Colgate vs. Iona: College Basketball Odds & Picks (Thursday)
This week, college basketball has offered an exciting blend of some of the final top non-conference matchups for the rest of the regular season and several conference openers for top teams. While some teams have fallen victim this week to sleepy homecourt advantages with students away (i.e., Notre Dame losing to the Citadel, UCLA losing to Cal State Northridge, Villanova beating Creighton), other environments have propelled teams to big victories over ranked opponents, like Memphis and Providence beating Virginia and Marquette by a combined 38 points.
Here are Thursday’s College Basketball best bets. Below we dive into Colgate vs. Iona.
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Thursday’s College Basketball Best Bets: Colgate vs. Iona
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Colgate vs. Iona
Colgate has finished four of the previous five seasons ranked seventh or better in 3-point accuracy, but this year’s Raiders squad is on pace to be the worst perimeter shooting team since Matt Langel’s 2013 squad. Colgate may rank outside the top-140 in 3-point attempts per field goal attempt, but it is not like their players are any more aggressive driving to the basket, ranking 360th in free throw rate. Thus, while we would normally be worried about the under in a game where Colgate is facing a team that allows opponents to shoot better than 34% beyond the arc, as Iona has, Tobin Anderson’s squad will extend more full-court pressure than the Raiders have seen this year. This will disrupt their offense with a defense that forces turnovers at a top 26 rate.
To give an idea of how poorly Colgate has handled pressure in the past, it squandered a 54-30 second-half lead against Syracuse once the Orange started extending full court. Iona can frustrate the Raiders in similar ways, but we also do not expect the Gaels to light up the scoreboard themselves, as they have averaged just 64.3 points per game over the last six games.
The under has cashed in all four games that the Gaels have played following four or more days off, which applies here with their previous game being played last Saturday.
Pick: Under 138.5 (-110)
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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.