Best NCAA Basketball Picks and Predictions: Super Tuesday Before Break

Nate Hornung

Written by: Nate Hornung

Published: Tue Dec 23, 2025, 10:00 am ET

Read Time: 5 minutes

Budd Clark sets the tone for this Pirates offense after doing the same at Merrimack the last two seasons - Seton Hall Villanova Picks

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Happy Festivus to those that celebrate! It's the day before Christmas Eve, and it's the last slate of NCAA Basketball matchups until Sunday (despite one Saturday contest). It's nice for the kids to get a bit of a break over the holidays, but that just means we have got to take advantage of the spots we find today. Let's get right into our favorite college hoops picks for Tuesday.

We've been slipping during the recent weeks, but it's time to turn this ship back around.

  • NCAA Basketball YTD
  • 70-72 (49.3%)
  • -6.69u
  • Average Odds: -105

Today's best bets are below. Keep reading for the analysis.

Go check out what else I've got on my daily card, and view the latest odds at the best online sportsbooks.

Best NCAA Basketball Picks and Predictions December 23

UC Riverside Highlanders vs. UCLA Bruins Picks NCAA Basketball Picks

Donovan Dent and UCLA host the UC Riverside Highlanders on Tuesday afternoon - NCAA Basketball Picks

Donovan Dent and UCLA host the UC Riverside Highlanders on Tuesday afternoon

Best Bet: UC Riverside/UCLA Under 150 (-110) Lucky Rebel Sportsbook

UCLA is coming off an easy win on Friday night, beating Cal Poly 108-87 at Pauley Pavilion. They have one more game to close out the year, hosting the UC Riverside Highlanders this afternoon. Despite them not playing Iowa until Saturday January 3, they could be checked out already for the holidays. The Bruins already play painfully slow, and I don't see them being overly aggressive against UC Riverside.

UCLA is No. 309 in pace this year and don't really crash the offensive glass or get to the free throw line. They shoot the ball very well, especially from deep, but they are north of 275 in 3P Rate offense. Defensively, they play everyone tough and force plenty of turnovers. The Highlanders are plenty slow as well, ranking north of 200 in possessions per game, and offensively they suck.

UC Riverside is north of 315 in offensive rebounding and turnover rate. They don't shoot threes, and can't really shoot at all to be honest. However defensively they are somehow top 100 in defensive rebounding and top 135 in FT Rate defense against top 100 teams. I see the Bruins cruising to a comfortable win as they ease off the gas in the second half.

Villanova Wildcats vs. Seton Hall Pirates NCAA Basketball Picks

Shaheen Holloway and the Pirates are off to an 11-1 start this year - NCAA Basketball Picks

Shaheen Holloway and the Pirates are off to an 11-1 start this year

Best Bet: Seton Hall ML (-142) Lucky Rebel Sportsbook

Back the Pirates with me at home. We aren't dealing with covering this short spread, all we need them to do is win at home against Villanova. A team coming off their best win of the year. The Wildcats' two losses this season come against BYU to start the year and to Michigan in Ann Arbor in an embarrassing outing. They've handled business otherwise, but only have two top 100 wins.

Villanova just beat No. 98 Pittsburgh and took down No. 48 Wisconsin in overtime. That is a big, emotional neutral site win for the Wildcats. Now they go on the road to face a very underrated Seton Hall team. Both teams are very slow, with Villanova ranking No. 356 (bottom 10) in pace, while Seton Hall is No. 279.

The Pirates play lock down defense, ranking top 30 in eFG% defense, top 20 in adjusted defensive efficiency and top five in turnovers forced. They do get a little foul happy, but given the pace of this game and the home court advantage, they should be fine. The Pirates are coming off their first Big East victory, taking down Providence and have only lost to USC by two in the Maui Invitational Semifinals this season. They've been nearly perfect otherwise.

I trust them in their conference home opener to come motivated and get the job done, over a Wildcats team that has yet to impress me.

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Nate Hornung
Nate Hornung

Nate has been a recreational sports bettor for about 5 years. In that time, he has grown to love the pursuit of winners and sticking it to The Man. Nate loves data and uses his understanding of numbers to help him be a more profitable sports gambler, however he will be the first to tell you this game is about more than just stats.

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