Free Pick | NCAA | Saturday | Dec. 13

Nelly’s has hit 60% so far in December college basketball – both 2/3 offers we’ve had this season have won!

Get three college sides today – 2/3 guaranteed!

Nelly’s also went 3-0 in last Sunday’s NFL 2/3 offer!

#691 Oakland +9 over Northern Iowa 5:00 PM CT

Oakland started the season 0-3, facing championship contenders Michigan, Purdue, and Houston on the road. Understandably those games have taken a toll on the season numbers, particularly on defense. Oakland is 5-2 since and picked up a solid win over Toledo last weekend. Three of five losses this season have come by 10 or fewer points and this matchup offers a great contrast in styles as the Grizzlies play extremely fast, while Northern Iowa plays extremely slow. Even with the torrid pace, Oakland has one of the lowest turnover rates in the nation and is a good shooting team at every level while battling through one of the nation’s toughest schedules at this point in the season. Northern Iowa took a home loss last weekend and the 7-2 record includes zero top 100 wins and the only top 150 win came in overtime. The Panthers take good care of the ball but have been a marginal shooting team including struggling at the free throw line at just 66 percent while rarely getting to the charity stripe. The MVC opener is on deck for the Panthers and Ben Jacobson’s long run in Cedar Falls has been a bit flat in recent years with the last NCAA tournament appearance in 2016, though arguably one of his best teams was in the 2019-20 season that was paused. This year’s team has far worse offensive numbers than last season’s 20-win squad and while the defense has offered some promise, the non-conference schedule ranks in the 280s. The Panthers have very little depth which could come into play as Oakland will try to push the pace of play in this game and the Grizzlies have held their own in many recent non-conference tests for long time head coach Greg Kampe.