College Basketball Picks For November 7th – NCAA Basketball Banter & Best Bets Recap
Noah Bieniek (@NoahB77_) and Troy Chewning (@Troychewning) are joined by Matthew Dwoskin for college basketball picks for November 7th, holding down the fort while Ryan McIntyre (@Moneyline_Mac) and Colby Dant (@thecolbyd) cover football. Providence over Nebraska is the favorite play, and UC Santa Barbara gets locked against a bus-lagged Oakland.
Friday Game Balls Start With The UConn Rematch
The Friday card was sneaky good, and the national championship rematch headlined it. UConn beat Michigan by eight. The guys picked it at six and a half, and it closed at seven and a half. Noah Bieniek had UConn covering, and Michigan held its own for about 15 minutes. Then the game turned. Michigan went to the line for four technical free throws and bricked all four, and Braelon Mullins started raining threes. UConn had about a 10-point lead at half and it never got close again. Noah’s bigger point is the scary one for everybody else. Outside of two senior guards this UConn roster is young, so he thinks the ceiling is still higher than what it showed.
Valpo got the loudest game ball of the night, a double-overtime win over big brother Purdue. Rakeem Chaney dropped 35 on 14 of 22 shooting for the Crusaders. So is it time to hit the panic alarm in Lafayette? Noah thinks Purdue fans have simply had it too good, and he gave the credit to Roger Powell. The Valpo coach went from seven wins in year one to 15 and then 18. Noah thinks this year is his best yet. Then St. Louis showed it is the best team in the state of Missouri. The Billikens went 14 of 25 from three against Mizzou with five guys in double figures. They also did it with Robbie Avila on the bench.
The mid-majors filled out the rest of the list. Cannabis Capper, co-host of the Locks and Dog podcast, handed one to UMKC. The Roos dropped 100 on Southern Illinois in year one under Mark Turgeon. Troy Chewning went with South Carolina State, an eight-point winner as a dog over Upstate. Noah Treadwell hit 6 of 13 from three. Upstate also threw away 11 points by going 25 of 36 at the line. Then Troy did the classic Troy thing and gave a game ball to a team that lost. Arkansas State covered by the hook against an Alabama team that gave up 86 points, 52 of them in the second half. Because this is a gambling show, the cover counts.
Marshall And Colgate Lead The Early Locks
Once the picks started, the first big consensus play was Marshall laying two and a half at home against Toledo. Noah spent real time on this one because Toledo big man Austin Parks did not play against Michigan State. The injury looked like a bad shoulder. Toledo also has no depth at center behind him. Cap was surprised Marshall was the favorite at all, so the building plus the injury put him on the Thundering Herd. Troy locked it too. Then Noah jumped in after looking at it all day, and it became a triple lock on Marshall minus two and a half. It showed up again on Troy’s best bets card at the end of the show.
Colgate was the next easy one. Drexel was laying one and a half when Noah looked, but he trusts the Raiders as the more consistent program with the better offense. Cap was all over Colgate on the moneyline because they return four starters. Troy also thought the Raiders overperformed against Washington, so it became a triple lock on Colgate. Then the guys moved to UNC Wilmington laying three and a half at East Carolina. Noah likes the Seahawks no matter where they play. They have seven upperclassmen in the rotation and three starters back, and Xavier Brown is the expected point guard. That made it another triple lock.
Winthrop minus nine and a half got a double lock from Cap and Troy. Cap thinks North Dakota might be the worst team in the Summit League. Troy loved the spot because Winthrop has the least travel in college basketball, and they have been stewing on that Queens game. Colorado plus two and a half against San Diego State also drew a double lock. Cap wants to fade the Aztecs off the 100 they put up in the opener, since they still gave up 78 in that game. Noah sided with the Buffs too, although he thinks Dutcher is the better coach. And LIU plus four and a half at La Salle got a double lock, with Cap saying to hammer the moneyline.
Fade The Tired Legs In Logan And Santa Barbara
The best handicap of the afternoon was pure scheduling. Omaha got drilled by BYU on Friday night. Then the Mavericks play Utah State on Saturday afternoon on maybe eight to 10 hours of rest. Noah expects Logan to be ballistic for Ben Jacobson. Cap called it a simple fade of the team on the back-to-back, against a team that should contend for that conference. So he has the Aggies winning by 40. Troy wondered if 26 and a half was too many, but he got there quickly. That made it a triple lock on Utah State minus 26 and a half, and Noah put it on his best bets card too.
