Today is the last day of 2025. Happy New Year to all the degens and degenettes out there. We do, in fact, have a college hoops slate for New Year’s Eve, and we can’t not bet it. We’ve got a trio of college basketball plays that you’ll want to end the year with. Let’s end the year with a sweep.
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College Basketball Preview, Picks, and Best Bets for December 31
Matt Dewoskin ATS College Basketball Picks Record (Est 11/3/2025)
All Selections: 90-70-2
Perfect 3-0 Cards: 9-45
Appalachian State at Old Dominion
Start Time: 2:00 PM EST
Appalachian State comes into this game with a 7-6 overall record and a 2-3 road mark. The Mountaineers are also 6-5 overall against the spread and 3-2 ATS on the road.
Old Dominion enters this matchup with a 4-10 overall record and a 4-1 mark at home. The Monarchs are 5-7-1 overall ATS and 2-2 ATS at home.
Old Dominion comes into this one having lost four of its last five games. They beat James Madison at home, but lost to Maryland, George Mason, and Richmond on the road. They also dropped a game at home against Coastal Carolina.
Appalachian State has just had a four-game winning streak snapped with a loss at home against Georgia State.
The Mountaineers are tough to take on the road because they can’t really shoot. Appalachian State is 361st in free-throw shooting and 252nd in shooting from three-point range. The Mountaineers are solid defensively, but they’re able to limit opponent scoring by limiting opponent possession. They play the second slowest pace in the nation.
If Old Dominion can speed up the pace, the Monarchs should roll against Appalachian State. The Monarchs can score, and they’re not a terrible defensive team. This game needs to be played at their pace, but they’re the better side in this situation.
Old Dominion also needs to get back in the win column. Their record is deceptively bad because they went on a 20-day road trip that saw them lose five straight. The Monarchs are better than their record, and they should win and cover at home against Appalachian State.
Best Bet: Old Dominion -1.5
Towson at Hampton
Start Time: 2:30 PM EST
Towson enters this game with an 8-6 overall record and a 0-5 road record. The Tigers are 6-6 overall ATS and 1-4 ATS on the road.
Hampton comes into this matchup with a 7-7 overall record and a 4-0 mark at home. The Pirates are 6-5-1 overall ATS and 2-0 ATS at home.
Towson comes into this game looking for their first conference win. They’re off a loss at William & Mary.
Hampton is off a home win against Stony Brook. That was their first conference game and first conference win.
Towson is 2-1 in the last three games against Hampton, but has failed to cover beefy lines in each. This is the shortest line they’ve had in a game against Hampton in the last four years.
Towson grinds teams down. The Tigers play a slow pace, win the half-court game, and limit opponent possessions. Hampton runs an offense that’s bottom-50 in efficiency. A slow, grindy defensive-minded team against an inefficient offense? Bad matchup. Also, the one area that Towson generates offense from is on the inside. Hampton is 264th in the nation in opponent shooting percentage on two-point shots.
The road environment shouldn’t be an issue for Towson. No one will be at a matinee weekday game on New Year’s Eve. Let’s take the road favorites to roll. Lock up Towson to win and cover at Hampton.
Best Bet: Towson -5
New Orleans at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Start Time: 4:30 PM EST
New Orleans comes into this matchup with a 4-8 overall record and a 3-7 road record. The Privateers are 5-7 ATS overall and 4-6 ATS on the road.
Texas A&M-CC enters this game with a 5-7 overall record and a 4-1 mark at home. The Islanders are 3-5 ATS overall and 1-0 ATS at home.
Texas A&M-CC beat Lamar in their first conference game, but have dropped back-to-back games in conference to Stephen F. Austin and Nicholls.
New Orleans is off their second conference win. The Privateers beat UT-RGV in El Paso, TX by 16. They also won at Incarnate Word. They have a loss in conference against Houston Christian.
The metrics in this one can be thrown out the window. Both teams have played schedules that have been a bit random. Texas A&M-CC played four lower division opponents, but also faced off against Kansas, Oklahoma State, Xavier, and SMU. New Orleans didn’t pad their record against DII schools, but they did have games against Houston, Memphis, Texas Tech, and TCU.
New Orleans has the superior offense on paper. Texas A&M-CC struggles to score at times, but can defend a little. New Orleans likes to play at pace, while the Islanders try to slow it down. New Orleans is the better shooting team, and that should come into play in what should be a one or two-possession game. The Privateers can make free throws. The Islanders can’t. Let’s lock up New Orleans to stay close and potentially clip Texas A&M-CC at home in a sleepy spot.
Best Bet: New Orleans +4.5
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!
