NCAA Basketball Best Bets for December 20: Big East Battle Gets Prime-Time Treatment
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Willie Bee
- December 20, 2024
Top NCAAB Pick: Dayton +3.5 (-108) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
Friday night includes a Big East contest and an all-Ohio battle for savvy college basketball bettors to ponder on the NCAAB odds board.
‘Twas the Friday before Christmas and all across the land, bettors were at their sportsbooks with cash in hand. Looking for winners on the college hoops card, and seeking big games from forwards, centers and guards.
St. John’s Red Storm vs. Providence Friars
Friday, December 20, 2024 – 08:00 PM ET at Amica Mutual Pavilion
Except for a few non-con contests over the next week, the Big East is already plowing ahead with its challenging 20-game conference slate.
One of those clashes takes place Friday night in Rhode Island where the Providence Friars host the St. John’s Red Storm with FOX on hand to provide the telecast.
Injuries Disrupting Both Rotations
Rick Pitino’s cagers opened their league slate with an 89-61 win over DePaul a few days ago. Top-rated sportsbooks closed the Red Storm -11.5, and they never trailed while building a lead as large as 35 in the second half.
It was the first game for St. John’s without Brady Dunlap, a key part of Pitino’s rotation off the bench. The sophomore underwent surgery for a torn ligament in his left hand this week, and is expected to miss up to six weeks.
Split Start
Kim English’s Friars was at DePaul a week earlier to begin Big East play, winning 70-63 in overtime as 2-point underdogs. Providence followed with a 74-70 loss to St. Bonaventure as small home chalk last Saturday, never able to recover from a poor first half.
One big difference for Providence in those two games was the win at DePaul came with Bryce Hopkins on the floor while the home loss to the Bonnies found Hopkins on the bench. He is questionable for Thursday while he deals with pain in the left knee he injured last season.
125th Meeting in Rivalry
Last season’s results were nearly identical as the Red Storm and Friars split a pair of home wins. Providence covered the NCAAB odds in both contests, first as an 8-point underdog in a 75-73 loss at St. John’s and then as 2-point chalk in a 75-72 win at home.
Those outcomes left the Johnnies with a 66-58 advantage in the series, with the Friars up 41-39 in the 80 matchups as Big East foes. Both games a season ago – and 5 of the last 6 meetings – went past the totals. I’ll go contrary to that with an ‘under’ play.
NCAAB Pick: St. John’s/Providence Under 143.5 (-108) at Heritage Sports
Dayton Flyers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
Friday, December 20, 2024 – 08:30 PM ET at Heritage Bank Center
It’s technically a neutral site matchup, but with the Cincinnati campus less than 4 miles from Heritage Bank Center and Dayton about an hour’s drive away, we should expect a slight crowd edge for the Bearcats against the Flyers.
Regardless of who is in the stands for this all-Ohio battle, it’s the action on the floor between a pair of ranked clubs that we’re concerned with. The Bearcats are No. 19 in the latest AP, and 23rd in the latest Kenpom, while the Flyers are 22/31 in those same rankings.
Narrow Wins For Both Sides Last Time Out
This is the second regional rival for Wes Miller’s Bearcats to face after scoring a 68-65 win over Xavier this past weekend. Jizzle James iced the dubya with a couple of free throws in the closing seconds after that had been a back-and-forth affair.
It wasn’t enough for Cincinnati to cover their crosstown rivals with Bearcat backers laying 8-8.5 at various shops. That leaves Cincinnati bettors with four consecutive losing tickets after the Bearcats opened the season beating the spreads in four of their first five games.
Flyers’ Streak
Anthony Grant watched his Flyers pull off a nailbiter Tuesday night at home where Malachi Smith’s free throw with 8 seconds left gave them a 66-65 victory over UNLV. Smith scored Dayton’s final 5 points to give him 11 for the game, one of four Flyers in double digits.
It was Dayton’s fifth consecutive victory, that streak starting with a win over UConn at the Maui Invitational and also including a triumph over Marquette last weekend. It was not enough, however, to cover the 10.5-point spread to leave the Flyers 6-3 ATS on the campaign.
Flyers Have Current Bragging Rights
Dayton pulled off a nice little upset over Cincinnati in the Hoops Classic 369 days ago, the Flyers’ 82-68 win coming with the Bearcats laying 5.5. A 28-8 scoring gap at the free throw line helped Dayton to the dubya.
That was the first meeting between the two since 2010, and Cincinnati had won 15 of the previous 18 meetings, part of how the Bearcats built a 60-32 record over the Flyers all-time.
Dayton is looking like the proverbial little engine that could right now, so give me the Flyers and the points for my college basketball pick.
NCAAB Pick: Dayton +3.5 (-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.
