Matt Marquart
Show Bio
It’s Opening Night in college basketball and there are 116 D1 vs D1 games on the slate. The value of preseason research is at an all-time high, as there are more players transferring than ever before. My recommendation would be to start out slowly when it comes to betting, as we don’t really have a clue on how teams will look during the opening month of the season. Early in the season, I tend to value continuity, which is why I am looking towards 2 squads that return a bulk of their roster on Opening Night. Let’s get into my college basketball best bets for today, while you can also check out all of our college basketball picks for the biggest games on Monday, November 4.
Looking for a new sportsbook for the new college basketball season? We recommend checking out Bet365, where you can bet on EVERY CBB game and right now new users can INSTANTLY receive $200 in bonus bets when they make a first bet of just $5! Click here to join Bet365 now.
Texas A&M Aggies -4.5 over UCF Knights (-110)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -5.
Texas A&M returns a large portion of the team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament earlier this year. On Opening Night, they take on UCF, who returns just 37.5 percent of last year’s minutes, per BartTorvik. The Knights brought in a lot of talent via the transfer portal, but it could take some time for the team to gel. Texas A&M will certainly have an advantage when it comes to continuity within the team.
From a matchup perspective, the only major addition for the Aggies could have a big impact in his very first game with the team. Last season, Texas A&M ranked 342nd in three-point percentage at just 29.3 percent. In an attempt to solve that weakness, the Aggies brought in CJ Wilcher from Nebraska. Wilcher made 39.4 percent of his three-point attempts last season, so if he could continue that for Texas A&M, the Aggie offense could take a major step forward. UCF plays a zone defense that can be susceptible to outside shooting, so look for the newest Aggie to make a big difference in the game and for Texas A&M to cover the spread.
Find out our Baylor vs Gonzaga prediction for tonight’s huge matchup
Santa Clara Broncos -2 over Saint Louis Billikens (-108)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -3.
A team with even more roster continuity than Texas A&M is the Santa Clara Broncos. Per BartTorvik, just 14 teams return a higher percentage of last season’s minutes than Santa Clara. Last year’s team won 20 games and this season the team has its eyes set on an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. A win against what should be a good Saint Louis team would go a long way in earning that bid.
The big question in this game is Saint Louis’s Robbie Avila, who has been dealing with an ankle injury for much of the preseason. Avila is expected to play in this matchup, but he’s likely been unable to practice fully leading up to the season. This is extremely important as not only is this a new team under head coach Josh Schertz, but Avila is the focal point of the offense. He is known for his passing, so it could take a game or two for Avila to be in sync with his teammates. Against a team with so many players returning like Santa Clara, that could prove difficult on Opening Night.
