Top 3 College Basketball Odds, Picks & Predictions: Wednesday (11/6)
The college basketball season is underway and we have a fun Wednesday night of games to wager on. Our top men's college basketball best bets today feature John Calipari's coaching debut at Arkansas and the season opener for back-to-back champion UConn Huskies. Plus, we look at an interesting matchup between Oakland and Boise State.
Note that all betting lines are accurate as of this writing, but shop around for the best odds and sportsbooks. Enjoy these college basketball picks and predictions for Wednesday, November 6.
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Wednesday’s Best College Basketball Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Sacred Heart (+33) at UConn (-33) | O/U 149 (-110/-110)
Connecticut's quest to three-peat as national champs begins Wednesday tonight. Dan Hurley will try to do so with only one starter returning from last year's squad. Even so, the Huskies are among the title favorites once again after bringing some key pieces back and reloading via the transfer portal and high school ranks.
Alex Karaban is UConn’s lone returning starter and he’s a preseason Big East First Team honoree. Hassan Diarra, Samson Johnson and Solo Ball are notable returning role players. The Huskies also bring in Saint Mary's transfer guard Aidan Mahaney, Michigan transfer center Tarris Reed Jr. and five-star recruit Liam McNeeley to round things out. This year's Connecticut team may not be as good on paper as the past two versions, but it was still picked to win the conference this season. We'll see how they match up against other top teams. For now, though, expect the Huskies to dominate lesser opponents.
Sacred Heart certainly qualifies as that. The Pioneers were picked to finish last in the MAAC in the preseason Coaches Poll and rate as the 336th team in the country at KenPom. This is Sacred Heart's first season in the MAAC after spending years in the Northeast Conference. The program is now rated as the worst team in their new conference, according to both KenPom and Bart Torvik.
Sacred Heart began its season on Monday and lost by 11 points to Temple. Despite covering as underdogs in that opener, this is a significant step up in competition. Sacred Heart is just 1-4 against the spread (ATS) against power conference teams in the past three seasons. It will be at a huge talent disadvantage here and UConn should roll easily. For comparison's sake, Sacred Heart lost by 35 points to St. John's a year ago.
Yes, it's a massive spread, but UConn has a recent history of blowing out early-season cupcake opponents by big margins. Last year, the Huskies won their first three games by 43, 40 and 34 points. They beat five of their six non-conference mid-major opponents by 30+ points. Two years ago, they won by 31 and 29 points in their first two games and had three other wins by 35+ points against mid-major squads. Three seasons ago, UConn had win margins of 51, 35 and 53 to begin the campaign.
If the large spread is still scaring you off, here are some more convincing trends. UConn has covered five straight season openers under Dan Hurley, all of which came against mid-major teams. That includes the last time it faced Sacred Heart in 2019. The Huskies were also 15-7 ATS as a double-digit favorite last year. Plus, they're 10-6 ATS when favored by 25 points+ against mid-major teams over the past three seasons.
Pick: UConn -33 (-110)
Lipscomb (+14.5) at Arkansas (-14.5) | O/U 160 (-110/-110)
The John Calipari era at Arkansas gets underway tonight as his squad hosts Lipscomb. On the surface, the Razorbacks should win comfortably at home against a mid-major opponent. When looking at this matchup further, though, Lipscomb will make them earn it and can keep things close enough to cover as road dogs.
With the coaching change, Arkansas went through a complete roster overhaul with Trevon Brazile as the lone player back from last year's team. The Razorbacks welcome multiple transfers like Johnell Davis (FAU), D.J. Wagner (Kentucky) and Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee) to town. Top freshmen Boogie Fland and Karter Knox are added in as well.
There's a ton of talent on this team and Arkansas should contend for the SEC title this season. However, it may take time before Calipari figures out his rotations and lineups - not to mention how the team gels right out of the gate. Meanwhile, there's some major lookahead potential here for Arkansas. It has a marquee matchup coming up on Saturday against No. 8 Baylor.
As for Lipscomb, this is not an easy opponent to face in a season opener. The Bisons were picked to win the Atlantic Sun by both the coaches and media in the preseason. They’re led by All-Conference forward Jacob Ognacevic, who missed all of last season due to injury but averaged 17.7 points per game (PPG) in 2022-23. Lipscomb is a veteran team with four senior starters and three more juniors in the rotation. Senior guards Will Pruitt and Joe Anderson give them a trusted backcourt as well.
Furthermore, Lipscomb is one of the better shooting teams from the mid-major ranks. The Bison shot 38.1% from three-point range last year, the 12th-best mark in college basketball. They were also 12th in the country in effective field goal percentage. If Lipscomb gets hot from deep, it will force Arkansas to be on its A-game to maintain a lead.
Lipscomb upset Duquesne as road underdogs on Monday to begin its season. The Bison shot 42.9% from three while Ognacevic went for 30 points and 10 rebounds. They can carry that momentum into this matchup, especially with the added motivation of trying to beat an SEC opponent. On that note, Lipscomb lost by just three points to Arkansas last year (albeit a completely different team) and will surely have that in the back of their minds.
This is one of only two times Lipscomb faces a power conference opponent, so we should get their best effort here. The Bison went 6-3 ATS as underdogs last year, including 4-2 ATS as road dogs. They're also 6-1 ATS in their past seven games against power conference opponents, including 4-1 ATS as double-digit dogs in that stretch.
Finally, for what it's worth, Calipari’s Kentucky teams regularly allowed lesser opponents to hang around in recent years. Over the past three seasons, his teams went just 18-23-1 ATS as double-digit favorites. The spread is big enough for a late cover even if the Razorbacks win comfortably.
Pick: Lipscomb +14.5 (-110)
Oakland (+15.5) at Boise State (-15.5) | O/U 146 (-110/-110)
Let's wrap things up with this late-night tip between Oakland and Boise State. It may seem like a random game to target, but there's a clear betting angle here.
The last time we saw Oakland, it pulled off a memorable upset over Kentucky in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament. However, this is a completely different team. Four starters are gone from that squad, including leading scorer Trey Townsend (transferred to Arizona) and sharpshooter Jack Gohlke (graduated). Another veteran role player in Rocket Watts has also departed.
This year's Golden Grizzlies are now relying heavily on DQ Cole, who averaged 8.7 PPG last season, and multiple transfers - all from the mid-major or JUCO levels. They could still contend for the Horizon League title, but it may take time to gel a brand-new roster with so many key contributors gone from last year.
Oakland won its first game on Monday, 75-52, over Defiance College. This is a notable step up in competition, though, having to play Boise State on the road. Plus, a trip to Idaho from Michigan is not ideal with just one day in between games.
Meanwhile, Boise State brings back two main pieces from last year's Tournament team. Tyson Degenhart is the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year and is a true difference-maker at forward. Big man O'Mar Stanley also returns and joins Degenhart on the preseason All-Conference squad. It's the best frontcourt duo in a talented Mountain West.
Boise also brings in transfer point guard Alvaro Cardenas, who was a preseason All-Conference honoree as well. Cardenas starred at San Jose State last year and adds valuable veteran ball-handling experience to lead the offense. Arizona transfer center Dylan Anderson is another notable addition as he gives the Broncos more size and defensive fortitude in the paint.
Take Boise State to cover the spread in a comfortable victory. At home last season, the Broncos went 8-5-1 ATS. They were also 7-0 ATS as a double-digit favorite last year, including 6-0 ATS as a home favorite of 10+ points. Degenhart and Stanley will be too much for Oakland to handle inside as Boise stretches out a lead.
Pick: Boise State -15.5 (-110)