The Columbia Lions take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, NJ. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.
Rutgers is favored by 12.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -880. The total is set at 156 points.
Here are my Columbia vs. Rutgers predictions and college basketball picks for December 30, 2024.
Columbia vs Rutgers Odds
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- Columbia vs Rutgers spread: Rutgers -12.5
- Columbia vs Rutgers over/under: 156 points
- Columbia vs Rutgers moneyline: Rutgers -880, Columbia +580
- Columbia vs Rutgers best bet: Over 145 or Better
Spread
There’s no value on the spread.
Moneyline
I’m not taking anything here.
Over/Under
I’m targeting the over at 145 or better.
My Pick: Over 145 or Better
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[howtowatch gameid=”237839″ date=”20241230″][/howtowatch]
Columbia vs Rutgers College Basketball Betting Preview
One of the best stories so far in college basketball has been the Columbia Lions. The Lions enter their matchup against Rutgers with an 11-1 record, but they have a tall task in this one.
Also, they have a lot to prove, considering that they enter this matchup with a 364th ranking in strength of schedule.
The good news is that the Lions rank 10th in the country in effective field goal percentage. The Scarlet Knights haven’t been a strong rebounding team, so the Lions can get some easy buckets by generating second-scoring chances.
The Lions are also an outstanding 3-point shooting team (39%). That might seem like a fluke, but they shoot a fair amount of 3s per game, which gives them a larger sample size.
The Scarlet Knights don’t defend the triple relatively well, so the Lions could get some easy looks from deep.
The problem for the Lions is that their defense has been a big issue. They’re 246th in adjusted defensive efficiency, and that’s come against a weak schedule.
That said, Columbia is going up against a Rutgers offense that’s 67th in adjusted offensive efficiency. What’s burned the Lions on the defensive end has been 3-shooting (opponents are shooting 36% against them).
The Scarlet Knights do an excellent job of protecting the basketball and they get to the free throw linee often. I want to see Rutgers improve its free throw shooting, as it only shoots 72% from the stripe.
However, I expect Rutgers to score well against a bad Lions defense, especially considering it has a massive height advantage. The Lions rank 251st in average height, and Rutgers is one of the lengthiest teams in the entire country.
Columbia doesn’t have a deep bench, so I could see it running out of steam late in the game, which will cause me to stay away from the spread.
However, I like the over in the contest.
I think both offenses should have plenty of opportunities to generate easy scoring chances, and both of these teams aren’t slow-paced either. I like the Lions’ offense a lot, despite their weak strength of schedule.
Rutgers’ offense is due for better fortune, too. I believe the Scarlet Knights will be able to score efficiently inside and generate a lot of trips to the free throw line.
It’s been an incredible story for the Lions so far, and I expect their offense to be good enough to at least contribute towards the total.
Playing on the road at what’s formerly known as The RAC is never easy, but even if the game gets out of hand late, we should see plenty of scoring chances.
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