College Basketball Picks & Predictions Today, December 23, 2022

With Christmas Day almost upon us, it’s going to be a quiet weekend for some sports. You need only look at the Friday night schedule in college basketball to see that the holiday season is well and truly upon us, as there is just a small selection of games to choose from. Regardless, we are going ahead with our weekly Friday picks to see if we can pocket some last-minute Christmas money. As always, we’ll have a couple of picks against the spread and a couple more on total points, so let’s get to it for your favorite NCAAB betting Odds.

NCAAB – Best bets for Friday, December 23, 2022

Kennesaw State Owls at Indiana Hoosiers (-20)

In college basketball, you can have teams with very similar records still be very far apart when it comes to talent. That is what we have here. Kennesaw State is a very respectable 8-4 on the season, although just 3-3 on the road. They will go against the Indiana Hoosiers, who are 9-3 and ranked at #18 in the nation. The records may be close, but the gulf between these teams is huge. Indiana has lost 3 of their last 5, but this is a matchup that should help them get out of that skid.

SMU Mustangs at Utah State Aggies (-13 ½)

This is another one that has the potential to be a bit of a mismatch, with Utah State in as a big home favorite on Friday night. SMU is off to a slow start to the season, coming into this one with a disappointing 4-7 record. They are also just 4-13-1 ATS in their last 18 games. Utah State recently took their first loss of the season, but they bounced back with a win and will be looking to build on their excellent 10-1 record. The Aggies have been a very good bet against the spread, going 10-4 in their last 14.

Bucknell Bison at Rutgers Scarlet Knights – OVER 133

Two teams with very similar records go head-to head on Friday night. Bucknell is sitting at 7-5 on the season, but the majority of their losses have come on the road, where they are just 1-4. That could be a problem against the 7-4 Scarlet Knights, as all 7 of those wins have come in their own building. Wins and losses aside, we are more concerned with the point total, which seems to be pointing to the OVER. The OVER has hit in 9 of the last 12 games Bucknell has played on the Road, while Rutgers have seen the OVER hit in 4 of their last 5 Friday games.

Iona Gaels Vs Seattle University Redhawks – UNDER 146 ½

You look at the stats of these teams and you see that they are very evenly matched indeed. While that can make handicapping this game a little bit tougher, it actually helps that they are close in a specific area, which is the point total. It is the UNDER that appears to be jumping off the page with this one for a couple of reasons. The Gaels are very much trending UNDER in Friday games, with 7 of their last 10 going that route. The Redhawks have seen the UNDER his it 5 of their last 6 neutral site games, which is what we have here.