Friday is never the best day of the week for college basketball, but we still have a solid group of games to bet on tonight.
I have three bets locked in for tonight, so let’s not waste any time and jump right into them.
If you want to hear me talk about them a little bit more in-depth, check out today’s episode of the Bacon Bets Podcast.
Best college basketball bets tonight
- Xavier/Seton Hall UNDER 142
- Richmond +9.5 vs. VCU
- Wyoming +7.5 vs. Colorado State
Xavier/Seton Hall UNDER 142
Seton Hall has one of the most underrated defenses in the country, but their offense leaves a lot to be desired so I won’t be betting on the Pirates to pull off the upset.
Instead, I’m going to look at the total and take the UNDER.
The Pirates defense ranks 27th in defensive efficiency, 28th in opponent effective field goal percentage, and 25th in opponent points per game, giving up just 64.7 points per matchup.
Xavier has a great shooting offense and they play a fast pace offense, but now they have to play on the road against one of the best defenses in the country and an offense that ranks in the bottom half of college basketball in pace.
If Seton Hall’s defense can slow down the Xavier offense, I think this total will go UNDER.
A total in the 140’s is way too high for a game involving the stout Pirates defense.
Richmond +9.5 vs. VCU
I don’t think VCU is in danger of losing this game, but covering the spread is a whole different question. With Richmond set as 9-point underdogs, I think the Spiders have betting value even with their terrible record on the road.
The Spiders rank 21st in three point shot rate, with 45.3% of their shots coming from beyond the arc. That should work in their favor due to the weakness of VCU being on the perimeter. The Rams allow teams to hit 33% of their three balls against them, which ranks 116th in the country.
A big part of VCU’s success is its ability to force turnovers. That may not be work as well against the Spiders, who rank inside the top 100 in turnovers per possession, coughing up the ball on only 16.9% of possessions.
I think the spread is too many points. Give me Richmond to cover as underdogs.
Wyoming +7.5 vs. Colorado State
The biggest weakness Colorado State has is its perimeter defense. The Rams rank 302nd in opponent three point field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot 36.4% from beyond the arc. Also, 37% of the points scored against the Rams comes from three point land which ranks 342nd in the country.
The reason I’m bringing that up is because Wyoming is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country. The Cowboys rank 23rd in three point shot rate, with 45.2% of their shots coming from three point range.
Wyoming also outranks Colorado State in effective possession ratio, fouls per game, and rebounding.
Will Wyoming win the game outright? Who knows, but I absolutely love them getting seven points against the Rams.
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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
