While everyone is looking ahead to the Champions Classic on Tuesday in Indianapolis (Kentucky vs. Michigan State, Duke vs. Kansas), there’s still value to be had in college hoops on Monday evening.
Our staff dives into five games — and gives you five best bets — so you can get your betting card ready for another night of hoops.
Dive in below!
Monday’s College Basketball Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college basketball staff is targeting from today’s slate of games. Click the team logos for one the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
Princeton vs. UMBC
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Monday, Nov. 14 6 p.m. ET ESPN+ |
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Princeton -4 |
By Scott Schaeffer
Princeton enters this Monday night road contest after beginning the season 0-2.
Nonetheless, the Tigers should have a really good opportunity to get their first win of the season against the Retrievers.
The tournament darlings from two years ago (UMBC) may still have the reputation of a low-major stalwart, but they are nowhere near the level they reached in the spring of 2018.
Cleveland State transfer Craig Beaudion figures to lead the Retrievers’ backcourt this year. Yet, if the first two games are any indication, he may need some time to gel and develop in second-year coach Jim Ferry's system.
Beaudion is averaging only 2.5 points per game in his first two contests with UMBC despite being in the starting lineup.
The 0-2 record for Princeton fails to tell the whole story about its start to the season. Both losses came by a combined seven points, including a one-point defeat on the road at Navy three days ago on Veterans Day.
The Tigers are led by the preseason Ivy League Player of the Year in Tosan Evbuomwan. Tovan is a 6-foot-8 senior who is a wonderful post passer and is fully capable of leading the team in scoring, rebounding or assists on any given night.
Senior guard Ryan Langborg has started slowly through the first couple of games and will need to improve his shooting in order to garner Princeton's first victory of the season.
Although this will be a road contest for the Tigers, the travel spot isn't a difficult one. We should see Princeton's best effort and focus given its disappointing start, especially considering it was picked to potentially be Penn's most potent challenger in the Ivy League this season.
I would also give the slight coaching edge to Mitch Henderson and the experience present on Princeton's roster under his tutelage.
Since this line may move as tip-off approaches, I would feel comfortable backing Princeton up to 6. The Tigers will need to make their free throws to close this one out late.
Maine vs. Boston College
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Monday, Nov. 14 6 p.m. ET ACC Network |
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Maine +20.5 |
By Tanner McGrath
Maine isn't a good basketball team. However, I like the vibes in Orono right now.
Chris Markwood was a terrific head-coaching hire. The first-year coach was a starting guard on Maine's last 20-win team and has years of experience as an assistant for other great head coaches, including John Becker at Vermont and Bill Coen at Northeastern.
Maine will take a long time to climb back towards the top of the America East mountaintop, but Markwood is already starting to change the culture.
He's gotten double-digit scoring performances from four players through two games this season, including 20 from Gedi Juozapaitis against Nebraska, when Maine lost by 13 as 22-point underdogs.
But Markwood's most recent stop was Chestnut Hill, where he was an assistant under Earl Grant last season.
Markwood is familiar with this Boston College team, which returned four starters from last season.
Moreover, there's nothing special about these Eagles. They finished outside the top 250 in both eFG% and eFG% allowed last season and are on pace to do the same.
Moreover, these Eagles are overvalued. They're 0-2 against the spread (ATS) so far and could've easily lost to either Cornell or Detroit, beating the two by a combined six points.
Also, Grant loves to play down to competition. He's 8-17-1 ATS as a double-digit favorite in his career.
Now, Grant has to stave off a former assistant coach that knows every intimate detail about how he coaches and his players play.
Maine won't win this game, but if the Black Bears can keep it within 15 against Nebraska, they can keep it within 20 against BC.
Besides, three different models I trust project this number lower than the market, including:
- EvanMiya: BC -15.7
- Bart Torvik: BC -17.5
- Greg Peterson's Projections: BC -18
However, I wouldn't be surprised if the Eagles eke out another gross-looking, single-digit victory, meaning we'll get to fade the Eagles again against George Mason on Friday.
QuickSlip is an Action Network feature that allows users to automatically pre-load their bet slip at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Florida Atlantic vs. Florida
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Monday, Nov. 14 7 p.m. ET SEC Network |
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Under 145.5 |
By D.J. James
Florida had a closer than expected game on Friday against Kennesaw State. It ended up winning by 10 points, but for a team of this stature, it was not the best showing.
The Gators will take on Florida Atlantic — which lost its last appearance to Ole Miss on Friday by 13 — on Monday night.