College Basketball Best Bets | 3 Friday Picks

Feast Week is winding down, but there's still betting value to be had in college basketball, specifically on Friday.

Matt Cox has college basketball best bets and Three Man Weave's three picks for Friday, including NC State vs. BYU on November 24.

College Basketball Best Bets

The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college basketball betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.

By Matt Cox

Under the direction of Eran Ganot, a longtime Randy Bennett disciple, Hawaii has put a premium on precise half-court execution.

This year, however, the tides are shifting around the island.

The ‘Bows clocked two fast-paced games to kick off the season, including a 74-possession affair against Niagara and a 72-possession affair against Northern Arizona — neither opponent is lauded as a breakneck transition team.

Tonight, however, the Vaqueros of Rio Grande Valley are just that. The combination of Hawaii’s revved-up offense — fueled by two top-tier transfers in Matthue Cotton and Justin McKoy — and UTRGV’s frenetic two-way pressure could combust into a full-on track meet.

Efficiency is the only concern, as neither team shoots the 3-ball particularly well. However, the matchup dynamics here should render that concern moot, with flurries of points coming in the paint via transition.

Even Hawaii’s institutional defensive standard looks relatively vulnerable this season, an avenue the Vaqueros could exploit in half-court settings.

Pick: Over 150 (Play to 152)

By Matt Cox

The Ducks and Broncos boast two mammoth frontlines this season, but those frontcourts don't define their offensive philosophies.

For Santa Clara, longtime pace controller Herb Sendek has revolutionized his offense, specifically via the primary and secondary breaks.

For Oregon, Dana Altman is more of a stylistic chameleon, but critical injuries to that vaunted frontline are forcing his hand to deploy a perimeter-centric lineup.

Oregon has been caught in the mud in two of its four games this season — against Montana and at Florida A&M, most recently.

However, the Ducks' season debut against Georgia is a better parallel to tonight’s matchup with the Broncos. They clocked 83 possessions in that affair, and even had Dante patrolling the paint. Altman said explicitly that the Ducks would need to employ a more opportunistic fast-break approach without Dante, as is the case tonight.

Santa Clara will look to run as well, but the shorter, depleted Oregon frontcourt offers another pathway to efficient points in the half-court, should the game slow down late in the second half.

Look for Francisco Caffaro, Christoph Tilly and Johnny O'Neil to score with relative ease inside, as needed.

Pick: Over 145.5 (Play to 147)

By Matt Cox

Not only is this a great situational spot to back the Cougars, but it’s a simple, straightforward angle, too: bet the better team in better form.

BYU has exploded out of the gates this season, notching a few lopsided wins in buy games — along with a dominating effort against San Diego State back on November 10. No one has given the Cougars a competitive bout to date, and there’s little reason to see NC State bucking that trend tonight.

The Wolfpack also enter tonight’s affair undefeated, but their resume is far less bulletproof. For example, the Pack ran away from a strong mid-major opponent — Abilene Christian — in the second game of the year, but that followed a monumental program-victory for ACU — it won at Oklahoma State to open the year.

And just last night, NC State squeaked by Vanderbilt, which has been ravaged by injury and had already lost to Presbyterian at home.

Finally, Mark Pope should have the edge against Kevin Keatts, who's 12-16 against-the-number in neutral-site games since taking over at NC State and just 2-5 ATS in back-to-back games.

Pick: BYU -6 (Play to -7)

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