December 23 CBB Lines

Despite not having a bevy of holiday tournaments taking place this week, the Wednesday, December 23 CBB lines show a handful of really interesting matchups. No. 22 Xavier takes on No. 13 in a game many expect to be a shootout. Also in the midwest is a ranked showdown between No. 11 Rutgers and No. 23 Ohio State.

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Rob Dauster, a longtime national college basketball writer, and co-founder of the Field of 68 Podcast Network, analyzed the December 23 CBB lines, and is here to break down the numbers that matter in the key matchups.

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL ODDS: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23 CBB LINES

USC UPSTATE (0-7) at #8 TENNESSEE (5-0), 5 p.m. ET
SPREAD: Tennessee -34
OVER/UNDER: 141 points
Click here for the full list of USC Upstate-Tennessee odds.

Tennessee is awesome.

They are one of, if not the best defensive team in the country. They are one of the most athletic teams in the country. They have size, they have guards, they are making shots and they have a pair of freshmen coming off their bench that could end up being lottery picks. For my money, this is a borderline top five team in the country this season.

And when you cannot match up with their athleticism, they just overwhelm you. We saw it against St. Joe’s. We saw it against Tennessee Tech. We saw it against Appalachian State.

And we’re going to see it against USC Upstate, who ranks outside the top 250 in adjusted offensive efficiency and 332nd in adjusted defensive efficiency.

#22 XAVIER (8-0) at #13 CREIGHTON (6-2), 3 p.m. ET
MONEYLINE: Creighton -315, Xavier +250
SPREAD: Creighton -7
OVER/UNDER: 152 points
Click here for the full list of Xavier-Creighton odds.

I don’t like betting Creighton in this spot because it feels like we’re betting on whether or not this is the game where Marcus Zegarowski actually shows up to play.

That’s not betting with an edge. That’s throwing darts and hoping you hit a bullseye.

That said, this matchup with Xavier and Creighton is between two of the most interesting teams in the Big East. Both of these programs like to get up and down the floor, both of them are running spread offenses and firing up threes at reckless abandon and neither team has seemed all that interested in playing defense at a high level this year.

So to me, that screams bet the over.

I got this total at 155 today. It’s been bet down to 152. I got it there again. I very much believe this is going to be a game that gets played in the 80s, especially if this is the day where Zegarowski decides to play as well as Paul Scruggs.

UCLA (5-2) at #25 OREGON (6-1), 3 p.m. ET
MONEYLINE: Oregon -143, UCLA +120
SPREAD: Oregon -2.5
OVER/UNDER: 135.5 points
Click here for the full list of UCLA-Oregon odds.

This totally goes against the process I talked about in Monday’s article, but I think the play here is Oregon. Based on where this line opened, the books are valuing UCLA as a better team than Oregon, and I just cannot get behind that thinking at this point in the season.

We’ve been on UCLA recently, including their loss to Ohio State, and I still like them, but Oregon can matchup with their versatile wings about as well as anyone in the country, and the truth is that it seems as if the market has overcorrected to Jalen Hill and Johnny Juzang being back. I’ll take Dana Altman at home against Mick Cronin all day.

NORTHWESTERN STATE (1-9) at WASHINGTON STATE (7-0), 5 p.m. ET
MONEYLINE: Washington State -10000, Northwestern State +1600
SPREAD: Washington State -18.5
OVER/UNDER: 143.5 points
Click here for the full list of Northwestern State-Washington State odds.

Northwestern State is playing its third game in three days in Washington. While their name is “Northwestern State,” they are actually a school located in Louisiana. Washington State is 7-0 and has won their last two games by 28 points each.