Top College Basketball Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Tuesday, November 15th (2022)
The college basketball season is not more than a week old, and already three preseason AP top 25 teams (Villanova, Tennessee, and Oregon) have suffered their first losses. Are more upsets in store on a loaded Tuesday college basketball slate?
Here are our best bets for Tuesday’s college basketball action. (Odds courtesy of DraftKings)
Kentucky vs. Michigan State First Half Spread
Michigan State always likes to formulate a brutally difficult out-of-conference schedule, and this year is no exception with consecutive games against Gonzaga and now Kentucky. The Wildcats are 2-1 head-to-head against Michigan State in the Champions Classic and has won the last two meetings by a combined 28 points. Kentucky may get a considerable boost with the potential return of reigning Player of the Year, Oscar Tshiebwe, who John Calipari hinted would play in three or four-minute spurts if he does suit up. The Wildcats have had other contributors step up in Tshiebwe’s absences, as Ugonna Onyenso and Lance Ware have combined for 11.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. In addition, Kentucky got spark plug point guard Sahvir Wheeler back after a one-game absence, and he immediately contributed a double-double (11 pts, 11 asst) in his debut.
While Michigan State’s near upset of Gonzaga was impressive, our outlook on the Spartans is somewhat tempered, given that the game was played on an aircraft carrier in unusual circumstances. The Indianapolis crowd will be pro-Big Blue Nation and will spur on the favorites from the get go in what should be an impressive first 20 minutes.
Bet: Kentucky -3 First Half Spread (-110 at DraftKings)
James Madison-Howard O/U
James Madison ranks 16th in adjusted tempo through three games, which is why it has scored 97+ points in all three contests thus far. The undersized Bison have absolutely no rim protection, as they rank 337th in the country in 2-point percentage defense (63.6%) and are allowing an equally bad 42.2% from 3-point range (ranks 313th). Thus, another offensive outburst should be in line for the Dukes. Still, we also expect the Bison to do their part in the scoring, as they also rank in the top 70 in the country in tempo, while not backing down to superior opponents like Kentucky and George Washington thus far.
Bet: JMU-Howard Over 154.5 (-110 at DraftKings)
San Diego State vs. Stanford Spread
BYU scored 75 points against an ordinarily stout San Diego State defense, as the Aztecs gave up that many points twice in 32 games last season. Thus, it is fair to question if this year’s Brian Dutcher-led team has fully bought in on that side of the court to start the season. Stanford’s 60-50 loss to Wisconsin in its last game was good preparation for the Aztecs’ style of defense, and the Cardinal cannot shoot much worse than its 1-for-16 from 3-point range performance against the Badgers. However, we like Stanford to pull the upset on the strength of a defense that ranks 51st in adjusted defensive efficiency, and it has the size to neutralize San Diego State big man Nathan Mensah (12.0 ppg).
Not many top-ranked teams have played true road games thus far, but the Aztecs are about to get a stiff test from a Pac-12 challenger on their homecourt.
Bet: Stanford +5 (-110 at DraftKings)
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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.