College Basketball Player Props | Top Picks for Saturday (December 9)

College Basketball Player Props | Top Picks for Saturday (December 9) article feature image
Credit:

Peter Aiken/Getty. Pictured: Eric Dixon.

College hoops finally takes center stage on a Saturday as the action on the gridiron begins to wind down. We have a slate littered with marquee matchups, and plenty of talent will be on display. However, we can capitalize on the wide spread by finding significant inefficiencies in the player prop market.

Let's go over three of the best in our college basketball player props.

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Kobe Johnson Under 10.5 Points (+110)

Drexel vs. West Virginia | 4 p.m. ET

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West Virginia may be one of the programs we associate with success, but this season they have struggled mightily on the offensive end. The Mountaineers are 274th in effective field goal percentage as a team, and today they face a Drexel club that has found success through their defense.

While there are a few guys we could target, the most intriguing Mountaineer to fade is Kobe Johnson. Johnson is the third scoring option and has struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 22.7% from there.

While he's made 46.4% of his shots from inside the arc, there are two big things standing in his way of filling up the box score. The first is the matchup. Drexel has been excellent at contesting shots as they are 28th in both 2-point and 3-point shooting percentage allowed.

The second factor is the tempo. West Virginia is one of the slowest teams in the country, coming in at 349th in tempo. However, Drexel is not far ahead as they rank 321st.

The snail's pace at which this game will be played will limit the number of shot attempts Johnson can have in this matchup. All signs point to Johnson going under his point total.

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Donovan Dent Over 4.5 Assists (-165)

New Mexico vs. Santa Clara | 5 p.m. ET

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If you haven't been keeping up with Lobos basketball in the early going, you've been missing one of the leading assist men in the country. Donovan Dent, a sophomore point guard, has been running the offense to a T and racking up assists along the way.

Dent comes into this matchup with the ninth-best assist rate in the nation and this afternoon he'll face a Santa Clara team that has allowed assists on nearly 51% of the field goals they've surrendered. The opportunity for Dent to dish out plenty of dimes is there, and his assists total is a number he has proven to be too low already.

Dent has had at least five assists in 89% of the Lobos games this season. That hit rate makes the juice worth the squeeze as we have whopping implied odds of -809 that he'll go over this number again.

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Eric Dixon Under 15.5 Points (-120)

UCLA vs. Villanova | 7 p.m. ET

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We found another man to fade in Villanova Wildcats big man Eric Dixon. Dixon is one of the main cogs in the Wildcats' offense, but tonight, he'll have a tall task in front of him, literally and figuratively.

Dixon will have to contend with UCLA's Adem Bona and Aday Mara. Bona has become one of the best rim protectors in the country, ranking 41st in block rate. As for Mara, his playing time has been limited, but the 7′ 3" freshman has an even higher block rate than Bona and a seven-inch height advantage over Dixon.

In addition to the tough matchup, Dixon's scoring expectations are far too high today. He has gone under this total in 70% of games played this season, giving us a significant implied edge as he has odds of -233 that he'll go under yet again tonight.

About the Author
Doug Ziefel is a contributor for the Action Network. He specializes in College Fooball, College Basketball, and rooting for bad New York teams.

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