing season last year that ended in a Sweet 16 overtime loss to UCLA. The Crimson Tide have continued their great success from last season. They have been firing on offense averaging almost 86 points per game on 48.5% shooting from the field. They even hold a 43.3 to 41.3 rebound advantage over the BullDogs who are one the best in the nation at cleaning the boards. With Alabmas great offense that has carried them thus far this season, they still have had struggles on the defensive end. Alabama is allowing almost 70 points per game this season. Against a great offensive team in Gonzaga the Crimson Tide will have to figure out how to slow down arguably the nation’s best offensive team. Alabama is also one of the best offenses in the nation as well however. 

This should be one of the best matchups of the season. Most college basketball should be watching this game, as one of these teams could end up winning it all in April. For this game though we like Gonzaga’s offense to be too powerful for Alabama. That’s why we like the bulldogs to cover the 9 point spread.