{"id":337920,"date":"2025-12-09T20:53:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T20:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/337920\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T20:53:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T20:53:08","slug":"best-bets-for-uconn-vs-florida-more-college-basketball-and-nba-on-tuesday-dec-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/337920\/","title":{"rendered":"Best bets for UConn vs. Florida, more college basketball and NBA on Tuesday, Dec. 9"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Knicks<\/a> haven’t won a NBA title since 1973, but on Tuesday there will be two teams playing in Madison Square Garden that have combined to lift a championship trophy three times in the last three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Connecticut Huskies<\/a>, who won the national championship in 2023 and ’24, and the Florida Gators<\/a>, who took home the title last season, are set to collide in the second game of the Jimmy V Classic in the World’s Most Famous Arena. The Huskies (8-1), who are ranked No. 5 in the country, already have three wins over ranked teams this season (BYU<\/a>, Illinois<\/a> and Kansas<\/a>) despite missing key contributors because of injury.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the 18th-ranked Gators (5-3) are still in the early stages of integrating their transfer backcourt of Boogie Fland<\/a> and Xaivian Lee<\/a>\u00a0and already have lost three times this season. However, they are coming off arguably their best performance of the season, a hard-fought 67-66 loss at No. 4 Duke<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

UConn is a 4.5-point favorite over Florida on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

While Huskies-Gators is arguably the marquee attraction on Tuesday, there are other options on a sporting landscape that also includes a two-game NBA<\/a>\u00a0Cup slate and a full college basketball schedule. Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Tuesday, Dec. 9. All times Eastern.<\/p>\n

College basketball best bets, where to watchVillanova<\/a> at No. 2 Michigan<\/a><\/p>\n

Time:\u00a06:30 p.m.\u00a0|\u00a0Location:\u00a0Ann Arbor, Mich.\u00a0|\u00a0TV:\u00a0FS1 |\u00a0Stream:\u00a0Fubo<\/a>\u00a0(Try for free)<\/p>\n

SportsLine picks<\/a> — Model:\u00a0Villanova +17.5 | Expert: Michigan -17.5 (Larry Hartstein)<\/p>\n

The Michigan Wolverines (8-0) have been a juggernaut this season. Ranked No. 1 by the coaches and No. 2 by the media, Michigan sits in the top 10 in the country in several key categories, including second in assists per game (21.0) and field goal percentage defense (34.6%) and fifth in rebound margin (12.8) and field goal percentage (52.8%). The Wolverines have blown out their only two ranked opponents this season, No. 21 Auburn<\/a> (102-72) and No. 12 Gonzaga<\/a> (101-61). On Tuesday, they will host a Villanova Wildcats team that has won seven in a row since dropping its season opener to No. 8 BYU.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, says the Wildcats have a 67.0% chance to cover and assigns a rare ‘A’ grade to Villanova +17.5. However, SportsLine’s Larry Hartstein disagrees and notes that Michigan has a significant edge on the perimeter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clemson<\/a> at No. 10 BYU<\/p>\n

Time:\u00a06:30 p.m.\u00a0|\u00a0Location:\u00a0New York City\u00a0|\u00a0TV:\u00a0ESPN |\u00a0Stream:\u00a0Fubo<\/a>\u00a0(Try for free)<\/p>\n

SportsLine picks<\/a> — Model:\u00a0Clemson +6.5<\/p>\n

In the first game of the Jimmy V Classic doubleheader, the BYU Cougars will look to stretch their winning streak to five when they square off against the Clemson Tigers. While BYU’s AJ Dybantsa<\/a> is in the mix to be the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NBA Draft<\/a>, the Cougars (7-1) offer more than just Dybantsa. Richie Saunders<\/a> (18.9 points per game and 42.6% on 3-pointers) and Robert Wright III<\/a> (16.9 points and 6.3 assists per game) help give BYU one of the best triumvirates in the nation. On Tuesday, the Cougars will take on a Tigers team that is coming off a valiant effort in a 90-84 loss at No. 12 Alabama<\/a>. The SportsLine Projection Model says Clemson has a 67.0% chance to cover and gives a ‘B’ grade to Tigers +6.5.<\/p>\n

No. 18 Florida at No. 5 Connecticut<\/p>\n

Time:\u00a09 p.m. |\u00a0Location:\u00a0New York City |\u00a0TV:\u00a0ESPN |\u00a0Stream:\u00a0Fubo<\/a>\u00a0(Try for free)<\/p>\n

