NCAA Basketball Best Bets for December 13: Indiana & Nebraska Keep It ‘Under’ Wraps
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Willie Bee
- December 13, 2024
Top NCAAB Pick: Indiana/Nebraska Under 153.5 (-108) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
A very light college basketball card awaits bettors on Friday when just 10 games are scattered around the country. There might as well be zero games for some of the bettors who suffer from triskaidekaphobia, so we hope they have a peaceful evening and enjoy a day off.
Don’t forge to check out our YouTube channel for additional college basketball picks, featuring Omaha vs. Northern Iowa and Indiana vs. Nebraska.
Army Black Knights vs. George Washington Revolutionaries Odds
Friday, December 13, 2024 – 07:00 PM ET at Charles E. Smith Center
We wouldn’t ever expect a game pitting the 149th-ranked team on the Kenpom list against the No. 281 squad to attract much attention, and Friday night’s collision between the Army Black Knights and George Washington Revolutionaries is certainly proving that point.
But it’s drawing even less attention from one of the two fan bases since the only thing on the Army’s mind right now is, “Beat Navy! Beat Navy! Beat Navy!” And we can’t blame Black Knights Nation since they hope to cap a very successful gridiron campaign in the annual grudge match with the Midshipmen on Saturday.
High-Scoring Affairs When Army Takes The Floor
Preseason polls placed the Black Knights in the middle, or at least the upper second half, of the Patriot League, and Kevin Kuwik’s club has done its job to live up to those middling expectations on the non-conference slate with a 5-4 record (4-3 ATS).
Where the Army has been profitable is on the scoreboard, running up a 6-1 O/U record at top-rated sportsbooks. The Black Knights have scored 100+ twice in 9 games, and allowed 100+ three times, making them the only team in the top 60 in scoring and the bottom 20 in points allowed.
George Washington returns home following a 2-game road trip last week, splitting the matchups at American and Old Dominion while failing to cover either as a road favorite. The loss at American was especially tough since the Revolutionaries battled back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to force overtime, only to lose.
G-Dub Holds 5-2 Lead In Series
It has been a little more than nine years since the two sides last met. George Washington built a big lead in the first half of that November 2015 clash, lost it midway through the second then powered its way to a 92-81 victory.
The Revolutionaries are listed at -11.5 on the NCAAB odds for this matchup, but it’s the 148-point total we’re mostly interested in with a play on the ‘over.’
NCAAB Pick: Army/George Washington Over 148 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Indiana Hoosiers vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers Odds
Friday, December 13, 2024 – 08:00 PM ET at Pinnacle Bank Arena
Being a conference game, we wouldn’t expect either Indiana or Nebraska to hold back on Friday when they collide in Lincoln. But that’s especially true this time since both the Hoosiers and Cornhuskers will each take more than a week off following this matchup.
This is the last of the ‘early Big Ten games,’ and the Cornhuskers opened -2.5 before settling at -4 at outlets such as BetOnline. Scoreboard players are looking at 153-153.5 for their decisions.
Hoosiers Currently On 4-1 ‘Over’ Spurt
Indiana got its conference slate off on a winning note on Monday with an 82-67 home win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The contest was knotted 9 minutes into the first half before the Hoosiers took the lead for good with an 11-1 run.
Mike Woodson’s crew was giving up 9.5 to Minnesota, giving Indy backers their fourth consecutive cover, and the final continued a recent ‘over’ stretch that has seen four of the last five Hoosiers games go past the marks.
Nebraska, meanwhile, saw a modest 3-game win streak come to an end in a very disappointing fashion after being mauled in East Lansing by Michigan State last Saturday. The Cornhuskers couldn’t buy a bucket shooting just 33%, all while the Spartans shot nearly 52% and were lights out at the line sinking 21-of-22 free throws.
Fred Hoiberg was not pleased with his team’s overall effort, obviously, but called direct attention to the Cornhuskers being out-rebounded by Michigan State, 48-19.
The Last 5 Meetings Sail Past The Totals
Nebraska swept the regular season series last year, posting an 86-70 win at home in January as a 4.5-point favorite then pulling off a mild upset about 6 weeks later in Bloomington, where a near-identical final of 85-70 was the result.
The Cornhuskers then made it 3-for-3 with a 93-66 outcome in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Nebraska easily covered as 5.5-point chalk, and the game turned during a 19-0 run over a 5-minute stretch that spanned the two halves.
All three of those contests went ‘over’ the totals, as had the two previous meetings, and the Hoosiers still hold a comfortable 19-10 lead in the rivalry.
Running contrary to the current trend when these two get together, my college basketball pick will be to play the final score coming up a little short of the mark.
NCAAB Pick: Indiana/Nebraska Under 153.5 (-108) at Heritage Sports
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
