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There are plenty of opening-night matchups on the college basketball betting board, including some marquee ones like Miami vs. Florida.
However, there's no bigger spectacle in the sport on Monday than the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas. This event will feature two intriguing duels, No. 15 Gonzaga vs. Purdue and No. 5 Arizona vs. No. 22 UCLA.
Our staff has their Hall of Fame Series best bets below, as they dish out their picks for the premier NCAAB opening-night event on Monday, Nov. 2.
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Hall of Fame Series Best Bets
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7:30 p.m. | |
| 7:30 p.m. | |
  | 10 p.m. | |
| 10 p.m. | |
| 10 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Gonzaga vs. Purdue
Gonzaga has had its ups and downs over the last few years, despite still being the top dog in the WCC.
However, last season marked the worst 3-point shooting team of head coach Mark Few’s tenure. Now, a year later and as a member of the Pac-12, the hype and expectations are still as high as ever for this program.
Few has assembled yet another highly talented team, with a frontcourt that could go toe-to-toe with any group in the country.
What makes this Gonzaga team so intriguing to me in Game 1 is that Few always has his boys ready for these early marquee matchups.
Let’s look at the Bulldogs’ last few big openers. Last year, Gonzaga took down Oklahoma by 15 points. The year before, the Bulldogs beat Baylor by nearly 40, followed by a 15-point win over Yale the season before that.
Purdue, on the other hand, lost all of its key players who made a significant impact on the program over the last few years. Head coach Matt Painter has his hands full trying to figure out how to manage the 10 guys battling for minutes in Game 1.
I like Gonzaga to come out on top in this one. I would play this up to -5.5.
Pick: Gonzaga -4.5 (Play to -5.5)
Gonzaga vs. Purdue
Gonzaga opens this season against unranked Purdue. Purdue is in a total rebuild, while Gonzaga looks to bounce back from a couple of seasons of under performance.
Gonzaga’s offense is really strong, and its frontcourt is probably the best in the nation.
Purdue still has a decent size, but its big question mark is its backcourt with Braden Smith departing.
The total is 155.5, and for the first game of the season, I think Purdue will try to control pace. On top of that, its pace is typically slower than that of Gonzaga, so it's more conducive to this number.
Gonzaga has more talent, but ultimately, for this first spot, I think we can confidently say the under is the bet. I don’t think either team reaches 80 points, which is kind of what this total is telling us.
I would take it down to 151.
Pick: Under 155.5 (Play to 151)
Arizona vs. UCLA
By Ryan Minion
This is arguably the best matchup on Monday.
While the Wildcats enter their season opener as a short 4.5-point favorite, I think this line is a tad short for an Arizona squad that returned several players from last season’s Final Four lineup.
Though Mick Cronin was able to retain the Bruins’ frontcourt, UCLA will be at a massive disadvantage in the paint as it tries to deal with the likes of Motiejus Krivas and Ivan Kharchenkov.
There's no doubt that UCLA made some key additions to its backcourt, locking down several sharpshooters — namely Jaylen Petty and Trent Perry — but the two Bruins guards will have an extremely tough challenge finding open shots when matched up with a physical, lockdown defender like Caleb Holt.
While I do expect the Bruins to have a great season in Cronin’s eighth year at the helm, Arizona boasts the experience, coaching and stardom to ultimately get the job done on Monday.
I jumped on Arizona -4.5 as soon as the line came out.
Pick: Arizona -4.5
Arizona vs. UCLA
Our Action PRO projections have a solid B-, +3.7% edge on the over, which means you can root for points in this Hall of Fame Series night cap.
With UCLA's strong backcourt, Arizona's fast pace and the environment of the first game of the season, expect this one to go over with some confidence based on our in-depth PRO model.
Pick: Over 149.5
Arizona vs. UCLA
By Ryan Minion
The Wildcats landed the third-ranked recruit in the 2026 freshman class in 6-foot-5 guard Caleb Holt, whose physicality and tremendous athleticism has him set to make an immediate impact for Arizona at both ends of the floor.
This helps makes up for losing both Brayden Burries and Koa Peat, and drastically changes the ceiling of this team.
And I think he has a massive game from the start, especially if Arizona covers the spread — like I projected above. His expected volume and the spot has me backing his points prop.
Pick: Caleb Holt 15+ Points
