Best College Basketball Bets Today: NCAAB Picks for December 18

What better way to spend a Wednesday night than to watch a fantastic slate of college basketball games that includes the sixth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide playing an unusual (but fun) road game against North Dakota, and the 15th-ranked Houston Cougars hosting Toledo?

Keep reading below to find our favorite college basketball picks today from these two mid-December non-conference matchups!

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. 6 Alabama @ North Dakota

• Date: Wednesday, December 18

• Time: 9:00 pm EST

• Moneyline: Alabama -10000 | North Dakota +2800

• Spread: Alabama -25.5 (-120) | North Dakota +25.5 (-102)

• Total: Over 167.5 (-110) | Under 167.5 (-110)

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

PICK: Alabama -25.5 (-120) at FanDuel

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What do you get when the sixth-ranked offense (KenPom) takes on the 346th-ranked defense?

We will find out on Wednesday night, but it can’t possibly result in a close game, regardless of the venue.

Even though Alabama will be on the road against North Dakota, it is challenging to envision this game being close, as the Fighting Hawks have dropped sixth of their past seven games and are a complete and utter disaster on the defensive end of the floor.

The Alabama Crimson Tide are one of the fastest teams in the country (eighth in adjusted tempo) and rely on a well-balanced scoring attack from Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, Latrell Wrightsell, Labaron Philon, and Aden Holloway to put points on the board.

Few teams have as many offensive weapons as Alabama has, but the big difference between this season’s team and the Final Four squad from last year is on the defensive end of the floor, where it ranks 36th in adjusted defensive efficiency despite its fast-paced play.

As a matter of fact, Alabama holds opponents to the 17th-lowest 3P% in the country, which is remarkable considering it has had the fourth-hardest schedule nationally so far in its 2024-25 campaign.

The aforementioned Sears has been underwhelming to start the season, especially considering he was a preseason Wooden Award odds frontrunner.

However, he has been fantastic against UNC and Creighton in the team’s past two games, averaging roughly 24 points, six assists, and four rebounds per game on a 52/43/92 shooting split.

Expect Sears to parlay his two fantastic outings into another terrific performance.

Further, Alabama should eclipse 100 points against a horrendous defense and cover this spread with ease.

Toledo @ No. 15 Houston

• Date: Wednesday, December 18

• Time: 7:00 pm EST

• Moneyline: Toledo +4000 | Houston -50000

• Spread: Toledo +28.5 (-104) | Houston -28.5 (-118)

• Total: Over 141.5 (-112) | Under 141.5 (-108)

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

PICK: Over 141.5 (-112) at FanDuel

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The Houston Cougars under head coach Kelvin Sampson have historically been an “under” team. 

For example, since the beginning of the 2022-23 regular season, Houston has had an over record of 38-45.

But, this is a different situation.

Toledo’s defense is unfathomably poor, ranking 340th in adjusted defensive efficiency (KenPom) and allowing opponents to score 86 points per game on 49% shooting from the field and 37% from 3-point land this season.

Those numbers have actually ballooned to 53% from the floor and 40% from deep in the past three games.

Houston plays an extremely slow brand of basketball, but Toledo does not. And the Cougars have no issue in playing fast if it means they get clean looks, which won’t be a problem.

On the other side, Toledo actually has a halfway decent offense, with a rough two-game stretch in late November being the only time since its first game of the season that it failed to score 82 or more points.

I expect the Rockets to understand that the only way they have a remote chance of keeping this game close is by playing at a lightning pace and trying to catch Houston off-guard in transition. 

After all, no one scores in the half-court against this Houston defense.

The over could have some value here.