It’s Saturday, so we have a full sale of College Basketball as the season starts to ramp up! I have three best bets today, including Florida versus George Washington, Indiana at Kentucky, and a Peacock special between Purdue and Marquette where I will be giving out a pick on the pre-game broadcast!

Head to Peacock this Saturday, December 13, for an exciting Big Ten men’s basketball doubleheader. The action starts at 2:00 PM ET when Marquette goes head-to-head with No. 6 Purdue. Then, at 4:00 PM, it’s Nebraska vs No. 13 Illinois.

See below for more information on how to live stream both games and find out how you can follow all of the college basketball excitement this season on Peacock.

Marquette at Purdue (-18.5): O/U 153.5

This will be my Peacock TV pick. If this closes lower, I will put another unit on 66.5 and count both. From 2022 to 2025, Shaka Smart had Marquette ranked in the top 65 both ways for efficiency, but this season, the Golden Eagles are 120th on offense and 81st on defense. That’s bad news on the road against the No. 1 offense and 26th-ranked defense in the country (per Kenpom).

When these squads met last year, Marquette was shockingly favored by 5 points. What happened? Marquette smacked Purdue by 16! This year, Purdue is a -18.5 point home favorite, which is telling. The Golden Eagles needed OT to surpass 70 points vs Dayton (68 in regulation) and Valparaiso (65 in regulation), and I think Marquette has its worst outing of the year at Purdue, so I will go Under 67.5 points scored (-115) for Marquette down to 65.5.

Pick: Marquette Team Total Under 67.5 (1 unit)

George Washington at Florida (-14.5): O/U 168.5

Florida lost to UConn and Duke back-to-back games, plus TCU making it three losses in the past four games. The Gators are now 0-3 vs top 10 KenPom teams and 5-1 against the rest. George Washington falls into the rest category, but what I really like outside of this bounce-back spot on a neutral venue in Miami, FL, is that GW plays fast.

GW is 55th in adjusted tempo and 45th in offensive average possession length, plus they’ve played the 293rd-ranked strength of schedule, so this is by far the biggest talent gap. Both teams average 74 and 76 possessions per game, ranking top 42nd and 80th, Florida’s possessions go up at home (basic home game) and GW’s go up on the road (neutral site).

Here are George Washington’s points allowed in the first half of their five neutral and road games, plus opponents’ average possession length, adjusted tempo, and points per possession.

At Army (37 1H points scored): 306th in avg poss length, 258th in tempo (1.03 PPP)
Vs Murray State (45 1H points scored): 65th in avg poss length, 35th in tempo (1.33 PPP)
Vs Middle Tenn (41 1H points scored): 261st in avg poss length, 244th in tempo (1.1 PPP)
Vs McNeese (47 1H points scored): 59th in avg poss length, 200th in tempo (1.24 PPP)
Vs USF (40 1H points scored) — 15th in offensive avg poss length, 20th in tempo (1.12 PPP)

What you’ll notice is that everyone is scoring and averaging over one full point per possession for the entire game versus George Washington. Florida will arguably be the quickest team they face, and they’ve allowed opponents to shoot 39.3% from three in their losses, which is what the Gators have struggled with. I like Florida to put up around 45-plus points in the first half, so I went Over 44.5 (-106). Lean Gators’ full game Over 92.5.

Pick: Florida 1H Team Total Over 44.5 (1 unit)

Indiana at Kentucky (-4.5): O/U 157.5

Between Kentucky and Alabama on a Saturday, I am not sure who I have lost more money on in my lifetime. Kentucky opened as a -1.5 point home favorite with a ML of -125 and I watched this reach -5.5 and -210 at one point. Too much steam on a Saturday, in my opinion.

Indiana is my favorite dog of the day and after their 113-72 win versus Penn State — I’d imagine this team is feeling confident ahead of this matchup.

Kentucky beats who they’re supposed to, like North Carolina Central in the last game (103-67), but has lost to all four top 25 teams they played per Kenpom. Indiana is ranked 21st, and Kentucky is 20th. This is a big test for both teams, but I do like the fact that the Hoosiers have played a true road game at Minnesota and a neutral court contest versus Louisville over the last three games.

The Wildcats do not force turnovers (15.7%, 269th), struggle from three (32.9%, 196th), and don’t get to the free-throw line (16.6% of points scored, 304th). The Hoosiers lead in all those categories and have the most average DI experience on their roster with a completely reloaded team under Darian DeVries. I played Indiana +4.5 (-125). I’d go down to +3.5.

Pick: Indiana +4.5 (1 unit)

Follow my plays for the season on X @VmoneySports, Instagram @VmoneySports_ and Action App @vaughndalzell.

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