Best College Basketball Bets Today: NCAAB Picks for December 17

Eight ranked teams take the court on Tuesday, including the seventh-ranked Florida Gators, who will battle a previously-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels squad.

Additionally, the No. 20 Michigan State Spartans will try to stay red-hot and extend their winning streak to four games at home against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.

Which teams will cover the spread in these two enthralling matchups? Check out our best college basketball picks today for the December 17th slate below!

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.

North Carolina @ No. 7 Florida

• Date: Tuesday, December 17

• Time: 7:00 pm EST

• Moneyline: North Carolina +146 | Florida -178

• Spread: North Carolina +3.5 (-105) | Florida -3.5 (-115)

• Total: Over 165.5 (-108) | Under 165.5 (-112)

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

PICK: Florida -3.5 (-110) at FanDuel

Grab $150 in Bonus Bets When Betting at FanDuel

It would not be an exaggeration to classify the start of the 2024-25 regular season as a disaster for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

UNC has started the season with a 6-4 record, losing to Michigan State, Auburn, Alabama, and Kansas.

The Tar Heels’ sole win that could be considered solid thus far was against now-No. 22 Dayton, but it took a monstrous comeback after an 18-point halftime deficit to beat the Flyers by two points.

This team is incredibly streaky; they got down big to teams like Dayton and Kansas and almost strung together a strong enough second half to come away with a win, but came up short in both instances.

North Carolina has several things that have caused its slow start to the season, but two of the main issues have been RJ Davis’s inefficient shooting and the lack of frontcourt talent.

Davis has shot just 35.2% from the floor and 25% from 3-point land to begin the year, which will hopefully improve as the season progresses, but it is certainly an underwhelming start for a player who was one of the odds favorites to win the Wooden Award in the preseason.

Additionally, the Heels are getting a combined 19 points per game from their three forwards who consistently see double-digit minutes. That won’t cut it.

UNC doesn’t have any rim protecting threats and can find itself in trouble when playing against opponents with a true center or terrific rebounding teams.

Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, they will be running into both problems in this game against the No. 7 Florida Gators.

Florida ranks 12th in total rebounding rate, including the fourth-highest offensive rebounding percentage in the country.

Rueben Chinyelu, the former Washington State center, pulls down roughly seven rebounds per game in just 18 minutes of play.

Alijah Martin, Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, and Will Richard combine for just shy of 25 more rebounds per game, as every Gators player boxes out and crashes the glass hard.

Walter Clayton Jr has been the offensive engine for this team, scoring just shy of 20 points per game on terrific efficiency (48/38/92 shooting split).

With Clayton Jr, Martin, Condon, and Richard, this team has a four-headed offensive monster that currently sits seventh in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric.

The Gators have even managed to hold opponents to the 11th-lowest effective field goal percentage nationally thus far in the season.

It’s hard to envision this game staying close, as Florida is among the hottest teams in the country

Oakland @ No. 20 Michigan State

• Date: Tuesday, December 17

• Time: 7:00 pm EST

• Moneyline: Oakland +1280 | Michigan State -3500

• Spread: Oakland +17.5 (-110) | Michigan State -17.5 (-110)

• Total: Over 135.5 (-110) | Under 135.5 (-110)

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

PICK: Michigan State -17.5 (-110) at FanDuel

Bet at FanDuel Today and Get $150 in Bonus Bets

Everyone who adamantly watches college basketball remembers the Oakland Golden Grizzlies for their sensational first-round win over the two-seeded Kentucky Wildcats last season.

They certainly would also remember Jack Gohlke, Trey Townsend, Chris Conway, and Blake Lampman. 

But this year’s Golden Grizzlies team is not that one. 

Oakland lost all four of the players mentioned above, as well as Rocket Watts, accounting for five of its top seven scorers from last season.

Additionally, Isaiah Jones has been out for most of the season and is just now starting to be eased back into play, logging 12 total minutes in Oakland’s past two games.

That pretty much leaves DQ Cole as the sole key returner until Jones gets back to 100%.

Newcomers Allen Mukeba and Tuburu Naivalurua, the two starting forwards, have been rock-solid for the Golden Grizzlies, but they are both relatively undersized at 6-foot-6. 

Further, they can’t stretch the floor much, as they are relegated to scoring inside the 3-point arc due to limited perimeter shooting ability.

In fact, Oakland ranks 362nd (out of 364 teams) in 3-point percentage during its 2024-25 campaign, which is not a recipe for success against a Spartans squad that has the 17th-best defense nationally.

The Golden Grizzlies play extremely slow and don’t foul defensively, which helps them keep games within relative striking distance, but this won’t be one of those games.

The Spartans have been on a tear since losing to Memphis, winning three consecutive games over UNC, Minnesota, and Nebraska.

During that stretch, Michigan State has ranked fourth nationally in points per game, 13th in average scoring margin, and 25th in effective field goal percentage.

Oakland is about ready to run into a buzz saw. Michigan State is one of the hottest teams on both ends of the floor.