If you’re a true degen, you’re going to have action on the four remaining college bowl games that we have on Friday, December 2nd. However, there are also over 30 college basketball games on today’s slate. College football’s time might be coming to a close for the 2025-26 season, but college hoops is just getting started. We’ve gone through the schedule and found a trio of college basketball picks that you’ll want to lock up. Let’s get into it.
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College Basketball Preview, Picks, and Best Bets for January 2
Matt Dewoskin ATS College Basketball Picks Record (Est 11/3/2025)
All Selections: 91-75-2
Perfect 3-0 Cards: 9-47
Central Connecticut State at Long Island
Start Time: 7:00 PM EST
Central Connecticut State comes into this game with a 6-5 overall record and a 3-4 record on the road. The real Blue Devils are 5-4 overall against the spread and 5-2 ATS on the road.
Long Island enters this matchup with a 6-7 overall record and a 2-1 home mark. The Sharks are 8-5 ATS overall and 3-0 ATS in the Steinberg Wellness Center.
CCSU has won six of the last seven matchups. These two teams split their games last year, with LIU winning at CCSU and CCSU winning at LIU.
CCSU has lost three of its last four. The Blue Devils just dropped a game at home to Fairfield and now have to travel to Long Island.
The Sharks have lost three in a row, but all three losses were against teams from bigger conferences. Long Island covered against Georgia and Mississippi State as an underdog, but lost and failed to cover against FIU. This is each team’s first conference game of the season.
Long Island has been off since 12/29 after losing, but covering, against Georgia. Central Connecticut State hasn’t played since 12/18. CCSU isn’t quite the same team they’ve been in recent years. This is arguably their weakest roster since 2023-24. Long Island is expected to contend for the NEC this year, and the Sharks have been honing their skills against power schools. They haven’t looked out of place.
Long Island has been playing games; they get to play on their floor and have the better shooting team. Defensive metrics for this matchup favor the Blue Devils, but LIU has played a much tougher non-conference slate that CCSU has. The Long Island Sharks will want to send a message that they’re the team to beat in the NEC, and CCSU has owned this series. LIU turns the page on their recent history by winning and covering their first conference game of the season. Lock up the Long Island Sharks to get the job done.
Best Bet: Long Island -4.5
Louisiana Tech at Middle Tennessee
Start Time: 7:30 PM EST
Louisiana Tech comes into this matchup with an 8-4 overall record and a 0-4 road record. The Bulldogs are 4-5 overall ATS and 0-4 ATS on the road.
Middle Tennessee enters this game with a 7-5 overall record and a 5-1 home mark. The Blue Raiders are 5-4 ATS and 1-2 ATS at home.
These teams played three times last year. Louisiana Tech won and covered both conference matchups, but Middle Tennessee won but pushed in the C-USA conference tournament.
Louisiana Tech has lost all four road games it’s played by at least nine points. The Bulldogs have also won two in a row heading into Murfreesboro, TN. Middle Tennessee is off a nine-point loss against Houston. They also have wins on the road at Murray State and at home against UAB.
The Blue Raiders have a better offense by just about every offensive metric we have. Louisiana Tech is very good defensively, but they’ve gotten wrecked every time they’ve hit the road this year. Middle Tennessee has a much better roster than last year, and their building has been a tough place for teams to come into. The Murphy Center is not the kind of building a team that struggles on the road wants to go into. Let’s lock up the Blue Raiders to wreck the Bulldogs in Murfreesboro on a Friday night. MTSU wins and covers this.
Best Bet: Middle Tennessee -5.5
Notre Dame at California
Start Time: 11:00 PM EST
Notre Dame comes into this matchup with a 10-4 overall record and a 2-1 record on the road. The Fighting Irish are 9-5 overall ATS and 3-0 ATS on the road. They have not opted out of this game…yet.
Cal enters this game with a 12-2 overall record and an 11-1 mark at home. The Golden Bears are 7-6 overall ATS and 5-6 ATS at home this year.
These two teams played once last year, and Notre Dame won an overtime thriller in South Bend, 112-110. Cal was a four-point dog in that game and covered.
The handicap here is simple. Notre Dame just won by seven at Stanford. The game had a 47-40 final. 87 points scored in 40 minutes between two Power Five schools. Notre Dame has stayed in California during the holiday. The body clock shouldn’t be an issue, but wanting to get back to South Bend might be on their mind. Also, Cal is off a 20-point loss against Louisville in Berkeley.
From a matchup perspective, Cal is the better shooting team, and they’re similar in athleticism and defensive profile to Stanford. The Cardinal kept Notre Dame under 50, but only scored 40. Cal will score more than 40 points in this game, and they should win and cover. This is the ACC travel spot that trips up the Fighting Irish.
Best Bet: California -4
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!
