NCAA Basketball Predictions, Odds & Best Bets: Sunday College Hoops (1/12)

NFL Sunday is here, but we’ve still got a few college basketball games sprinkled on the schedule. So of course, we dove into the NCAA hoops slate and found our best bets to accompany the NFL Playoffs.

For all of our Expert NCAA Basketball Picks, check out our page here. But for now, let’s get right into it!

Listed below are my College Hoops best bets for today, but be sure to get all of my picks on my Twitter (@Shaggy_Bets)

NCAA Basketball Best Bets – January 12th, 2025

I’ll admit, none of the bigger games caught my eyes. So I’m going back to my bread and butter with some no-name college hoops. Congrats to you if you’ve heard of these teams before, you’re probably just as big of a College Hoops sicko as me.

Let’s get into it.

Manhattan vs Merrimack Predictions

Best Bets: Manhattan/Merrimack Under 141 (-115) BetOnline

Do your line shopping as always, as I have found this at 142.5, but regardless, I don’t see this game surpassing 140.

We cashed Merrimack’s under on Friday morning and we’re going right back to it. This extremely slow team is back at home, where they will certainly control the pace against #309 Manhattan. The Jaspers are Top 100 in pace, but they are simply not good enough on either side of the ball to compete with Merrimack.

The Warriors were tested on the road, but remained 4-0 in conference play. At home, with plenty of time before they face Quinnipiac, I see Merrimack slowing this game to a turtle’s pace. They rank 327th overall, but 354th in possessions per game at home, while also ranking 7th in FT Rate Defense, and 362nd in that stat offensively. Merrimack limits possessions and takes great care of the basketball. They don’t shoot too many free throws, but they make sure their opponent doesn’t either, so I’m not worried about extra points with the clock stopped.

I see the Warriors jumping out to a substantial lead, controlling the pace throughout the game, and stopping Manhattan on the defensive end of the floor. Merrimack is 88th overall defensively, 61st in eFG%, and 51st in turnovers forced. They’ll use their ball control to slow down the tempo and keep this game low scoring.

Stonehill vs Chicago State Predictions

Best Bets: Stonehill -3 (-118) BetOnline

To be direct with this bet, we are simply fading Chicago State. The Cougars are 1-16 this year, winning their first game of the season 9 days ago after losing 15 straight. However they are coming off a loss to Long Island in which they scored just 39 points. They are competing for the worst team in the country this season.

Stonehill isn’t that much better, however they are coming off a bad loss to Long Island and need to get back on the horse. The Skyhawks battled in non-conference play for an 8-7 record, but have dropped two out of three to start NEC play. This is a “get right” game on the road against a team that simply isn’t good.

Speaking in advanced analytic terms, the Chicago State Cougars are just about as bad offensively as you can get. They are Bottom 40 in turnovers, offensive rebounds, FT Rate, FT% and 3P%, and Bottom 5 in overall offensive efficiency, eFG% and 2P%. THEY CAN’T SHOOT THE BALL. But they play at a Top 100 rate which gives their opponents extra possessions to cover the spread and win the game.

Stonehill is nothing to write home about offensively, but they shoot the three very well, and they do so quite often. The Skyhawks are 58th in the country, shooting 37% while also ranking 69th (nice) in 3P Rate. On the road, their percentage doesn’t change but they shoot it even more frequently from downtown, and their defense can hold it’s own. Give me the Skyhawks to bounce back and cover against a bad Cougars team.

Still Didn’t Get Your NCAA Basketball Fix?

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For more College Hoops action, check out these pages below.

• NCAA Basketball Expert Picks
• College Hoops Betting Guide
• College Basketball Championship Odds

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