College Basketball Best Bets for Tuesday, December 21 (Utah Valley a Sneaky Upset vs. Washington)

We are finally back with a full college basketball slate that we can sink our teeth into. Here are three bets that I've made on the loaded card that features some conference action.

All odds are courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.

For more plays you can check out all my plays in real time here.

Column Record: 6-5-1 (+.0.5 units)

Villanova (-5) vs. Xavier

Now that this line has dropped back to -5, I'm going to be on the Wildcats who will be playing at home for the first time in 17 days.

The team is set for some positive shooting regression after hitting on just 23% of their three-point tries during their three game road swing.

For more, check out my full game preview here.

North Carolina-Appalachian State OVER 140.5

While North Carolina is coming off a drubbing against Kentucky in Las Vegas on Saturday, they are in a good spot to get right on offense. The team is hitting on just about 39% of their three-point tries even after hitting one of their 13 against Kentucky.

Appalachian State allows the 12th highest three-point rate in the country, so I expect the likes of Caleb Love and RJ Davis to get clean looks from deep and push the Tar Heels total close to 80 points.

On the other side, North Carolina doesn't turn the opponent over at all with the eighth-lowest turnover rate in the country. Appalachian State should do their part to help get this game over the total.

UNC games are typically lined in the 150's, so despite the slow pace of the Mountaineers offense, I believe this one is a bit off. I have this projected for 146.5 points so I see some room here.

Utah Valley (+5.5) vs. Washington

There are some injury concerns for the Wolverines but this is too many points to lay with Washington, who is coming off nearly a month COVID-19 pause. Yes, they played their first game back over the weekend, a win against Seattle, but Utah Valley has been one of the most competitive mid majors in the country, knocking off BYU in overtime.

Utah Valley is without Justin Harmon, their best defender, but I believe that this is too many points for Washington to give. First, the Huskies struggle to score all over, posting an effective field goal percentage of 44% and are terrible as favorites, posting a 1-5 ATS record thus far. A big reason why is their putrid free throw shooting, hitting on 67% of their tries this season.

I believe Utah Valley can hang around in Washington's final non-conference game of the season.