SportsLine picks<\/a>\u00a0— Model:\u00a0UConn -4.5<\/p>\n

Less than nine months ago, these teams met in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and the ninth-seeded Huskies gave top-seeded Florida all it could handle before Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr<\/a>. took over late in the second half in a 77-75 Florida win. Clayton is now gone, and the Gators’ new backcourt of Fland and Lee is still a work in progress. Florida ranks 348th in the country (out of 361) in 3-point percentage (27.4%) and 311th in turnovers per game (14.4). Meanwhile, UConn may be getting a big piece back. Center Tarris Reed Jr<\/a>. (20.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game), who has missed four of the last five games with an ankle injury, has practiced the last two days and is a game-time decision to play on Tuesday, according to coach Dan Hurley. The SportsLine Projection Model says the Huskies have a 55.0% chance to cover and assigns a ‘C’ grade to UConn -4.5.<\/p>\n

NBA best bets, where to watchHeat<\/a> at Magic<\/a><\/p>\n

Time:\u00a06 p.m. |\u00a0Location:\u00a0Orlando\u00a0|\u00a0TV:\u00a0Prime Video |\u00a0Stream:\u00a0Fubo<\/a> (Try for free)<\/p>\n

SportsLine picks<\/a> — Model:\u00a0Magic -1.5 |\u00a0Expert:\u00a0Wendell Carter Jr<\/a>. Under 13.5 total points + assists -122 (Prop Bet Guy)<\/p>\n

A trip to Las Vegas and a berth in the semifinals of the NBA Cup will be on the line when the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat face off at the Kia Center. The Magic (14-10) already have beaten the Heat (14-10) twice this season, but on Tuesday, Orlando will be without star forward Franz Wagner<\/a>, who suffered a high ankle sprain on Sunday<\/a>. He leads the team in scoring (22.7 points per game) while shooting 49.0% from the field. However, the Magic will have Paolo Banchero<\/a>, who returned recently from a groin injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The SportsLine Projection Model says Orlando has a 51.0% chance to cover and gives a ‘C’ grade Magic -1.5. Meanwhile, Prop Bet Guy notes that Wendell Carter Jr. has remained Under 13.5 total points + assists in 15 of 23 games this season. “The Heat allow the eighth-fewest points plus assists to opposing centers, despite playing at a high pace this season,” he says.<\/p>\n

Knicks at Raptors<\/a><\/p>\n

Time:\u00a08:30 p.m. |\u00a0Location:\u00a0Toronto |\u00a0TV:\u00a0Prime Video |\u00a0Stream:\u00a0Fubo<\/a>\u00a0(Try for free)<\/p>\n

SportsLine picks<\/a>\u00a0— Model:\u00a0Raptors +5<\/p>\n

In the other NBA Cup Eastern Conference quarterfinal, the New York Knicks (16-7) will visit the Toronto Raptors (15-10) with a spot in the semifinals at stake. New York has won the last nine meetings against Toronto; the Raptors haven’t beaten the Knicks since January 2023. Toronto also has lost five of its last six games, all without the injured RJ Barrett<\/a>. Since Barrett went down to injury, the Raptors rank last in the league in offensive rating (107.0). However, the Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> is listed as questionable for the game after sitting out Sunday with a calf injury, and New York is just 3-6 on the road this season. The SportsLine Projection Model says Toronto has a 52.0% chance to cover and assigns a ‘C’ grade to Raptors +5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Knicks haven’t won a NBA title since 1973, but on Tuesday there will be two…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[22564,1214,64,719,63,615,45582,188027,71644,188024,188023,1217,724,162424,1403,1407,1226,19711,1417,1411,1412,20449,7223,713,590,139020,139019,1666,12985,19710,188030,47078,188029,85,71653,133484,133479,133480,188021,188022,17602,188025,188026,1408,188031,188028,119281,188020,45586],"class_list":["post-337920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-aj-dybantsa","tag-alabama-crimson-tide","tag-au","tag-auburn-tigers","tag-australia","tag-betting","tag-boogie-fland","tag-byu-clemson-odds","tag-byu-cougars","tag-cbb-odds","tag-cbb-picks","tag-clemson-tigers","tag-college-basketball","tag-college-basketball-picks","tag-connecticut-huskies","tag-duke-blue-devils","tag-florida-gators","tag-franz-wagner","tag-gonzaga-bulldogs","tag-illinois-fighting-illini","tag-kansas-jayhawks","tag-karl-anthony-towns","tag-miami-heat","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-nba","tag-nba-odds","tag-nba-picks","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-orlando-magic","tag-paolo-banchero","tag-richie-saunders","tag-rj-barrett","tag-robert-wright-iii","tag-sports","tag-tarris-reed-jr","tag-todays-best-bets","tag-todays-top-games","tag-top-games-to-watch","tag-top-games-tuesday","tag-top-sports-tuesday","tag-toronto-raptors","tag-uconn-florida-odds","tag-villanova-michigan-odds","tag-villanova-wildcats","tag-wagner-seahawks","tag-walter-clayton-jr","tag-wendell-carter-jr","tag-what-to-watch-tuesday","tag-xaivian-lee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}