Best College Basketball Bets Today: NCAAB Picks for December 6

Get ready for some Friday night fun when the 19th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini head to the northside for a battle with in-state foe Northwestern.

Additionally, the Indiana Hoosiers will host the Miami (OH) RedHawks in a non-conference matchup.

Read below for our previews, predictions, and best college basketball picks for the Illinois vs. Northwestern and Miami (OH) vs. Indiana games!

The following odds for today's college basketball are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Place your bets at FanDuel and claim $150 in bonus bets with a $5 winning wager.

No. 19 Illinois @ Northwestern

• Date: Friday, December 6

• Time: 9:00 pm EST

• Moneyline: Illinois -152 | Northwestern +126

• Spread: Illinois -3.5 (-102) | Northwestern +3.5 (-120)

• Total: Over 143.5 (-115) | Under 143.5 (-105)

All odds are available via FanDuel Sportsbook but are subject to change.

PICK: Northwestern +3.5 (-120) at FanDuel

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Since barely squeaking by a new-look Oakland team at home and losing to Alabama, one of the country’s top teams, on the road, the Illinois Fighting Illini have been on fire.

Most recently, Illinois beat a previously ranked Arkansas team by double-digits, scoring 90 points on efficient shooting (53% from the field and 48% from 3-point land).

The dominance of the Fighting Illini frontcourt has been a huge key to their success so far this season, with Tomislav Ivisic, Ben Humrichous, and Will Riley leading the way.

Those three players have helped Illinois rank second in total rebounding rate behind only the Gonzaga Bulldogs and 14th in offensive rebounding percentage. Not bad company at all.

Further, Illinois ranks 18th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 24th in adjusted defensive efficiency (KenPom), making it one of just 11 teams nationally to rank in the top 25 of both metrics.

On the other hand, the Northwestern Wildcats already have three losses; however, they could just as easily be a one or two-loss team.

In fact, a one-point road loss to Iowa, a five-point road loss to Dayton, and a two-point neutral site loss to Butler are the only blips thus far.

Northwestern is a gritty, grind-it-out team that ranks 38th in adjusted defensive efficiency and holds opponents to an effective field goal percentage of just 43.4% on its home floor.

Obviously, Illinois and Northwestern play two contrasting styles, with the Wildcats wanting to slow the game to a halt (322nd in adjusted tempo) and the Fighting Illini pushing the pace in transition (42nd in adjusted tempo).

While I’d generally be hesitant about a team as slow and defensive-centric as Northwestern keeping this game close against one of the more efficient offensive attacks in the country, the Wildcats have proven (e.g., the Iowa game) that they can score enough points to keep this competitive.

The Wildcats are 28-7 on their home floor overall and 7-2 against the spread as home underdogs over the past two seasons. 

Even if they don’t win, I like them to keep it within four points, especially in a potential letdown spot for Illinois after a big win against Arkansas.

Miami (OH) @ Indiana

• Date: Friday, December 6

• Time: 7:00 pm EST

• Moneyline: Miami (OH) +1280 | Indiana -3500

• Spread: Miami (OH) +17.5 (+100) | Indiana -17.5 (-122)

• Total: Over 151.5 (-115) | Under 151.5 (-105)

All odds are available via FanDuel Sportsbook but are subject to change.

PICK: Indiana -17.5 (-122) at FanDuel

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After two terrible outings against Louisville and Gonzaga, Indiana has strung together two consecutive wins over Providence and Sam Houston State. 

During that two-game stretch, the Hoosiers shot just shy of 58% from the floor, 50% from behind the arc, and 80% from the free-throw line, substantially improving their offensive numbers from the beginning of the season.

What has become blatantly apparent with the Hoosiers is their need to play primarily one-big lineups instead of the antiquated two-big lineups that head coach Mike Woodson has been rolling out for the past several seasons.

From an efficiency and production standpoint, Indiana is much better when either Malik Reneau or Oumar Ballo is on the floor instead of both of them.

The perceived benefits of Ballo and Reneau playing together, which should include utter dominance on the glass, have not been actualized.

As a result, we should continue to see lineup variation with Indiana, especially in these non-conference ‘buy games” against mid-majors like Miami (OH). 

Those variations and changes will also allow the Hoosiers to play faster, a bonus of a smaller, more agile lineup.

Ultimately, this is a spot for Indiana to continue to build on its offensive momentum from the past two games against a RedHawks team that gave up 94 points to Michigan a few weeks ago.