NCAA Basketball Predictions, Odds & Best Bets: Opening Day Wagers (11/4)

Merry Christmas everybody!! I hope you left out your East Coast Time Zone pizza for Jon Rothstein to come down your chimney last night, because College Basketball is back once again! After several long months since the National Championship, NCAA Basketball returns today for your viewing pleasure, and of course, we will dive in and find our best bets on the hardwood!

For all of our Expert NCAA Basketball Picks, check out our page here. But for now, let’s get right into it!

Listed below are my College Hoops best bets for today, but be sure to get all of my picks on my Twitter (@Shaggy_Bets)

Check our our #8 Baylor vs #6 Gonzaga Preview!

NCAA Basketball Best Bets – November 4th, 2024

Sacred Heart vs Temple Best Bets

Temple hosts Sacred Heart to start their season

Best Bet: Temple -13 (-113) BetOnline

Plain and simple, we are taking a much better team here. People forget that during the A-10 tournament, Temple pulled off several upsets and were playing their best ball of the season in March. Returning tons of starters, and bringing in New Mexico transfer Jamal Marshburn certainly helps the offense improve from last season.

Sacred Heart is a team that loves to push the pace, but against Temple’s sound defense and offensive efficiency, I do see the Owls running away with this game at home. Temple should be fired up to ride their momentum from the end of last season, as they ended 8-3 as one of the hottest teams in College Basketball.

Check our our Green Bay vs Oklahoma State Preview!

West Georgia vs Mississippi State Best Bets

Cameron Matthews has averaged 26 minutes per game the past two season for the Bulldogs

Best Bet: West Georgia TT Under 58.5 (-115) BetOnline

Welcome to Division 1 basketball West Georgia! The West Georgia Wolves are one of two new Division 1 Men’s Basketball teams this year, and they open up their season going into Starkville to take on Mississippi State. West Georgia is not going to be good. They are estimated to be a team ranked north of 300 overall, and on both sides of the ball, plus they play fairly slow.

Mississippi State is a top 30 team, a top 20 defense, and are north of 280 in terms of pace. The Bulldogs play incredibly slow, force their opponent into bad shots, and take their time on offense to get a good look at the hoop. In their opening game at home, I think the Mississippi State defense really comes into play, resulting in West Georgia staying under 58 total points.

UNC-Asheville vs Alabama Best Bets

Can Mark Sears and Alabama get back to the Final Four?

Best Bet: UNCA/Alabama Over 162 (-115) BetOnline

Alabama simply runs. They don’t play much defense, and their offense is very specific. The Crimson Tide run a very fast offense, putting up a deep three early in the shot clock, or getting all the way to the bucket for a layup. Nate Oats has his team living off of threes, ranking 20th in 3P% and 4th in 3PA, and free throws, ranking 20th in FT% and 30th in FTA.

Alabama is simply tough to slow down, they scored over 90 PPG last year, and Asheville will run right with them. UNC-Asheville is a team ranking Top 100 in pace, Top 150 in offense but north of 250 defensively. Again, you can’t slow down Alabama, you can only hope to try and keep up. I think Asheville pushes the pace, focusing on fine tuning their offense before the season really gets in the thick of it.

Canisius vs Arizona Best Bets

Will Caleb Love and Arizona compete for the National Championship?

Best Bet: Arizona TT Over 94.5 (-120) BetOnline

Arizona loves to score. They are a top 10 team, ranked 4th in scoring last year averaging over 87 points per game. To start last season, Arizona put up 100+ in 3 of their first 5 games, clearing this number in 4/5. Now, they return tons of talent, including stud Caleb Love, who will be one of the best overall players in College Hoops this season. The Wildcats ranked 6th in pace last year, and I expect them to play the same style of track meet basketball this season.

As for Canisius, they are a team ranked north of 300 overall and defensively, however, they also love to run. In a game where they are 30+ points underdogs, Canisuis will just be looking to compete. They will play their run and gun style of basketball, knowing damn well it might cause Arizona to score triple digits. Canisius doesn’t care about winning this game, they care about getting their offense ready for the rest of the season, so expect tons of possessions in this game tonight.

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