Top picks from the CBB betting divisions for Saturday 14th December

Today we kick off the weekend with a loaded College Basketball slate with around 85 games to choose from. Let’s explore where the smart money is leaning with our VSiN CBB betting splits, updated every 5 minutes and coming straight from DraftKings and Circa Sports.

***Top College Basketball Betting Resources***

* Join thousands of other sports bettors and unlock access to picks, public betting data and the VSiN live video broadcast of upgrade to VSiN Pro. Get your first month for less than $10.*

UCLA (8-1, ranked 24th) has won seven straight and just edged Oregon 73-71 to win outright as 3.5-point road dogs. On the other hand, Arizona (4-4) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 102-66 win over Southern Utah, covering as home favorites by 28 points. This line opened with Arizona listed as a 2.5-point neutral site favorite. Right off the bat, this opening line speaks volumes. Why is Arizona favored if they are an unranked .500 team against an 8-1 team ranked no. 24? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? The public hammers UCLA plus the points. But despite 65% of spread bets taking UCLA at DraftKings, we’ve seen this line move further toward Arizona -2.5 to -4. Why would the odds makers give out additional points to the public when they are already playing UCLA to begin with? Because respected smart money has sided with Arizona and triggered sharp “fade the trendy dog” reverse line movement in their favor. Arizona receives only 35% of spread bets but 71% of dollars at DraftKings, a stark contrarian “low stakes, higher dollars” betting split. Arizona has the better offensive efficiency (24th vs. 50th), offensive rebounding percentage (8th vs. 37th) and free throw shooting (73% vs. 70%). Arizona is averaging 87 PPG compared to 78 PPG for UCLA. This is technically a neutral site game, but Arizona will enjoy a friendly crowd as the game will be played at the Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Suns. Those looking to fade the trendy dog ​​and follow the sharp move, but also protect themselves against a close win that might not cover the number, could instead play the Wildcats on the moneyline at -175. Arizona takes 51% of moneyline bets but 65% of moneyline dollars at DraftKings, another stark split in favor of the Wildcats winning outright.

Belmont (8-2) has won four straight and just outlasted MTSU 82-79 and covers as 3-point home favorites. Conversely, Richmond (4-5) has lost two of its last three and just got crushed by Auburn 98-54, not covering as 29.5-point road dogs. This line opened at roughly a pick’em, with some shops opening Richmond as a short 1.5-point home favorite. The public is split down the middle and doesn’t know who to take. However, despite the 50/50 spread bet split at DraftKings, we’ve seen Belmont move to a 1.5-point road favorite. In a vacuum, a line should not move at all if the bets are even, because the oddsmakers theoretically have a balanced operation and no reason to adjust the price. So we know, based on the line draw, that pro bettors are backing Belmont on the road. Belmont has a notable edge offensively, boasting superior offensive efficiency (91st vs. 252nd), effective field goal percentage (55% vs. 44%), offensive rebounding percentage (30% vs. 19%), and three-point shooting (36 % against 26 %). Belmont is averaging 83 PPG compared to 69 PPG for Richmond. The Bruins are 2-0 on the road this season. Those looking to reduce some risk around a 1-point win could instead play the Belmont on the moneyline at -120.

Marquette (9-1, ranked 6th) just took down Wisconsin 88-74 and covered as home favorites by 7.5 points. Meanwhile, Dayton (8-2) has won three straight and just crushed Lehigh 86-62, covering as 22.5-point home favorites. This line opened with Marquette listed as a 1.5-point road favorite. The public can’t believe this line is so short, and they rush to the window to put up points with Marquette, who has the best record and win-loss ranking. But despite 73% of spread bets backing Marquette at DraftKings, we’ve seen the line flip in favor of Dayton +1.5 to -1. In other words, we see sharp “dog to favorite” reverse line movement on Dayton as the line moves in their favor despite being the unpopular play. Dayton receives only 27% of spread bets, but a whopping 63% of spread dollars at DraftKings, a stark contrarian “low stakes, higher dollars” betting split. Dayton is one of the best contrarian plays of the day, receiving about a quarter of bets in the night’s highest-stakes primetime game. Dayton also has fishy buy-low value as an unranked home favorite versus a seller-highly ranked opponent. Dayton has the better offensive efficiency (12th vs. 16th), effective field goal percentage (58% vs. 56%) and three-point shooting (39% vs. 34%). Those looking to mitigate some risk in a potential one-point win could also choose to play Dayton on the moneyline at -115. Dayton takes 26% of moneyline bets but 67% of moneyline dollars at DraftKings, further proof that wiseguy money is playing the Flyers to win straight up. Dayton is 7-0 at home this season. Marquette is 1-1 on the road.