The college hoops slate for December 3rd is a lot smaller than the wall-to-wall action we started the week with. However, we get a solid mid-major match-up, a little Horizon League play, and most of the Big West kicks off conference play. We’ve dug through the short slate and found three college basketball picks you’ll want to have locked up before the games tip off.
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College Basketball Preview, Picks, and Best Bets for December 4
Matt Dewoskin ATS College Basketball Picks Record (Est 11/3/2025)
All ATS Selections: 54-37-2
Perfect 3-0 Cards: 5-25
Utah State at South Florida
Start Time: 7:00 PM EST
Utah State comes into this game with a perfect 7-0 record overall, and a 3-2-1 ATS record. This is the Aggies’ first true road game.
South Florida enters this matchup with a 4-4 overall record, but the Bulls are 2-0 at home. They carry a 3-5 ATS record.
Just from a point spread perspective, this line is a bit stinky. Why is Utah State only laying 1.5 points in this game? The line comes in at more than a little short, and that’s typically a sign that sports books want you to take the short line because the underdog is live.
Utah State just wrapped up a successful run in the Charleston Classic and escaped a scare at home against Montana State. They make their first road trip to a hostile environment for this matchup with South Florida.
South Florida ended up coming in sixth place in the Battle 4 Atlantis MTE. They ran into VCU’s defense in their first game, eked out an overtime win over Western Kentucky, and got clipped by Colorado State before heading home. The Bulls smashed Coppin State and Florida A&M in their only two true home games.
Utah State is one of the better teams in the Mountain West this year. They should contend for the conference title and have a chance at an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament. However, South Florida is a tough travel spot, and the Bulls aren’t a pushover. South Florida can play at pace, and they have a top-100 offense. The Bulls can score and should have an easier time on the offensive end in their own building. On defense, the Bulls aren’t as skilled as Utah State, but they have length and athleticism. If Utah State struggles to defend the perimeter and allows second-chance points, South Florida will be in this one.
The travel spot and the line indicate that South Florida is live here. Let’s lock up South Florida +1.5 to end the Aggies’ unbeaten run.
Best Bet: South Florida +1.5
The Citadel at Davidson
Start Time: 7:00 PM EST
The Citadel enters this game with a 2-6 overall record, but is 0-6 ATS. The Bulldogs are 0-2 in true road games so far this season.
Davidson comes into this matchup with a 6-1 overall record and a 4-2 ATS record. The Wildcats are 4-0 at home this year.
The Citadel travels to Davidson with the worst defensive efficiency rating in the country. The Bulldogs have also gotten drilled every time they play a DI opponent. They just got done losing to Presbyterian by 28 points. That’s a 28-point loss in a game in which their opponent scored only 69 points.
Davidson does come into this game with a look-ahead to St. Mary’s on deck, but The Citadel is so poor defensively that the Wildcats could sleepwalk their way to a 21-point win. The Citadel has been on autofade this year, and there’s no reason to think they’re going to stay with Davidson when they just got wrecked by Presbyterian. Let’s lock up Davidson to get the job done against one of the worst teams in the nation.
Best Bet: Davidson -20.5
Long Beach State at UC-Santa Barbara
Start Time: 9:00 PM EST
Long Beach State travels to Santa Barbara for a matchup with UC-Santa Barbara. These two teams played twice last year, and didn’t break 140 points in either match-up.
Long Beach has gone over its total in four out of seven games played this year. However, they’ve gone under in two out of four road games this year. They’ve also averaged only 61.5 points per game away from Long Beach. The Beach is in the bottom 100 in the nation in most offensive metrics so far this year, and they’re a bottom-half team in the nation when it comes to pace of play.
UC-Santa Barbara has gone over their total in both true home games it’s played this year. They average 81.5 points per game when they play in Santa Barbara. However, they are a bottom-60 team in the nation when it comes to pace of play, and this one should be played at their pace.
Long Beach State isn’t a great defensive team, so they’ll likely try to drag the Gauchos into the mud and slow down the game as much as possible. Expect a lot of long possessions in this one. However, The Beach is also really poor on the offensive end. They have struggled to score outside of Long Beach, and they should find baskets hard to come by at Santa Barbara. Let’s roll with this game to stay under 144.5 points. Lock up the under in Santa Barbara’s conference home opener.
Best Bet: Under 144.5 Game Total
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!
