Daily college hoops is back in our lives, and that alone is an improvement. However, not every day is the college basketball buffet that was Monday. Occasionally, we get slates like tonight. We have more than a handful of games featuring DII or DIII schools and about 10 games with actual betting lines. This is an evening for digging deep into the shallow slate and finding three college basketball picks that are worth taking.
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College Basketball Preview, Picks, and Best Bets for November 4
Matt Dewoskin ATS College Basketball Picks Record (Est.November 2, 2026)
All Selections: 5-1
Perfect 3-0 Cards: 1-1
Longwood at St. Joseph’s
Start Time: 7:00 PM EST
These two teams have never played each other. This is St. Joseph’s first game of the year, while Longwood beat D-III Pfeffer College by 56 in their first game on Monday.
St. Joseph’s returns two starters from a team that finished in third place in the A-10 conference last year. The Hawks are expected to finish in the top half of the A-10 in year two with head coach Steve Donahue.
St. Joseph’s has reloaded its starting lineup mostly with homegrown talent, and supplemented their rotation with portal pieces from smaller D1 programs and the lower ranks of the college basketball landscape. Swingman Jaiden Glover-Toscano is the key returning player to Hawk Hill. He should contend for all-conference honors this year. Glover-Toscano will be joined by returning shooting guard Austin Williford. A member of last year’s rotation, Khaafiq Myers, is expected to step into the point guard role. The Hawks’ front court has size and experience, but they need to iron out their rotation.
Longwood returns two starters from a team that finished tied for fifth in the Big South Conference last year, but they lost a lot over the off-season. The Lancers need to replace key members with portal pieces or younger, homegrown talent. This is a team that just dominated punching below its weight and now needs to punch up to a school that may finish near the top of a bigger conference. Longwood may hang with St. Joseph’s early, but the Hawks should pull away late and cover the double-digit spread in their first game. The pick here is to roll with the Hawks at home.
Best Bet: St. Joseph’s -10.5
CSUN at Wichita State
Start Time: 7:30 PM EST
These two teams don’t have a recent history, and they’re both playing their first game of the season.
This college basketball game is a clash of styles that might be tougher to pick later in the year. Wichita State may have the best front court in the All-American Conference. The Shockers are known for a defense-minded, grinding style that wears teams down. CSUN plays at an extremely high tempo and seeks to win games by volume shooting. Charles Koch Arena is a tough place to play, and should give the Shockers a true home advantage on opening night.
Wichita State may be missing a few players from its front court, but should have plenty of depth to make it through opening night. The Shockers will likely start the returning William Berg in the middle and last year’s leading scorer, Kenyon Giles, at the point. George Mason transfer Jahari Long should join Giles in the back court, and Dillon Battie should step into the power forward role. It’s unclear who will start at the three, but Wichita State has a trio of options that should all see minutes.
CSUN returns Big West Player of the Year Josiah Davis, but Davis is the lone returning starter. The rest of the roster features 12 newcomers. The Matadors will be playing their first real game as a team on the road against a team that has continuity and a clear identity. CSUN could look a little sloppy early, and Wichita State will look to clamp down in the second half, slow the pace, and choke out a team that needs to run to compete.
Taking CSUN on the road would be too cute. Let’s roll with Wichita State as the pick and lay the points.
Best Bet: Wichita State -13.5
Queens at Loyola-Marymount
Start Time: 10:00 PM EST
Queens won an absolute war with Winthrop as part of the Field of 68 Marathon on Monday. They get to travel to Los Angeles for a matchup with Loyola-Marymount. The Royals are a pre-season darling in the ASUN conference, but have a quick turnaround with travel out west.
Loyola-Marymount will have big man Jevon Porter in the lineup for this game. Porter was in the NBA Summer League before he was granted an extra year of eligibility. Outside of Porter, the rest of the Lions rotation will feature portal gets from power programs. All Wright comes in from Xavier. Jasai Miles transferred from Indiana. Mazi Mosley made the switch from LSU. All three should see minutes against Queens tonight.
Queens is a quality low-major program, and they should contend for the ASUN regular season title. However, Loyola-Marymount has gone all in with Gonzaga leaving the conference and St. Mary’s having a new coach and new identity. The Lions’ athleticism should mess with Queens, and the travel spot also factors into the handicap. The pick here is to lay the 6.5 points with Loyola-Marymount.
Best Bet: Loyola-Marymount-6.5
The College Basketball Experience
For more analysis of every college basketball game in the 2025-26 season, tune in to The College Basketball Experience. Colby Dant, Moneyline Mac, and Noah Bieniek talk about each game on the entire slate. Listen every night for ATS and moneyline college basketball picks!
