College Basketball Bets
We’ve got 46 college basketball games with betting odds on Friday, so it is a pretty big card in that respect. Usually we’ll have 20-30ish CBB games on Fridays when we get into conference play. There aren’t a ton of big-name teams on the floor, at least not against each other, as teams like Duke, Kentucky, and Arkansas are big favorites. That being said, Illinois State vs. USC and Xavier vs. Iowa are solid games. The game of the night is absolutely Arizona vs. UCLA, as former Pac-12 opponents go head-to-head.
We’ve also got ourselves a chase game in Hawaii with the Manhattan Jaspers all the way out on the island. Along with a couple CFB tilts, this is a good way to enter the weekend to say the least.
For more college basketball best bets today, check out Greg Peterson’s daily article.
As always, I want to give a shout-out to Bart Torvik (BartTorvik.com), Erik Haslam (Haslametrics.com), and KenPom, as they provide a lot of great data. This season, we’ve also connected with CBBAnalytics.com to access their data and I’ll be working that into my article. Use promo code VSIN for $30 off at CBB Analytics and find your betting edge.
This article will run Monday-Saturday. Lines will be from DraftKings, as they are widely available to readers. Shop around for the best prices.
Check the latest college basketball odds for legal U.S. sportsbooks across the country and our Vegas odds if you share a state with us here at VSiN. Also, give the college basketball betting splits (DraftKings) and Circa CBB Betting Splits a look for these or any other college basketball games today have your interest.
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publish.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at Jacksonville State Gamecocks (-7.5, 138.5)
7 p.m. ET
Coastal Carolina doesn’t get to play the in-state Gamecocks this season, but they’ll play the Jacksonville State ones in this Sun Belt vs. Conference USA matchup in Alabama. The Chanticleers are 1-1 against Division I opponents on the season, losing in the face of a big free throw discrepancy by 5 to Western Michigan to open the season. They beat Winthrop at home before heading out on the road.
Jacksonville State has not played a Division I foe yet, as they’ve beaten up on two lower-division opponents, winning a combined 231-192 over the Oakwood University Ambassadors and the Reinhardt University Eagles. In other words, they’ll get their first actual test of the season here.
I really liked Coastal Carolina’s hire of Justin Gray from Western Carolina and it seems like he has more of the roster he’s looking for this season compared to last. It does seem like the Chants are going to push the pace more this season after playing at one of the slowest tempos in the nation last season. They’re also an offense that wants to shoot more 3s and they’re off to a 38.2% start in their D-I games.
Neither one of these defenses project to force many turnovers in a game that will lack transition and probably lack tempo, as Jacksonville State ranked in the 300s as well. Gray wants to move quicker, but this probably won’t be the game for it, making points at something of a premium. This is pretty much a new Jacksonville State roster, while Coastal did have some holdovers.
While the Gamecocks found success last season, they were 342nd in the nation in Assist Rate and were a below average defense on the perimeter, ranking 348th in TO% and 226th in 3P% with a 43% 3P Rate against. I’m not sure if Coastal Carolina will win the game, but this seems like a good matchup for them getting a 7.5-point head start.
Pick: Coastal Carolina +7.5 (-105)
Northwestern Wildcats (-4.5, 142.5) at DePaul Blue Demons
8:30 p.m. ET
A close geographic rivalry here, as Northwestern takes on DePaul. The Blue Demons will try to defend their Lincoln Park turf against the invaders from the suburb of Evanston. Money has hit the board on DePaul for this one, but I don’t really see it. So far, DePaul has played Chicago State, Stonehill, and Buffalo and, while they have played really well on defense, they haven’t shot the ball well at all.
Through three games against teams ranked 323rd, 318th, and 320th by Torvik, DePaul is shooting just 57.4% on Close Twos, 29% on mid-range jumpers, 61.1% from the free throw line, and under 30% on 3s. I guess you could argue that there’s some positive regression in there for the offense, but outside of 17 dunks across those three games, the Blue Demons aren’t making shots. Those 17 dunks count for 35.4% of their made shots on 2s, so they’re “shooting” 37.8% on 2s.
Northwestern is usually a stout defensive team under Chris Collins and they’ve got a good big in the middle in Arrinten Page, who is getting a chance to play after being used fairly sparingly at USC and Cincinnati. Nick Martinelli is a pure scorer and he’s 20-of-34 from the floor already this season. Northwestern is shooting 67% on Close Twos and 39% from the mid-range, while also shooting 39% from 3.
And they’ve played a slightly tougher schedule with Mercyhurst (338), Boston U. (225) and Cleveland State (258) per Torvik’s rankings. Against those three teams, Northwestern has allowed .695, .863, and .854 points per possession. DePaul, against a weaker schedule, has allowed .852, .843, and .975.
Northwestern brought in three transfers who were in the 78th, 80th, and 71st percentile in PTS/40 per CBB Analytics. They also have two players in the 77th percentile or higher in AST/40, including Jayden Reid, who ranked in the 89th percentile at USF. Through three games, Reid has a 19/2 AST/TO ratio. DePaul’s transfer class was bigger, but not as noteworthy.
Pick: Northwestern -4.5 (-108)
Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils vs. Utah Tech Trailblazers (-28.5, 145.5)
9:30 p.m. ET
This one is a neutral-site game in Honolulu, as Mississippi Valley State and Utah Tech are part of a round robin event on the island. It has been the type of start that you would expect for MVSU, as they’ve been pummeled by Torvik top-125 teams UAB, Murray State, and Hawaii. They take a pretty big step back in competition here with Utah Tech.
The Trailblazers rank 269th for Torvik entering this game and this is the front end of a back-to-back for the Delta Devils, so there should be a lot of focus on this one tonight since their lack of depth will make tomorrow very difficult. Obviously this is still a bad team, with the line being evidence enough, but head coach George Ivory was the school’s interim AD last season, leaving less time to help the basketball team improve.
This season, he doesn’t have those tasks. While the team hasn’t looked better from a results standpoint thus far, they should be able to get some better shot selection against Utah Tech. So far, the Delta Devils have taken 45 Close Twos, 77 Farther Twos, and have only shot 26.9% from 3. Last season, Utah Tech allowed the seventh-highest shot share on Close Twos, as they do what they can to force teams off the 3-point line, but that leaves them exposed on the interior.
Utah Tech has made some roster moves, but this is a team that was 262nd in adjusted offensive efficiency, 318th in adjusted defensive efficiency, 274th in eFG% offense, 280th in eFG% defense, and doesn’t have much speed at the guard position, as they have a lot of players who physically look like wings. Nobody on the team with significant minutes has an assist rate higher than 14.6% per Torvik. That doesn’t strike me as a team that can win by 30+.
Pick: Mississippi Valley State +28.5 (-115)
