College football may be winding down, but college hoops is just getting started. Most conferences have started conference play already, and you know what that means? The journey down the winding road to March has begun. However, before we get to March, we have a Super Saturday slate and three college basketball picks that you’ll want to lock up for December 20th.
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College Basketball Preview, Picks, and Best Bets for December 20
Matt Dewoskin ATS College Basketball Picks Record (Est 11/3/2025)
All Selections: 83-56-2
Perfect 3-0 Cards: 9-38
Oakland at Michigan State
Start Time: 12:00 PM EST
This game will be played at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI.
Michigan State enters this game with a 10-1 overall record and a 5-5-1 record against the spread.
Oakland comes into this matchup with a 6-6 overall record and a 6-5 record ATS.
This is one of the simplest handicaps on the board. The two head coaches, Tom Izzo for Michigan State and Greg Kampe for Oakland, are close friends. Izzo has historically called off the dogs at the end and allowed Oakland not to get embarrassed.
In the past 10 years, this game has had a spread of 20 points or higher three times. Oakland is 2-1 ATS in games against Michigan State above 20 points. In fact, Oakland covered this same spread in 2022.
We have a spread higher than 20 points? Let’s lock up the Oakland Golden Grizzlies to keep it close.
Best Bet: Oakland +20.5
Colorado State at Utah State
Start Time: 2:00 PM EST
Colorado State comes into this game with an 8-2 overall record and an 8-2 record ATS. The Rams are 1-0 on the road and 1-0 ATS on the road.
Utah State enters this matchup with a 9-1 overall record and a 4-4-1 record ATS. The Aggies are 4-0 at home and 1-2 ATS at home.
This series has traditionally gone to the home team. Each of the last six games has been covered by a home favorite. However, the largest spread in the last six games was only 6.5 points. 7.5 points is the beefiest spread we’ve seen for this series.
Colorado State won at Loyola-Chicago before everyone realized how terrible the Ramblers are this year. They have a home win over Colorado and neutral site wins over Wichita State and South Florida.
Utah State has played tomato cans at home, but the Aggies have neutral-site wins over VCU, Tulane, Davidson, Illinois State, and Montana State. Their only loss was on the road at South Florida.
Colorado State enters this game as the most efficient offense in the nation. The Rams are first overall in effective field goal percentage. If any team can find the gaps in Utah State’s defense, it’s this Colorado State team. The Rams are also shooting 45.4% from three-point range and 81.2% from the free-throw line. Those marks are also the best in the nation. The Rams don’t turn the ball over much, and they’re a solid rebounding team.
Utah State isn’t a great shooting team, and they’re not as good on the boards as Colorado State. The Aggies are known for generating turnovers and clamping down on defense. They’ll slow down this Colorado offense, but it’s unlikely they’ll stop them completely. From a metrics standpoint, this isn’t a great matchup for Utah State.
Utah State is likely a tournament team and should win this game outright, but these teams are closer in quality than 7.5 points. We’re catching more than two possessions in a one-possession game. Let’s lock up Colorado State to keep this game within the number.
Best Bet: Colorado State +7.5
Memphis at Mississippi State
Start Time: 4:00 PM EST
Memphis enters this matchup with a 4-6 overall record and a 0-2 road record. The Tigers are 8-2 ATS and 1-1 ATS on the road.
Mississippi State comes into this game with a 6-5 overall record and a 4-1 mark at home. The Bulldogs are 2-9 ATS overall and 0-5 ATS at home this year.
Taking Penny Hardaway as a dog and fading him as a favorite has become a system play. Also, Mississippi State barely got past Long Island and Utah at home. Memphis is a lot more dangerous than either of those two teams.
Digging into Memphis’ record, they’re not nearly as bad as 4-6 would indicate. Memphis has lost to Ole Miss, UNLV, Purdue, Wake Forest, Louisville, and Vanderbilt. Only the UNLV loss is legitimately bad. However, they also just took Vanderbilt into overtime and came up short. The Commodores look like a tournament team this year.
Memphis is the better defensive team and can score with just about anyone. Mississippi State is one-dimensional on offense and doesn’t generate turnovers on defense. Let’s lock up Memphis with the 3.5 points to cover. A money line sprinkle is also in order on this one.
Best Bet: Memphis +3.5
The College Basketball Experience
For more analysis on every college basketball game for the 2025-26 season, make sure you tune into The College Basketball Experience. Colby Dant, Moneyline Mac, and Noah Bieniek talk about each game on the entire slate. Listen for input on ATS and moneyline college basketball picks every night!