Oakland’s spot might be even worse. They played a 10:00 PM tip against Stanford, and then they get on a bus for a six-hour ride to Santa Barbara. Noah has them arriving around 7:00 AM for a game that tips at 1:00 PM local. That is 4:00 PM on their body clock. He called it a scheduled loss and has the Gauchos winning by 20 as 12 and a half point favorites. UC Santa Barbara also brought back Amira Little, one of the better mid-major point guards in the country. Cap locked it with no hesitation. Troy also likes it and would even look at the first half.
Rhode Island and Monmouth at Mohegan Sun turned into a lock battle. Noah laid six and a half with URI, a team he thinks has one of the more talented offensive rosters Archie has had there. Monmouth turned it over 19 times against St. John’s, and their point guard had seven of those. They also shot 40% from three in that game. Noah expects that shooting to come back down to earth in game two. But Cap thinks Monmouth is better than it showed and Rhode Island is not quite as good, so he took the points. Troy still leaned Rhode Island, though he agreed the line looked scary short.
Providence Is The Dog Everyone Wants
The favorite spot of the day was Providence against Nebraska at Mohegan Sun. Nebraska opened as a three and a half point favorite, and the line had trickled down to two and a half by showtime. Noah thinks Friars fans will fill 75% of that building in Bryan Hodgson’s first year. He also thinks Nebraska is vulnerable after losing its two forwards and its point guard. KenPom has the Huskers ranked too high in his view, which is why Noah believes the wrong team is favored. Cap likes Malik Mack in the backcourt and the young guys feeding off the crowd. So it was a triple lock, with the moneyline very much in play.
Canisius plus eight and a half against St. Bonaventure was an instant lock for all three. Noah always sees the Bonnies struggle in Buffalo, and Cap came with the numbers. Canisius has covered five of the last six in this matchup and seven of the last 10. Cap’s one tip is to wait, because he expects the line to steam toward 10 or 10 and a half before tip. Morgan State plus three and a half at Niagara also became a triple lock, and Troy is playing the Bears on the moneyline. Noah picked Morgan State third in the MEAC. He also likes portal adds Trey Pettigrew and Jeremiah Quartang.
High Point is the biggest stock-up team in the country to Troy. Noah thinks the Panthers beat Washington State by 15 or more, so he and Cap both locked it. UT Martin minus one and a half at IU Indy was another triple lock. The Skyhawks scored 98 in double overtime against Tulane, and the guys see a real roster edge. Troy’s actual bet there is the over 159 and a half. Gonzaga laying 28 and a half to New Mexico State at the Kennel got a triple lock as well. Then Lipscomb minus five and a half against Edwardsville was a Cap and Troy double lock. Troy called it the largest wager of the day.
Late-Night Locks Out West
The late window kept the locks coming. Denver plus two and a half at UC Riverside became a triple lock, and Cap is playing the Pioneers on the moneyline. Noah does not trust Riverside to make the adjustments against a system like Denver’s. Troy also thinks the Pios win this game outright. UC San Diego minus nine and a half at Fresno State was another triple lock. Noah is on the fade Vance Walberg train after Fresno barely beat Fresno Pacific. Meanwhile Clint Allard’s Tritons bring back a deep group with a lot of upperclassmen, so Troy has them winning by 18.
Grand Canyon laying 21 and a half against Bethune-Cookman drew a double lock from Cap and Troy. The Lopes lit up Texas Southern 103 to 79, and Cap thinks they win this one by 25. Seattle minus 10 and a half against Portland State was a Cap lock. The Redhawks laid eight and 11 in the last two meetings and covered both. Cap also locked UC Irvine against San Jose State, and Troy rode along with him. Then Cap went solo on New Mexico minus 26 and a half at the Pit. And Troy’s over in Northern Illinois and Dayton at 146 and a half ended up as his best bet.
Two games split the room. Noah laid two and a half with Maryland against Georgetown because he likes the pieces around freshman Aladin Dunn, including Pharrel Payne and DJ Wagner. Troy went Georgetown on the moneyline because the Hoyas can really shoot it. Cap is all over Georgetown too, so that one is a lock battle. Utah Valley at Weber State was the other split. Noah laid six and a half with Utah Valley as the better program under Todd Phillips. But Cap took Weber State and the points in the rivalry game. Troy went further and locked Weber State on the moneyline at home.
