College Basketball Best Bets | Picks for 3 Saturday Games, Including San Diego vs. UC San Diego (November 11)

While college football takes center stage today, that doesn't mean there's no college basketball betting value on the "light" board.

In fact, Matt Cox of Three Man Weave has college basketball best bets and picks for three Saturday games below, including San Diego vs. UC San Diego on November 11.

College Basketball Best Bets — Saturday, Nov. 11

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

Beware of recurring themes throughout this segment. The first of which is "fading newly-formed teams," and Utah State fits that description to a ‘T’.

New head honcho Danny Sprinkle, renowned for his jumbo-sized frontlines at Montana State, is tasked with imprinting that DNA on a program defined by perimeter skill and shooting under Ryan Odom.

Sprinkle’s group heads to the midwest to take on one of the best the Missouri Valley has to offer, Bradley, which been outstanding at home under Brian Wardle. This net home court edge may be worth up to five points, factoring in Utah State’s own relative home vs. road splits (remember, the Aggies play at altitude).

Bradley’s nucleus may look a little light compared to last year — particularly up front — but that imbalance may not come back to haunt it until the second half.

We saw this movie play out in Bradley’s season debut against UAB, as the Blazers' ferocious frontline took a toll on the Braves in the second half. UAB mounted a monster comeback to force overtime, but Bradley inevitably prevailed in the bonus period.

Thus, it’s wise to target the first half in this spot against Utah State. Bradley’s defense is sturdy enough to keep the Aggies’ first-shot offense at bay, and if it battles "brave’ly" on the glass in the early going, it should catch a work-in-progress Utah State team off guard in the first stanza,

Pick: Bradley 1H -3 (Play to -4)

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By Matt Cox

Under Chris Mooney, Richmond is a notoriously tough opponent to prepare for. This explains how the Spiders are 22-16 against the number outside of Atlantic 10 play since the 2021 campaign — their ATS record against league foes drops precipitously (19-34).

For this freshmen-laden Siena squad, the unfamiliarity could spell doom. Siena top boss Carmen Maciariello has leaned into a youth movement this season, a decision that requires a short term cost to reap long term rewards.

Also, top scorer Michael Eley is currently nursing a foot injury, which may limit his availability today. Eley had 24 in the Saints’ narrow opening-day win over Holy Cross, a middling Patriot League roster.

The Spiders are poised to tangle these Saints into a web of confusion on defense, operating through versatile big man Neal Quinn, who dished out seven assists in just 24 minutes in Richmond’s blowout victory over VMI on Monday.

Siena’s frontline tandem of Giovanni Emejuru and Killian Gribben offer enticing potential down the road, but will be no match for the veteran Quinn today.

Pick: Richmond 1H -6.5 (Play to -8)

By Matt Cox

The hyper-talented Toreros took it to the Tritons last season in this SoCal crosstown rivalry, but the tides have turned greatly since then.

This revamped San Diego roster is composed of baby-faced rookies — players Steve Lavin hopes to nurture for the future.

On the flip side, Eric Olen brings the more experienced bunch to battle. An offseason roster makeover turned the Tritons into a tricky and talented matchup. Not only is former Washington big man J’Raan Brooks healthy this year, D-II stars Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones and Hayden Gray join the brigade.

The first half angle stems from a recurring UCSD theme last season. Olen’s complex offensive sets were typically effective for the first 20 minutes but not sustainable to hold up over an entire game, especially against top-flight competition.

Tonight, UCSD won’t be at its usual talent disadvantage, but its surgical execution on the offensive end will be a blur for these young Toreros to pick up, even with Lavin seeing this matchup last season.

The cherry on top is UCSD’s rest and preparation advantage, having not played since Monday. Meanwhile, San Diego played on Wednesday against a jet-lagged Jackson State team in the midst of a west coast buy-game tour.

The Toreros climbed over 40 spots in KenPom due to that thrashing, an unjustified improvement given the context.

That, in turn, is where the value lies here.

Pick: UC San Diego 1H -1 (Play to -5)

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