Our free College Basketball picks are out for Tuesday, December 21st, 2021! Make sure you check our expert College Basketball picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free College Basketball picks for the best games on today’s schedule!
Davidson @ #10 Alabama – 7pm ET
The Davidson Wildcats head into this huge game with a record of 8-2. In their last game, they picked up a win over Radford by 20 points. Alabama comes into this game with a record of 9-2 and nationally ranked inside the top 10 of the country, they won their last game over Jacksonville State.
Denis Kirilov
Davidson are coming into this important game on a remarkable 7-game winning streak. They have overcome the likes of East Carolina, Northeastern, and Charlotte. Their 8-2 record so far puts them in the favorable 1st place in Atlantic 10 ahead of Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure. Their junior guard, Hyunjung Lee, leads the Wildcats with 18.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. The team performs well from the field with 48.7% successful shots, but the difference is made from the 3-point line. They are 41.6% on 94-226 shooting which is one of the highest in the NCAA.
Alabama, on the other hand, are slightly better than Davidson with a 9-2 record this season. They cruised past the seeded teams, Gonzaga and Houston, but suffered an upset to Iona and Memphis. Jaden Shackelford and Jahvon Quinerly led the way for the Crimson Tide against the toughest opponents, but failed to deliver against more surmountable teams. Their free-throw percentage is quite low, standing at 67.3% which is a bad trait for title contenders. They will need to continue playing decent defense, but they will have to improve their performance in offense. I think in the game against Davidson they will once again rely on Charles Bediako, Keon Ellis, and Jaden Shackelford to deny the opposition. That’s why I will go with the option for “under points” in this match.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Under 149.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
Davidson is one of those mid-majors that always seems to stick around and be in contention for a tournament berth late in the year, and this year doesn’t seem to be any different, at least through non-conference play. They come in at 8-2, even though there are some questions about the strength of schedule up to this point.
𝘛-𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘴…#TCC #CatsAreWild pic.twitter.com/mzZVbrlYwU
— Davidson Basketball (@DavidsonMBB) December 21, 2021
Alabama has looked like one of the best teams in the country, outside of a few games, including Memphis. In the loss to Memphis last week, they just collapsed in the second half as their shooting fell apart. They have wins over Gonzaga and Houston, and rely heavily on 3-pt shooting. If the shooting falls apart, they’re a team that struggles, but against an overmatched Davidson team, I think the perimeter play holds up enough for them to slide to an easy win.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Alabama (-430)
Tony Battalio
The Davidson Wildcats will look to become the third mid-major team to upset the Alabama Crimson Tide this season. They come into this game with a record of 8-2 through their first ten games of the year. They also enter this game on a seven game winning streak, and as champions of the Myrtle Beach Invitational. They will be looking to make it eight straight and pick up a huge top 25 upset with a victory in this game. Davidson is certainly a team that is very capable of winning this game on the road.
The Alabama Crimson Tide are only one game removed from being blown out by Memphis back on December 14th. They bounced back quickly with a blowout victory over Jacksonville State on Saturday. Now they will be looking to add another victory before entering SEC play against the Tennessee Volunteers to finish out the calendar year. As for the result of this game however, I have the Davidson Wildcats going into Tuscaloosa and picking up the upset victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Davidson (+330)
#18 Xavier @ #23 Villanova – 7pm ET
It is always a good game when two Big East teams get together on the basketball court. It will be even better in this one as both of these teams come into this game ranked inside the top 25. Xavier comes in with a fantastic 11-1 record, while Villanova comes in at 7-4 looking to defend home court.
Denis Kirilov
The match between Xavier and Villanova will be the only clash between seeded teams on Tuesday in the NCAA. Xavier is flying-high this season as they have lost just once in 12 games. The loss came against Iowa State, 82:70, but through the rest of the games they have been quite dominant, defeating teams like Ohio State, Cincinnati, and Marquette. Jack Nunge has had a couple of fantastic performances throughout the campaign where he scored around 30 points. He is also doing great in defense, averaging 1.7 blocks per game. Nate Johnson leads the way for the Musketeers with his 13.3 points per game on 47.3% shooting from beyond the arc.