College Basketball Picks November 7th Best Bets And Locks
Noah’s top play is Providence catching three, with a sprinkle on the moneyline at plus 135. He thinks Friars fans own the building, and Nebraska lost three starters off last year’s Sweet 16 team. Next comes UC Santa Barbara minus 12 and a half against an Oakland team coming off a six-hour bus ride. He also took UC San Diego minus nine and a half, since Clint Allard returns five guys who played 20 minutes a game or more. Finally, Noah wraps it up with Utah State minus 26 and a half against an Omaha team that just got drilled in Provo.
Cap’s three locks are LIU plus four and a half, UCSB minus 12 and a half and Grand Canyon minus 21 and a half. He also matched Noah with Providence as his dog. Troy’s best bet is the over in Northern Illinois and Dayton at 146 and a half. Then he laid the points with Montana State at home against Long Beach State. He also backed Marshall laying the points in what he called a telling spot. Troy finished with Colorado plus the points and Colgate as his dog. So if you only fire two, UCSB and Providence are on both Noah’s and Cap’s cards.
Podcast Chapters
00:00 Download the SGPN App Today!
00:50 Friday Night College Basketball Experience
03:20 Game Balls: South Carolina State, UMKC & UConn
29:51 Morehead State vs. Louisville Picks
31:08 North Dakota vs. Winthrop Picks
32:46 NC A&T vs. Ohio Picks
35:15 Lamar vs. Abilene Christian Picks
37:19 Toledo vs. Marshall Picks
41:35 Colgate vs. Drexel Picks
44:27 Wilmington vs. East Carolina Picks
46:51 Fullerton vs. South Dakota Picks
50:29 VCU vs. Memphis Picks
54:57 Long Beach State vs. Montana State Picks
56:05 NC Central vs. Longwood Picks
57:37 Colorado vs. San Diego State Picks
1:01:16 LIU vs. LaSalle Picks
1:04:48 Omaha vs. Utah State Picks
1:06:56 Samford vs. UNLV Picks
1:08:33 Rhode Island vs. Monmouth Picks
1:11:17 Lafayette vs. St. Joe’s Picks
1:12:29 Oakland vs. UC Santa Barbara Picks
1:15:53 Old Dominion vs. Bucknell Picks
1:18:02 Washington State vs. High Point Picks
1:21:49 UT Martin vs. IU Indy Picks
1:27:16 Edwardsville vs. Lipscomb Picks
1:29:25 Northern Iowa vs. Furman Picks
1:31:35 Bellarmine vs. Miami of Ohio Picks
1:33:32 New Mexico State vs. Gonzaga Picks
1:35:05 VMI vs. UTSA Picks
1:36:30 Western Carolina vs. Asheville Picks
1:38:25 Prairie View A&M vs. UT Rio Grande Picks
1:39:50 Hampton vs. George Washington Picks
1:41:33 Northern Arizona vs. New Mexico Picks
1:43:27 Morgan State vs. Niagara Picks
1:46:21 St. Bonaventure vs. Canisius Picks
1:48:57 Houston Christian vs. Western Illinois Picks
1:50:15 Providence vs. Nebraska Picks
1:53:27 Northern Illinois vs. Dayton Picks
1:55:55 Mercer vs. Davidson Picks
1:57:32 Denver vs. UC Riverside Picks
1:59:47 Maryland vs. Georgetown Picks
2:04:29 Southeastern Louisiana vs. Little Rock Picks
2:06:12 Pacific vs. Bradley Picks
2:07:41 Northwestern State vs. Murray State Picks
2:08:44 Evansville vs. Southern Indiana Picks
2:10:01 Bethune-Cookman vs. Grand Canyon Picks
2:12:22 Utah Valley vs. Weber State Picks
2:14:35 Portland State vs. Seattle Picks
2:15:56 Sacramento State vs. Santa Clara Picks
2:17:56 UC San Diego vs. Fresno State Picks
2:19:38 San Jose State vs. UC Irvine Picks
2:22:43 Best Bets & Locks
2:27:59 Sign-Off & Socials
