Top College Basketball Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Wednesday, November 23rd (2022)
Wednesday’s Thanksgiving Eve college basketball action provides an outstanding mix of interesting early-season tournaments (Maui Invitational, Battle 4 Atlantis, etc.) and on-campus games. The latter is something to be wary of, as the students at most college campuses have already left for break, so there will be less of an atmosphere at these games than usual.
Here are our best bets for Wednesday’s college basketball action. (Odds courtesy of DraftKings)
UNLV vs. Minnesota ML
This game offers a fascinating clash of styles. The Golden Gophers figure to have a significant advantage in the frontcourt in this matchup, as there are not many better pairs of forwards than Jamison Battle and Dawson Garcia. However, will Minnesota’s guards be able to get them the ball?
Defensively, Kevin Kruger’s UNLV squad is elite at the guard and wing positions, and the Runnin’ Rebels have used an aggressive trapping zone to create turnovers at the second-highest rate (32.8%) in the country. They have faced one team with an elite frontcourt in Dayton (DaRonHolmes and Toumani Camara) and held them to six combined points. The duo could not get off more than seven combined shot attempts as the Flyers turned the ball over 24 times.
The Golden Gophers still look like a work in progress after losing Parker Fox and Isaiah Ihnen to season-ending injuries. We do not trust Minnesota’s guards in this matchup, as the Golden Gophers have turned the ball over at the 273rd-worst rate in the country.
Bet: UNLV ML (OFF at DraftKings)
Tennessee vs. Butler Spread
Tennessee shockingly shot just 6-for-26 from 2-point range and 10-for-37 from deep in a loss to Colorado but silenced the doubters in a big way in a 31-point victory over a Florida Gulf Coast team that owns a win over USC. Butler shot 21.7% from 3-point range in its only true test against Penn State, and their lack of depth (four players average 31+ minutes) will be tested against a Volunteers team that likes to get up and down.
Tennessee lives and dies by the three, as 57.1% of its overall field goal attempts from 3-point range is the most in the country. That is a dangerous way to play but bodes well for its chances of success against a Butler defense that allows opponents to shoot 35.9% from deep (ranks 246th). The Volunteers have covered the spread in five of their last six games against teams with a winning record, and we like them to cover the big number in this one.
Bet: Tennessee -7 (-110 at DraftKings)
Maine vs. Central Connecticut ML
Maine completed one of the more shocking upsets of the season when it knocked off a Boston College team (albeit a shorthanded Eagles squad) by five points as +20.5 point underdogs. The Black Bears also easily covered as +21 point underdogs in its only other game against Power Five competition in a 79-66 loss to Nebraska. So why are they underdogs against an 0-5 Central Connecticut team that has only played two teams inside KenPom’s top 200?
Three of the Blue Devils’ losses are by five or fewer points, so we cannot trust them in late-game situations in a game that projects to be tight throughout. Detrick Gymnasium will not provide a significant homecourt advantage on Thanksgiving Eve with the students on break, and we look for Maine to earn a fourth straight victory.
Bet: Maine ML (+105 at DraftKings)
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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.