The 23th-seeded, Villanova, comes into this fixture on a 2-game losing streak. The team is not what their fans wanted to see as they have already lost 4 matches. They set a new anti-record scoring just 36 points against Baylor on December 11th. Justin Moore dropped almost half of the points for the Wildcats, finishing off the game with 15 points to his name. He, himself, performed badly from the field, but his teammates were simply terrible shooting less than 20%. In the following game, they were outclassed by Creighton, 79:59, in a match where Villanova still suffered. I think that Xavier will take advantage of the current situation within the Wildcats’ roster as they will grab the victory.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Xavier (+172)
Noah Dunlap
In somewhat surprising news, Villanova has hit a rough patch and has lost two straight. Currently the issue is that the offense simply refuses to score. The Wildcat defense under Jay Wright is still performing reasonably well (for the most part), but that does you no good if you can’t seem to break 55-60 each night. There are certainly some changes that need to be made for this Nova team if they plan on making a run, but they have one of the best coaches in the country, and the talent is also absolutely there for them to make this run through Big East play.
Xavier comes in at a surprising 11-1, and it’s against a schedule that has actually had the chance to challenge them at times, yet they just continue to roll right along. I question if this is sustainable, as I’m not sure the talent is there for this to be a team to make a deep run come March, but for now, if you’re a Musketeer fan, you have to love what you’re seeing. I think this could be the start of that slip, as despite the records, and the struggles from the Villanova offense, I’m still going to take the Wildcats by a nose in this one.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Villanova (-200)
Tony Battalio
This Big East conference matchup between two teams ranked inside the top 25 is likely to be the best game of the Tuesday evening slate in college basketball. As the #18 Xavier Musketeers travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to play the #23 Villanova Wildcats. The eighteenth ranked Musketeers come into this game with a record of 11-1 on the season, as their lone loss came to the Iowa State Cyclones in the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament. Since that loss to Iowa State, Xavier has gone on to win their last seven games and two of those wins came inside of conference play.
The twenty third ranked Villanova Wildcats come into this game with a record of 7-4 on the season. They are currently on a two game losing streak after back to back losses to the Baylor Bears and Creighton Blue Jays. They will be looking to break that streak with a huge top 25 victory in this game. However, as for the result of this game, I have the Xavier Musketeers picking up the victory in this game on the road in the city of brotherly love.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Xavier (+172)
Chicago State @ #9 Iowa State – 7pm ET
Chicago State comes into this game with a lowly record of 4-7 on the season. They picked up a victory in their last game which broke a two game losing streak. As for Iowa State they come into this game nationally ranked and with a record of 11-0 on the year. They will be looking to add a 12th straight win in this one.
Denis Kirilov
Chicago State will face off one of the remaining undefeated teams in the NCAA, Iowa State. Surprisingly, the Cyclones are 11-0 so far, demolishing some of their rivals like Xavier, Memphis, Creighton, and Iowa. Izaiah Brockington averages 16.6 points and 8 rebounds per game while Tyrese Hunter displays fantastic playmaking skills piling up assists and steals. Their free-throw percentage is quite low, but against a team like Chicago State, this should not be a huge factor. The Cougars, themselves, hold a 4-7 record. The team struggles from the field as they are at 38.5%, averaging 61.7 points per game.
Iowa State will try to assert their dominance in this match early on as that’s how they proceed against weaker teams this season. However, in the following game after this one, Iowa State will face the perfect Baylor Bears. That’s why I think they will try to be as conservative as possible so that they can focus on the upcoming matches against some of the best teams including Texas Tech, Kansas, and Texas. My pick here will go in favor of Chicago State as I am willing to trust them to cover their big spread in this match.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Chicago State +27.5 (-106)
Noah Dunlap
It’s feeling more and more like it may be Cyclone season throughout the college basketball landscape. This Iowa State team is still undefeated, and have looked like one of the better teams in the country, as they schedule has been reasonably difficult as well, as they have wins over Memphis, Xavier, and Creighton. They shoot the ball well, and play good defense, which is going to prove to be too much against a Chicago State team that is simply way too overmatched here.
