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College Basketball Odds, Picks & Predictions: Friday (11/17)

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ESPN dubs this time of year “Feast Week” as plenty of quality non-conference college basketball action takes place starting now and going through Thanksgiving weekend.

Thursday marked the official start of MTE (Multiple-Team Events) season in college basketball, with thrilling games from the Myrtle Beach Invitational, Charleston Classic and Vivid Seats Legends Classic. Two of today’s best bets are from the semifinals of those MTEs, while we are also fading an AP-ranked team that is generating much buzz in the early stages of this season.

Read on for Friday’s college basketball best bets.

Friday’s College Basketball Best Bets

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Vermont (-3.5) vs. Saint Louis | O/U 142.5 (-110/-110) 

Vermont has made the NCAA Tournament three of the past four seasons and won seven consecutive America East regular-season titles. However, while the Catamounts have dominated conference opponents and cover 69.2% of conference games (27-12-1 ATS) since 2021, Vermont is just 14-15 ATS out of conference in that span.

Saint Louis head coach Travis Ford has been excellent on the second games of back-to-backs for the past two years. He won both of his early November games on the second of two days, including this past year’s 76-73 upset of Providence in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off. Vermont found itself down nine points at the half and down five points with 10 minutes to go yesterday against a Charleston team that made just 3-of-25 3-point attempts. The Billikens rank outside the top 210 in 3-point attempts per field goal attempt and will challenge Vermont’s transition defense more than any opponent has, as they rank 37th in adjusted tempo. 

Pick: Saint Louis +3.5 (-110)

St. John’s vs. Dayton (-1) | O/U 139 (-115/-105)

In a tournament format with a condensed schedule, we generally favor the team with the better head coach. His preparation on a quick turnaround is paramount. However, while no one can argue with Hall of Famer Rick Pitino’s resume, his St. John’s team is very much a work in progress. The Red Storm have been very poor defensively outside of Thursday’s 53-52 win against North Texas.

We are not overvaluing the St. John’s for yesterday’s victory, as they were a bad matchup for the Mean Green because their press. In addition, North Texas entered the game 2-0, but ShotQuality graded each of those games as losses.

Dayton should be well prepared for the Red Storm press after it solved a more athletic version of it from LSU yesterday. The Flyers committed just 11 turnovers – four fewer than the Tigers – and out-rebounded LSU by seven with 10 more free throws. The most impressive part of Dayton’s win is that it got just eight points from leading scorer DaRon Holmes II, who came into the game averaging 18.0 points per contest. Holmes shot 2-of-9 from the field as he was hampered by LSU’s length, but he should find no such resistance from a St. John’s defense that was torched for 26 points by Michigan’s Dug McDaniel and allowed five Stony Brook players to score in double figures in the opening game.

Pick: Dayton Moneyline (-110)

Radford at No. 24 James Madison (-6.5) | O/U 149.5 (-108/-118)

James Madison is playing its first game as an AP-ranked team in school history, and ESPN’s College GameDay is in town for the school’s undefeated football team’s game against Appalachian State. While there will undoubtedly be an unprecedented buzz around campus, those are the distractions that can derail a team that is playing solid basketball.

JMU has had a lot of mileage on its legs so far with three overtime periods through its first three games. Radford was picked to finish second in the Big South and is battle-tested, having already played North Carolina and VCU on the road this season. The Highlanders do everything needed to stay competitive in road games against superior opponents, such as slow the tempo (they rank 317th in adjusted tempo) and defend the 3-point line (they rank inside the top 100 in 3-point percentage allowed).

Despite a distinct size disadvantage, Radford was out-rebounded by just three against North Carolina. The Highlanders are 9-4-1 ATS as underdogs since the start of last season, and we are backing them as a contrarian play against a Dukes team that should feel the pressure of being a top-25 team.

Pick: Radford +6.5 (-108)

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Friday:


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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.

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