Best College Basketball Bets Today: NCAAB Picks for December 11

After suffering their third loss of the season to the two-time defending champion UConn Huskies, the Baylor Bears tumbled out of the AP Poll.

Now, the Bears will look to get back on the right track against Norfolk State on Wednesday, while the fifth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats hope to keep their positive momentum in a home game against Colgate.

Can either of these underdogs keep their respective games close, or will the favorites cover the spread with ease?

Continue reading for our best college basketball picks today!

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.

Norfolk State @ Baylor

• Date: Wednesday, December 11

• Time: 12:00 pm EST

• Moneyline: Norfolk State +3000 | Baylor -10000

• Spread: Norfolk State +25.5 (-110) | Baylor -25.5 (-110)

• Total: Over 142.5 (-110) | Under 142.5 (-110)

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

PICK: Baylor -25.5 (-110) at FanDuel

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Like a handful of other teams that were ranked highly in the preseason, Baylor has not had an ideal start to the 2024-25 campaign.

The Bears were handed a near-40-point loss in the season opener by the Gonzaga Bulldogs and then lost games against Tennessee and UConn in the following weeks.

While those losses are by no means “bad,” they do create an uphill battle for the Bears in terms of building their resume for a No. 1 or 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

For this game, Baylor will host Norfolk State, a team that ranks 165th in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin but already has four losses despite not playing any powerhouses.

The Spartans will have a tough time in Waco.

Baylor has been dominant in its past 20 home games dating back to the beginning of last season. The Bears have logged a 13-6-1 record against the spread.

In four home games in 2024, Baylor ranks second in average scoring margin (+40.5), second in points per game, first in unadjusted offensive efficiency, sixth in effective field goal percentage, and sixth in offensive rebounding percentage.

This should be a 30+-point game by the final horn. 

The Bears have too many weapons and almost always grab the offensive rebounds on shots they don’t hit. Further, this is not a team that historically played down to inferior competition.

We don’t have to be concerned with a lack of effort or firepower, and the Spartans’ defense has been an atrocity this season.

I’ll stick with the heavy favorite here.

Colgate @ No. 5 Kentucky

• Date: Wednesday, December 11

• Time: 8:00 pm EST

• Moneyline: Colgate N/A | Kentucky N/A

• Spread: Colgate +30.5 (-102) | Kentucky -30.5 (-120)

• Total: Over 157.5 (-110) | Under 157.5 (-110)

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

PICK: Kentucky -30.5 (-120) at FanDuel

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First-year Kentucky head coach Mark Pope stepped into one of the most stressful coaching jobs in the country and has been nothing short of phenomenal thus far.

The Wildcats rank fifth in the country, with wins over Gonzaga and Duke already. A tough road loss against an underrated Clemson team is their sole blip despite having a completely new roster and schemes on both ends of the floor.

Kentucky plays fast (18th in adjusted tempo) and is well-balanced on both ends of the floor, as it is one of just nine teams that have a top 25 offense and defense (KenPom) nationally.

Pope’s team defends the perimeter extraordinarily well (sixth in opponent 3P%) and is fresh off holding the high-octane, uber-efficient Gonzaga Bulldogs to 22% shooting from deep.

Further, the Cats limit opponent points in transition by taking good shots, knowing when to crash the offensive glass and when not to do so, and taking care of the ball.

Here’s the fundamental issue for Colgate in this game: the Raiders (329th in points per game) don’t score nearly enough points to keep up with Kentucky. 

And their defense is an atrocity as well (273rd in adjusted defensive efficiency).

The Wildcats rank first in points per game overall and on their home floor, while Colgate often struggles to reach the 50s against above-average teams like N.C. State and Cornell.

Colgate has yet to face a team as talented or as fast as the Wildcats, and it will be a rude awakening.

I’d have this number much closer to 35.5, and I think the only real reason that it isn’t around there is because of the potential of a letdown game after a huge win against Gonzaga.

Still, Kentucky won’t need its “A” or “B” game against Colgate to cover this spread.