𝗡𝗼. 𝟵 𝗖𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗴𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗜𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗢𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭
🆚 Chicago State
🗓️ Tuesday, Dec. 21
🕖 6 p.m.
📍 Hilton Coliseum
📺 Big 12 Now on ESPN+
🗒️ https://t.co/TRYcHNIAZp
🎟️ https://t.co/z36LfweCh5#Cyclones | #C5C pic.twitter.com/tI5wWNxJDV— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) December 20, 2021
Chicago State comes in at 4-7, and it’s not exactly a great 4-7. They’ve played relatively poor basketball for much of the year, and they shoot atrocious from the field, as as a team they shoot under 40%. The good news for CSU is that Iowa State has a rough stretch coming up, and it’s one that you could easily see this Cyclone team looking ahead and looking over a mismatch. That’s not to say that the Cougars get the win, but I do think they can keep this one close, covering what has turned into a huge number.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Chicago State +27.5 (-106)
Tony Battalio
Chicago State has been one of the worst division 1 programs in recent years, this year they seem to be much improved as they head into this game with a record of 4-7 on the year. While that is still a losing record it is still an improvement as they have already matched their win total over the past two seasons combined. However they will need to play a perfect game in order to have a chance against the undefeated and top ranked Cyclones.
The Iowa State Cyclones have won eleven straight games as they come into this one. They are nationally ranked just inside the top 10 of the AP poll at number nine. Iowa State has won their last three games by 10 or more points. Four of their five wins his month have come all by double digits or more in fact. As for the result of this game I expect more of the same as it looked in the Cyclones to win by double digits and even cover the spread of this one.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Iowa State -27.5 (-114)
#7 Kansas @ Colorado – 9pm ET
This matchup is a game between one Big 12 school in the Kansas Jayhawks and a former Big 12 school in the Colorado Buffaloes. Kansas comes into this one nationally ranked inside the top ten and with a record of 9-1. While Colorado comes into this game with a record of 9-3.
Denis Kirilov
Kansas are coming into the game with Colorado on a 9-1 run. This actually puts them in 4th place in the Big 12 Conference. Their sole loss came against Dayton in a huge upset in the last days of November, 74:73. The Jayhawks have been quite dominant from the field this season averaging 85.8 points per game. Ochai Agbaji regularly drops more than 20 points for his team, while Christian Braun leads the way for the Jayhawks with a season-high 31 points.
Colorado, on the other hand, are also performing pretty well winning 9 out of 12 matches. They are right behind UCLA in 4th place in the Pacific-12. The Buffaloes won their last three games, but lost each single one of their encounters with seeded teams. UCLA and Tennessee defeated them in back-to-back fixtures. I think that Colorado is a decent team, but they get easily outplayed by better rosters. They will need to improve their performance from the 3-point line which is standing at 30% at the moment. In my opinion, they will once again drop a game against a seeded opponent and my pick here goes in favor of Kansas covering their spread.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Kansas -10 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
Colorado has been a decent shock to the college basketball world, as they come into this one at 9-3. The problem with this Buffalos team is that they don’t have any quality wins. They’ve had plenty of chances, but come up short in each. Against mediocre teams, they roll, but against teams with more talent, it almost seems as if they shut down a bit and just lose the will to fight. That doesn’t bode well for them against a top-10 Kansas team that is playing great basketball.
Kansas comes into this one at 9-1, with the only loss being an upset at the hands of Dayton. Outside of that one loss, though, this Jayhawk team has been dominant, and arguably more importantly, the Kansas offense has just been unstoppable. The defense could use a bit more consistency and energy, but when you’re averaging north of 85 ppg in the college game, you’re in pretty good shape regardless of defensive effort, especially in the regular season. Give me the Jayhawks to simply outscore this Colorado team, Assuming the line is less than 15, take KU and the points in this one.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Kansas -10 (-110)
Tony Battalio
The Kansas Jayhawks come into this game with a record of 9-1. Their lone loss of the season came to the Dayton Flyers in the ESPN Events Invitational. Since the loss Kansas has gone on to win the last five games they have played. The biggest win of the five was a twenty point blowout over St.Johns in the Big East-Big 12 Battle. Now they will be looking to make it a sixth straight with a win in this game and further cement themselves as a contender this season.
