Expert Picks
Does Oakland finally get their first win of the season? ...
Cost myself a bit more than 20 cents waiting on this one to drop (other way) so will have to up the wager. I'm sure Georgia is a solid team but winning in Chapel Hill? The Dawgs haven't left home yet or played anyone. They are led by the excellently named 1980s detective Blue Cain (16.0 PPG). I need to see a Colt Seavers/Blue Cain crossover event. Hard to know exactly what the Heels are in a bit of a transition season under Mike Malone but still plenty of 5-star talent on the roster. Not a title contender, though. KenPom ranks the Heels 21 spots higher and it is a true home game.
FanDuel. Just too many points in this early-season matchup between two teams with similar styles. Look for a fast-paced game with both squads making runs throughout the game. I give Oklahoma State's new-look frontcourt the edge. If the Cowboys can control the boards, I like them to stay within two possessions. I'll take OSU +7.5 for a half unit. Play down to 6.5.
A season ago, Richmond was one of the teams that faded to end the season as they were 2-12 over their final fourteen games. Today they will face Southern Illinois who has a two day rest advantage and the home court edge over the Spiders. Look for Richmond to overcome the early deficit, and lean on last year’s matchup against the Salukis. The only overtime game they played in was against Southern Illinois, which ended up being a nine point win for Richmond. The Spiders move to 4-0 on the season.
Texas A&M has played at an insane pace under Bucky McMillan. The Cowboys should be ready to run, as they play very fast and had a nice tune-up against Queens in their last game. Texas A&M has the more experienced team, but these two are very similar on both sides of the ball and really haven’t been tested to this point. Even though the Aggies won by a lopsided margin, they didn’t control the boards as well as they should have, which the Cowboys could take advantage of. Oklahoma State has also been more efficient from the free-throw line so far.
How much of a betting nerd am I? Was at the dentist a while and the whole time I was on my phone either streaming Canes-Kraken from Finland -- cashed that parlay via newsletter/CBS Sports so hopefully tailed -- or monitoring this number and hoping for 10.5. I had "Johnny 5" at home programed to wager if so. Alas ... this is going the other way so will go now. Why on earth is CS Bakersfield traveling halfway across country to play Western Illinois in the first roadie of the year? Can't be for a big check. The Leathernecks were quite terrible last season but beefed up via transfer portal led by Daivion Traylor. Our model has the visitors by six. Bueno.
It’s difficulty to see where all these points are going to come from. Towson dictates the pace at home and makes their opponent play their style which is slow. The Greyhounds don’t play at a crazy pace either and aren’t the most gifted team offensively. They played two good defenses thus far still didn’t get to 60 points. Towson will be the best defense they’ve seen thus far and don’t really except the Tigers to shoot the lights out either.
Nevada needed overtime to beat the Gaels at home in their last game. UC Santa Barbara has been very good at home over the last few seasons while also returning more production and experience than the Wolfpack. Nevada returns a decent amount of production from last season but Steve Alford has not been historically great on the road during his tenure. The Gauchos have more efficient scorers from beyond the arc especially at home.
Two teams that had the same identical records a season ago meet tonight as UNC Asheville travels to fast West Georgia. Both schools are winless this season against division one competition with 0-2 records. Slight value on the Bulldogs side, with this being West Georgia’s first home game of the season. A year ago they won their first three home games. UNC Asheville uses a big rotation as no player averages more than twenty seven minutes. The depth wears down and spoils West Georgia’s home opener, grab UNC Asheville.
This number seems low for the reigning National Champs, Michigan, and it continues to drop. The Golden Eagles have more continuity with their roster and the much better coach in this one. Marquette’s offense, despite playing two lesser opponents, appeared to have the better team chemistry as compared to the Wolverines thus far. Michigan doesn't play the best, consistent defensive players like the Golden Eagles. Marquette had a very disappointing season last year and look for an early statement win on the road.
This is Charleston’s first season under new head coach John Groce, formerly at Akron. His teams like to play very fast, relying on skilled guards. The Owls may struggle with the pace of play just like in their last game against Richmond. Even though the Cougars played two non-DI teams to open the season, this team will be able to put up points and Temple will have to keep up offensively. The Owls aren’t the most gifted team on offensive and have struggle to score consistently and control the boards.
If you are wondering why there are so many matinees around college basketball today, it's Veterans Day. Yeah, banks are closed and you may or may not get your trashed picked up on time depending. This is the second game of a CBS Sports Network DH from Annapolis -- obviously home to Navy. The Middies were great last season with 26 wins and an NIT spot. Navy looked awful in this year's opener but was without star Jordan Pinnick. He has played the past two. Penn brings back 4 starters from an NCAA Tournament team so it should be favored ... but this is a lot (might also be an alt but I'm good). Our model has Navy winning by eight. Not sure about that.
What a fun Champions Classic early season matchup! With playmaking guard Melvin Council Jr. out for the next 6-8 weeks with a broken foot, will Kansas' offense be as potent as expected? We know the Jayhawks' defense is legit though, having surrendered only 110 combined points in wins over Fordham and Middle Tennessee. But the overall trends point to Under so I'll go that route. In Kentucky's last 15 games vs. ranked teams, the Under has hit ten times. The Jayhawks are 3-9 to the Under in their last 12 games vs. ranked opponents. Unders are also 11-4 in Kansas' last 15 non-conference games. I think this is a close game played in the lower-70s in Chicago. Kansas 75, Kentucky 72.
DraftKings. DK and Caesars have lines up for this matchup on Tuesday. I'm grabbing Illinois now at -1.5 for a full unit. The Illini are my top-rated team early in the season, with four starters back from last year's Final Four squad alongside talented newcomers. Texas Tech is always a tough place to play. However, the Red Raiders aren't very deep right now. They rely mainly on six players as they wait for a couple of guys to return from injury. I think Illinois is too deep and too good right now to be laying just 1.5 in this matchup. I'll back the Illini at this short number to take care of business on the road. Play up to -3.
This opened as low as 160.5 and I can't find a single model -- not that those have been good to me yet; ours has 156 points -- that has 160 total points scored between No. 3 Illinois and No. 16 Texas Tech from Lubbock -- why are they playing this opposite the Champions Classic? Illinois is averaging an incredible 116.0 PPG but hasn't played anyone yet or left home. Texas Tech is always a defense-first club and has given up just 100 points combined in two games. Pace will determine this total and generally speaking home teams dictate that. If this lands Over 167.5, Illinois almost surely won because it dictated such.