Players Era Thanksgiving Festival Predictions, Picks For Wednesday | Alabama-Houston, Creighton & Texas A&M Ranked

How to Watch San Diego State vs No. 21 Creighton

• TV: TBS | Streaming: TBS App
• Time: 2:00 p.m. ET  |  Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV

San Diego State vs No. 21 Creighton FanDuel Odds

• Spread: San Diego State +3.5 (-120) | Creighton -3.5 (-102)
• Moneyline: San Diego State (+130) | Creighton (-156)
• Total: OVER 136.5 (-115) | UNDER 136.5 (-105)

Creighton enters after a tough home defeat to Nebraska on Friday night, a pivotal rivalry matchup that means a lot to the fans. To make matters worse, starting point guard Steven Ashworth suffered an ankle sprain in the game that will keep him out for this tournament. This leaves them without their offensive talisman and arguably their best shooter. 

We will need to see more from the Aztecs on the offensive end before we can start backing them. The only way they will have a chance in this one is if they muddy it up, play their brand of hard-nosed, defensive basketball, and look to steal a rock fight. This kept them within arm’s length of Gonzaga last time out, and it may work here against the Bluejays.

All signs point toward the under. Ashworth’s offensive prowess and San Diego State’s defensive focus will make this a low-scoring rock fight.

The Pick: Under 136.5 (-105)

How to Watch Oregon vs No. 20 Texas A&M

• TV: TNT | Streaming: TNT App
• Time: 4:30 p.m. ET  |  Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV

Oregon vs No. 20 Texas A&M FanDuel Odds

• Spread: Oregon +2.5 (-102) | Texas A&M -2.5 (-120)
• Moneyline: Oregon (+128) | Texas A&M (-154)
• Total: OVER 144.5 (-110) | UNDER 144.5 (-110)

The Ducks are fresh off a strong win on the road over rivals Oregon State, which pushed them to 5-0 on the year. While they didn’t look impressive in an overtime win at home over a struggling Portland program, the remainder of their performances have looked promising.

Texas A&M is grinding out wins, which is the only way Buzz Williams knows how. Chuck up volume shots, sell out on the offensive glass, and outshoot the opponent. They got 15 more looks than Southern in their most recent victory, thanks to 29 offensive rebounds. They could feast similarly if the Ducks aren’t game-planned to limit their second and third chances on the offensive end.

We will back the experience away from home early this season. The Aggies haven’t left campus since their loss to UCF in the season-opener, something that may play against them with such a long road trip here.

The Pick: Oregon +2.5 (-102)

How to Watch No. 6 Houston vs No. 9 Alabama

• TV: TBS | Streaming: TBS App
• Time: 8:00 p.m. ET  |  Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV

No. 6 Houston vs No. 9 Alabama FanDuel Odds

• Spread: Houston -4.5 (-108) | Alabama +4.5 (-112)
• Moneyline: Houston (-192) | Alabama (+158)
• Total: OVER 150.5 (-110) | UNDER 150.5 (-110)

It’s already been an eventful season for Alabama. After putting up a solid fight in a losing effort against Purdue in Mackey Arena, the Crimson Tide bounced back by hanging a century on Illinois last week in an impressive performance. Their offense has been fast, frantic, and efficient under head coach Nate Oats.

This is a classic contrast in styles for this matchup. While Alabama will seek to run and gun for 40 minutes, Houston will try to slow things down, play tough defense, and make the Crimson Tide uncomfortable. With loads of depth and experience, it feels right to back the Cougars to impose their will more effectively at this stage of the season. Back them to get it done on Tuesday.

The Pick: Houston -4.5 (-108)

How to Watch Rutgers vs. Notre Dame

• TV: TBS | Streaming: TBS App
• Time: 10:30 p.m. ET  |  Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV

Rutgers vs Notre Dame FanDuel Odds

• Spread: Rutgers -1.5 (-114) | Notre Dame +1.5 (-106)
• Moneyline: Rutgers (-128) | Notre Dame (+106)
• Total: OVER 145.5 (-115) | UNDER 145.5 (-105)

Rutgers is undoubtedly the more talented roster. We’re not sure that KenPom and other advanced metrics are reasonably priced in the freshman tandem of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, each of which seems to be getting better with each game. The atmosphere at Kennesaw State was hostile, and it at least somewhat excuses the narrow loss for the Scarlet Knights. Notre Dame’s home loss to Elon stinks a bit more, which pushes us toward the Rutgers side of things here. Lay the short spread here.

The Pick: Rutgers -1.5 (-114)