The Colorado Buffaloes come into this game with a record of 9-3 on the season. This game against the Kansas Jayhawks will be a perfect tuneup for them as they prepare to enter conference play in a very competitive Pac 12 conference. Colorado enters this game on a three game winning streak as they have bounced back nicely from their loss to the Tennessee Volunteers back in the beginning of December. However as for the result of this when I have the Kansas Jayhawks picking up the victory in effectively ending the Buffaloes three game winning streak.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Kansas (-550)
#11 Michigan State @ Oakland- 9pm ET
The Michigan State Spartans come into this game with a record of 9-2 as they are nationally ranked just outside of the top ten in the nation at number 11. Oakland comes into this game with a 7-3 record looking to defend home-court against the toughest opponent they will see all year.
Denis Kirilov
Two teams who have been performing on a high level from the start of the season will face each other on Tuesday night. Michigan State travels to Oakland to face a 7-3 team of the Golden Grizzlies. The Spartans, themselves, are on a 9-2 run so far which gives them 4th place in the Big 10. The team comprises some decent players including Gabe Brown, Marcus Bingham Jr. and Tyson Walker. On top of that, Malik Hall is 62% from the 3-point line.
Oakland is surely the underdog in this fixture, but they have proved that they should not be underestimated. Jamal Cain averages 21.2 points and 10.5 rebounds for the Golden Grizzlies and leads the way with 2.3 steals per game. He is also quite decent from the free-throw line, successfully netting 86.5% of the shots. Jalen Moore, however, will need to improve his performance as he is 31% from the field. The team comes into this match after a tough 73:72 loss to Bowling Green. Michigan State, on the other hand, enjoys a 4-game winning streak that surely boosted their confidence even more. In my opinion, the Spartans will defeat Oakland by a double-digit margin.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Michigan State -10 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
This is one that has the potential to be a surprisingly close game, if Michigan State isn’t careful. They’re actually on the road in this one against Oakland, and although the name doesn’t stick out, it’s an Oakland team that can cause some problems, as they score the ball pretty well, but the defense may be a concern. The one concern I have for OU in this one is whether or not they can handle the size Michigan State is going to throw at them, as it’s not something they’ve seen up to this point.
Another matchup with the Golden Grizzlies tomorrow night! Throwback to this one from 2015 📽️ pic.twitter.com/h2i8GxERv8
— Michigan State Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) December 21, 2021
Michigan State comes into this one at 9-2, including entering on a four game winning streak. As we’ve come to expect with the Spartans, the defense is physical, and they’re a team that wants to use the defense as a way to jumpstart an offense that can be shaky at times. I think this one actually ends up being closer than many expect, as I like Oakland to come out excited to be at home against a ranked MSU squad, but in the end, Sparty pulls out a relatively easy win.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Michigan State (-550)
Tony Battalio
Michigan State is 9-2 coming into this game, they are nationally ranked at number eleven in the nation as well. They come into this game on a four game winning streak. They have also won nine of their last ten games on the year. They will be looking to use this game as a final tune up game before officially jumping into Big 10 conference play following the Christmas break. However it won’t be easy against an Oakland team that should give them all they can handle on Tuesday night.
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies come into this game with a record of 7-3 on the season. They will need to likely play their best game of the year to knock off a top 15 Michigan State team in this game. It will be huge for them to have the home court advantage in this game and if it comes into play it will give them a slight edge. However even with being at home I don’t see Oakland picking up the win in this game as I have the MSU Spartans coming away with the victory on the road in this contest.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Michigan State (-550)
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our College Basketball hub page for all your college basketball needs!
*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
