College Basketball Betting Picks for Sunday 12/3/23

The college basketball season always provides a flurry of twists and turns that few saw coming -- especially when March Madness comes around. This can make college basketball one of the most challenging sports to bet on.

Fortunately, we have plenty of tools available that can aid our chances of taking the most favorable college basketball bets. Bart Torvik and KenPom are excellent sources that give insights into team-level efficiency, and Sports Reference provides a wide range of useful team stats, as well.

Let's check out FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball odds and select some of the best bets of the day by utilizing the mentioned tools.

Please note lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published.

College Basketball Best Bets

Clemson Tigers at Pittsburgh Panthers

Panthers -1.5 (-110)

Nothing in sports might be as random and volatile as three-point shooting in college basketball, so my hunch is that Clemson enters this one overvalued in some capacity.

The Tigers are coming off an upset over the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, and they did -- as they have all season -- with the three-ball. They knocked down 11-of-21 (52.3%) in that game and are, inexplicably, shooting 41.5% from three for the entire season.

Good shooting in a large sample is excellent, but in this small one for a team that shot 36.9% a year ago? They're due for a clunker.

Pitt can give it to them. Their opponents have made just 25.5% of the their threes (12th in D1). They're also 58th overall in defensive efficiency, so that's not all dumb luck.

It was surprising to see Pittsburgh favored here, but a longtime trend of ranked teams on the road as underdogs supports backing the Panthers, and the path to victory is obvious -- a cold night from deep for Brad Brownwell's guys.

Creighton Bluejays at Nebraska Cornhuskers

Under 149.5 (-105)

This total is on the rise, but I just don't get it.

It bumped from 146.5 at open to 149.5 here, which could be attributed to this being the only game besides Clemson-Pitt with top-50 teams from Bart Torvik squaring off. The public almost always sides with the over.

On paper, these two teams are ripe for an under -- especially with the better offense, Creighton, on the road. The Bluejays are 4th in Bart Torvik's overall offensive efficiency ranks with Nebraska a quality 22nd themselves.

However, both teams sport excellent defense, too. Creighton is 18th in that regard, and Nebraska is a respectable 57th. Where this total truly makes no sense to me is looking at tempo.

Of 362 Division I schools, Creighton is 240th in adjusted tempo, and Nebraska -- with the worse of the two offenses -- is 208th. Those teams don't regularly burst into the 70s.

numberFire's model sees the under winning out 65.1% of the time in this one. You could wait until tip-off if supporting this side as it continues to climb.

Looking for more college basketball betting opportunities? Head over to FanDuel Sportsbook to check out all of the upcoming college basketball odds.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.