College Basketball Best Bets | Thursday’s 3 Picks

The Myrtle Beach Invitational and Charleston Classic both tip off today, but Ky McKeon is targeting three completely off-the-radar mid-major matchups to bet.

Below, he has college basketball best bets and Three Man Weave's three picks for Thursday, including Niagara vs. Hawaii and more on November 16.

College Basketball Best Bets — Thursday, Nov. 16

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 Ky McKeon

When punching back against the market, it’s important to know why the market moved a line in the first place. In the case of tonight’s Pelican State battle, we have a pretty good idea why the current line sits 2-3 points higher than most openers.

Louisiana Tech’s Daniel Batcho, a Texas Tech transfer and possibly the best player in C-USA this season, just received his eligibility waiver from the NCAA. Batcho is an elite post player at any level, but is he worth 2-3 points to the line? KenPom makes this game six – is Batcho worth 3.5-4 points? There might be five players in the country — at most — that are worth that.

So, this game is primarily a pure number play. But there’s a couple of matchup reasons why ULM can hang around.

Being at home helps of course, but the Warhawks also have size to throw at Batcho. Two 6-foo-11 monsters — AD Diedhiou and Jerry Ngopot — will platoon at the 5 and provide rim protection.

ULM will also look to take the air out of the ball and grind this game down to as few possessions as possible.

Lastly, the Warhawks pack it in defensively, allowing their opponents to beat them from the perimeter. La Tech has a few shooters, but it doesn't have a plethora of elite shooters. And if La Tech falls in love with the 3, that means less touches for the dangerous Batcho inside.

Punch back against the market and embrace the dog tonight.

Pick: UL Monroe +10.5 (Play to +9)

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By Ky McKeon

A mid-major matchup takes place in Colorado Springs for the Air Force MTE. Omaha enters this contest off two hard-fought games against TCU and North Texas, while William & Mary sports a 1-1 Division-I record with a win over American and a close loss at George Washington.

Both teams are 2-0 against the spread, and both teams look vastly improved from last season.

We’re backing Omaha tonight for a few reasons.

First, the Mavericks returned almost all of their production from last season, a rarity in this day and age. That continuity has paid dividends in two impressive contests against elite competition. The addition of JUCO transfer Nick Davis has only added to the talent cache; he’s a force to be reckoned with, as he also proved on the team’s foreign tour this summer.

Secondly, William & Mary is a jump-shot reliant team. The Tribe rank 228th nationally in field goal attempt rate at the rim, per Hoop-Math, and seventh in 3-point attempt rate, per KenPom. Omaha has size on the perimeter to contest those looks, and through the early going, it's doing a good job at limiting outside attempts.

Finally, the Tribe are soft in the middle with little to no rim protection to speak of. Omaha should find success inside, whether through the post or off the dribble, and earn trips to the foul line on a regular basis.

If you’d prefer one last reason, how about travel? William & Mary must traverse over 1,000 more miles than Omaha to get to Colorado Springs, and the Mavericks are more accustomed to playing opponents in this region.

Pick: Omaha +1 (Play to -1)

By Ky McKeon

For the night owl, college basketball sickos out there, we have a bet for you. Hawaii hosts Niagara for one of the strangest one-off road trips of the season.

This game wasn’t even scheduled until last Friday, meaning prep time for both teams is short. Niagara embarked on its 11-and-a-half hour trip to Honolulu on Monday, stopping over in Chicago for a brief layover.

Any team traveling to the island faces a disadvantage, but given the quick nature of how this trip was set up — combined with the fact that Niagara is located on the far east coast — means the Purple Eagles are at a massive disadvantage before even stepping foot on the floor.

Niagara lost its two best players from last season and has a team heavy on transfers, meaning it's far from a finished product. To boot, there’s no true point guard on the roster, a scary fact when facing a Hawaii team known for its lockdown defense.

The Rainbow Warriors are very experienced and feature one of the best 1-2 guard combos in mid-major basketball with JoVon McClanahan and Noel Coleman. The talent discrepancy is large and should be on full display.

The one concern in this bet is pace. Niagara will play extremely slow — likely even slower than usual — and try to limit possessions. Hawaii is fine with that and hasn’t been an up-tempo squad under Eran Ganot since 2016.

In order to cover the large spread, Hawaii will need to dominate in every facet. It has a massive size advantage and should win the glass battle. It should win the turnover battle with its superior guard play.

The determining factors will be shooting and finishing.

Pick: Hawaii -13.5 (Play to -15)

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