College Basketball Picks
A total of 55 games on the betting board means that we have over 100 college basketball teams in action on Friday night. We won’t see that often, as Fridays usually feature a major-conference game or two plus the Metro, MAC, Ivy, and other smaller leagues once we get past the New Year, but Fridays are great for hoops during the college football season. I’ve already previewed Arizona vs. Auburn, but now it’s time to find what I believe are the top plays for November 13.
Handicapping early-season college basketball is a big challenge because there are so many new faces and moving parts, but it is also a market that provides a ton of opportunity for those who are prepared. That’s one reason why our 2026-27 College Basketball Betting Guide is so valuable. Also a reason why Steve Makinen’s College Basketball Daily Matchup Ratings will be useful. Check out more College Basketball Best Bets from our hosts and guests here.
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 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 Circa Sportsbook or DraftKings Sportsbook (mostly Extra Games) at time of publish.
Harvard Crimson at George Washington Revolutionaries (-11, 133.5)
7 p.m. ET
Pick: George Washington -11
After a couple of layups against MIT and UChicago, Harvard took on Northeastern in its first Division I clash. The Crimson lost 74-70 in overtime, as they managed just .942 points per possession. There weren’t a lot of positives in that one, except for Harvard’s guards protecting the basketball. The team was 6-of-24 from 3, pulled down very few offensive rebounds, and the shot distribution was not what I like to see with 22 Close Twos, 17 Far Twos, and 24 3-pointers.
This season is a different one for GW. The offense ran through 6-foot-11 Rafael Castro the last two seasons, but he’s gone, so Chris Caputo now has to rely on a bunch of slashers and distance shooters. That may not be a bad thing, as the Revolutionaries are off to a 40.9% start from 3. Everybody outside of Georgia transfer Dylan James has seemed to struggle to finish at the rim, but GW is getting those chances.
They also just faced an Elon team that plays really big. Outside of that game, the Revs have been just fine finishing at the tin. Elon’s top two contributors are 6-foot-10 and 7-foot-1. Harvard doesn’t run very deep right now and nobody who plays regularly is over 6-foot-7. That should allow the guards and wings to have some more success on the interior here. Even with a rough night finishing, GW still beat Elon by 19. This looks like an awesome defensive team in the early going.
This strikes me as a bad matchup for Harvard. Also, we could see GW play faster since the offense isn’t going through Castro, which makes covering numbers like this a little bit easier.
Wright State Raiders (-1, 156.5) at Samford Bulldogs
8 p.m. ET
Picks: Wright State -1; Over 156.5
Wright State has rolled up three wins over Division I opponents thus far, including a nice road win at Toledo last time out. The Raiders are traveling a bit farther in this one to take on Samford, but the degree of offensive success that Clint Sargent’s team has had so far should travel with them.
The Raiders are shooting 39.3% from 3, 62.4% on 2s, including 69.3% on Close Twos, and rank in the top 50 in ORB% in the early going. Those are all areas where Sargent’s team excelled last season en route to winning the Horizon League’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid. With Dominic Pangonis and Kellen Pickett back from that team, Sargent had some veteran leadership to build around this offseason. That included Green Bay’s C.J. O’Hara, who shot 59.1% on 2s last season and got to the free throw line a ton. Chadlyn Traylor didn’t play a ton at Charleston, but he shot 41.5% from 3 and took good care of the basketball.
The ace in the hole looks to be freshman Noah Lewis, who has averaged 12 PPG and has 12 blocks already in three games. Everybody can score for Wright State it seems and that’s worrisome for Samford. Teams in the SoCon generally aren’t super aggressive on the offensive glass or when it comes to attacking the basket. Wright State does both. The Bulldogs only have one D-I data point and allowed 1.156 PPP to UNLV, including 32 free throw attempts and 25 makes. Samford did get to the rim a lot against the Rebels, going 23-of-34 on Close Twos.
That’s why I’m in on the Over here, but also on Wright State. Samford was 276th in adjusted defensive efficiency last season, as opponents shot 36.5% from 3. This is a passive defensive club that rebounds by committee and doesn’t pressure to force many turnovers. I expect Wright State to win the possession battle and they can certainly score from all over the floor. Samford, like most SoCon teams, bombed away from 3, so that could help push the total up.
