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Welcome back! In this article every week, we'll be giving you an early New Year's boost with some of the top college basketball games and betting picks for Wednesday, December 30, 2020.
Last week's slate of games ended in a 2-2 split. Pepperdine was unexpectedly manhandled by Cal-State Bakersfield, and Xavier-Creighton ended up as a slugfest. However, Illinois easily dispatched of Penn State, and Grand Canyon nearly took down Colorado on their way to an easy cover to keep two wins in the ledger. This 2-2 week brings the season-long record to 8-5 thus far.
Here are some of the top college basketball betting picks. Let me know your thoughts, and follow along the action with me on Twitter @fredetterline. All game times below are Eastern Standard Time.
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Austin Peay @ Tennessee State - 9:00 pm
The Austin Peay Governors have started the season with a disappointing 5-3 record. While the victory over Murray State surely looks good, losses to Abilene Christian and Florida A&M are games that I'm sure that Coach Matt Figger would like back. Forward Terry Taylor is one of the top mid-major players in the country, scoring 21.8 points per game on a sizzling 58% field goal percentage, with 11 rebounds per game. The red-and-white team from Clarksville, Tennessee entered the year as one of the top-3 teams in the Ohio Valley Conference, and that fact has not changed.
The Tennessee State Tigers are a dismal 1-4, with the sole victory over NAIA-program Crowley's Ridge College, a Christian liberal arts school with a student population of only 230 students that is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. Sophomore point guard Mark Freeman is shooting at a 44% clip and is the only Tiger scoring in double digits (17.6 points per game). The Tigers' middling performance this year is exacerbated by the 23% three-point shooting and a 62% clip from the line. The Tigers have been out-rebounded, and foul their opponents nearly 33% more times than they are fouled themselves. This is an undisciplined young team that is a basement-dweller in the Ohio Valley Conference for a reason.
Pick: Austin Peay -4
Richmond @ Davidson - 7:00 pm
The Richmond Spiders entered the 2020-2021 college basketball season to much fanfare. After a fast start to the season taking down Kentucky and Northern Iowa, the Spiders dropped games to West Virginia and Hofstra. Coach Chris Mooney's team is anchored by an experienced and deep roster. Big men Grant Golden and Tyler Burton are nightly threats to drop a double-double, and guard Blake Francis is the "go-getter" averaging 16 points per game. With Jacob Gilyard and Nathan Cayo, the Spiders boast five players averaging double figure scoring and can throw an array of offensive arrangements at their opponents.
Coach Bob McKillop is in the midst of his 32nd season in charge of the Davidson Wildcats. Under McKillop, Davidson has built a strong program that grew out of the Big South Conference and transitioned to the Atlantic-10. As with most of his teams, the Wildcats are powered by a barrage of three-point shooters and game-breaking guards. Sophomore guard Hyunjung Lee, a native of Yongin City, South Korea, is scoring 17.5 points per game while shooting over 50% from beyond the arc, and senior Kellan Grady is averaging 17.9 points per game while attracting the opposing team's top defensive assignment most nights. Davidson is a difficult out at home, having won 39 of the past 44 games at John Belk Arena.
Pick: Richmond +2.5
North Carolina-Asheville @ Longwood - 3:00 pm
The UNC-Asheville Bulldogs enter the Big South contest at 3-4. This season, the Big South (and several other mid-major conferences) are instituting "doubleheaders" to minimize travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wednesday's game will be followed by a rematch on Thursday. Guard Tajion Jones is averaging 17.9 points per game and shooting a crisp 41% from beyond the arc. Asheville is coming off of a two-game sweep of conference rival High Point, and seems atop their game. For the Bulldogs to compete in the Big South, they will need to steadily improve on the turnover margin, which is currently a negative-2.7 per game.
The Longwood Lancers are led by 3rd year head coach Griff Aldrich. The Lancers are led by Juan Munoz, averaging 14.1 points per game, and Justin Hill, who is right behind with 11.9 points per game. Coach Aldrich's team is in the midst of a youth revival with seven freshmen on the roster. The young roster has led to a flurry of fouls and a large disparity in free throw opportunities, with opponents making it to the free throw line 60% more than Longwood. Longwood has lost 14 of the past 16 games against Asheville, but are building a program for the future that they hope will be the Lancers team to break through in the Big South.
Pick: UNC-Asheville -4
George Washington @ Fordham - 1:00 pm
George Washington has begun the season with a 1-5 record, and are coming off of a 1-point home loss to Charlotte last week. Coach Jamion Christian is a young up-and-coming coach that uses unconventional methods to motivate his players. Coach Christian showed a clip of the Dark Knight Rises film - the scene where Bruce Wayne tries over and over again to escape from the underground prison - as a motivating tool to his team in August. While there have been tough moments ahead, the team will ultimately be stronger for the night-in and night-out attempts. The young team is led by James Bishop, averaging 19.6 points per game, and Jamison Battle who scores 16.3 points per game while rarely leaving the court. Sophomore point guard Jameer Nelson Jr, the son of the former Saint Joseph's and Orlando Magic star, is a talented playmaker that continues to grow into the responsibility afforded to him as a true sophomore. Seeing the successful rebuilds that Coach Christian underwent at both Mount St. Mary's and Siena, there should be little doubt that Coach Christian is on the right path and has a good shot at the trifecta of successful rebuilds with the Colonials.
The Fordham Rams kick off their season on Wednesday, in part because of a flurry of COVID postponements and delays. Last season was a difficult one for Fordham with a 9-22 record, but the season was not without its bright spots. The Rams' leading trio of Jalen Cobb, Ty Perry and Joel Soriano left some positive signs for the future. Cobb has averaged double figure scoring in each of his two seasons as a Ram, Perry took over as a starter at guard mid-season last year and is the Rams' top outside shooter, and Soriano showed signs of an emerging star as a freshman, scoring in double figures in five of his last six games. Head coach Jeff Neubauer, in his sixth year at Fordham, is undergoing one of the more difficult rebuilding projects in the country at a perennial basement dweller of the Atlantic-10 Conference.
Pick: George Washington +3
Thanks for reading, and remember to gamble responsibly.
