UAB vs McNeese Prediction & Picks: College Basketball 11/1-2

McNeese is the favorite in this one, laying 3 when the guys taped on October 29, and the case for them is easy to make: the program has been a factory for the past couple of years and stayed good even after Will Wade left. UAB vs McNeese tips Monday, November 2 at 2:30 PM PT / 5:30 PM ET in Rock Hill, SC. The guys still took the underdog, and you can hear why on the College Basketball Picks: Sunday 11/1 & Monday 11/2 episode.

UAB vs McNeese Odds

McNeese was a 3-point favorite against UAB when the guys taped on October 29. They did not have a firm number of their own, and noted that the analytics projections covered a pretty wide range.

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Colby called this probably the biggest game on the board between two teams that should rate about the same, both near 100 on KenPom’s rankings. The guys checked the numbers on air and had both teams in the low 100s, with a reminder that it is early in the season and the ratings carry a lot of nonsense.

He said the game is hard to preview because both rosters are mostly new. UAB lost nearly everybody, about 80 percent of the roster by his count, and Andy Kennedy refills it every year with transfers and JUCO players. McNeese does the same thing, a habit Colby traced back to Will Wade.

That made it a coaching handicap for him. He trusts Kennedy’s group to be more cohesive, and he liked that UAB just played Ole Miss in an exhibition, which he called a good battle test before McNeese. The guys agreed that Kennedy’s teams are about the same every year.

The sharper debate was about the name, with the slide saying McNeese State while the school now uses McNeese. Colby was against changing a name once it is given, and the Chad Johnson and Ochocinco comparison got a laugh. Colby also shared a press conference clip of Kennedy saying how much he hates losing to the wrong kind of person.

Hear the full breakdown on the College Basketball Picks: Sunday 11/1 & Monday 11/2 episode, or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Watch every game on YouTube, and download the SGPN app at sg.pn/links. See all our College Basketball Picks.