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College Basketball Predictions | College Basketball Picks & Latest NCAA Basketball Odds [NOV. 17]

TJ Rives:

Hey, there. Again, we are back for a Wednesday edition of the Bet US College Basketball Show. I am the somewhat capable, somewhat rested host. A lot of college games on, a lot of late night games on for all of us, TJ Rives. I am merely here to set these guys up. You know, if you’ve been watching us, that Ian Cameron and Jeff Nadu supply a lot of the how and the why on some of these different selections, so we’re ready to get into it. Ian, good to have you back with us for the first time this week. Jeff, good to see you again. Boys, you ready to go?

Jeff Nadu:

Yup. Thank you, as always, TJ, for hosting. You do a great job. Looking forward to another night of hoops, a lot of games. Let’s get into it.

TJ Rives:

Let’s get into it, absolutely. Ian Cameron, you’re feeling good? Ole, Canada. I haven’t said that in a while. You’re feeling good?

Ian Cameron:

Yeah, very good. Good to be back with you. First time this week on the show with TJ and Jeff. Looking forward to another night of college basketball picks and one of the storylines coming out of last night is the Big East is taking care of business against the Big Ten in the Gavitt Tipoff Games here these last few nights. Started with a big upset by Marquette over Illinois, I didn’t necessarily expect that Monday night.

And then Seton hall with a great win against Michigan. I kind of expected that last night because I didn’t take the points with the argh and the pirates in that game. And I thought that Seton Hall was a team, especially led by Jared Rhoden who was fantastic in that game last night, would be able to bring that toughness, that tenacity, physicality, defense that we’ve seen under this team under Willard for years and take it and give Michigan a game.

Ian Cameron:

Well, they did one better. They won outright at Chrysler last night against the Wolverines. Great win for Seton Hall. And yet, I still got to see people on Twitter and social media say, “Man, I’m shocked the Big East is doing this well against the Big Ten.” They make it sound like the Big East is a horrible conference compared to the Big Ten. Do you not realize the top half of that conference? Villanova, Seton Hall, UConn, Xavier, Creighton. I can go on and on about great teams in the top half of that conference and it’s about time they get some respect and I think they’re starting to.

TJ Rives:

This man is selling for later on here on the Wednesday show because we have another one of those Gavitt games, Big East and Big Ten that will round out the slate. Speaking of the slate, let’s get to it.

And, right away, we’ve got a very intriguing game, Jeff and Ian. This involves George Mason and Maryland. George Mason Patriots, this is a regional rivalry, right now at plus nine and a half in this matchup with Maryland. George Mason gets off to a three and zero start, Maryland in the top 25. Let’s get right into it. And, Ian Cameron, you’re going to go first, I believe, here on what you like and why as we see the total under-over right now at 141.

Ian Cameron:

Yeah, there’s been some movement to it, once again, on a game that I like here on the show but we’re going to stick to our guns here and take the Patriots here. George Mason, as the road underdog here.

And look, there’s words being thrown out like rock star and coaching star regarding Kim English who, of course, takes over as the head coach here at George Mason from Rick Barnes’ staff the last few years at Tennessee. So, he learned under a program that’s been pretty good the last few years.

The head coach has been around for a long time. And now, he steps into George Mason and, basically, the roster’s a complete overhaul from last year and it had to be under Paulsen because the talent just wasn’t up to par. But what I like from George Mason is what they have done to really make this team a lot better in terms of the talent we see on this basketball odds team and you’re seeing it.

Ian Cameron:

Schwartz, the transfer from Colorado, an absolutely big time get for Kim English in the offseason. He’s already, probably, one of the better, I would say, players in the Atlantic 10 coming into this year. Now, this is going to be their toughest challenge today, facing this Maryland team, but there’s no doubt George Mason has been extremely impressive at both ends of the basketball court. We’ve talked Maryland a few times on this show already and some of the Eric Ayala, Watts.

They bring in, of course, Fatts Russell from Rhode Island. It’s a good basketball lines team but, I think, George Mason is ready for this challenge here, on the road, catching the points here against this Maryland team.

Ian Cameron:

Now, the numbers certainly dropped down. The number I got was 11 and a half down to nine and a half. So, I don’t like the loss of line value here but, I think, this is an ultra competitive game. Maryland still, sometimes to me, can be hit or miss in the spots where they’re non conference favorites, especially in this range, so I’m going to look toward the points here with George Mason.

TJ Rives:

All right. So, Ian going right in with George Mason right away. Jeff Nadu, to you. I got a good broadcast buddy of mine, Bill Rowland, who does the George Mason games. Mason three and zero with 320-point victories and he said, “Hey, you look at the three teams that they beat, they’re all favored or, at least, at the top half of the preseason favorites in their conference.” How much are we believing early in Mason? And this is a big step up in competition, obviously, with Maryland.

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah, and this is what you call that barometer test and litmus test. Can George Mason go and compete with a team like Maryland? Look, this isn’t going to be a team that I think makes the NCAA tournament, but it was just a team that can, maybe, challenge in the Atlantic 10. Be that fifth or sixth team and, maybe, be there against Richmond or Bonnie or whoever.

I’m not wanting to bet those types of games and Ian’s a little bit more liberal with taking teams at whatever number and, generally, it’s probably something that works for him. I’m not though. I see 13’s out there initially, that’s probably where I would have been comfortable taking this.

Jeff Nadu:

I don’t know if George Mason can deal with someone like Wahab. I’ll tell you one thing that those three teams, Stony Brook, Penn and Morgan State don’t have. They don’t necessarily have Wahab. Penn has some decent bigs but Wahab is a different animal down low, so I think that’s going to be tough. But you’re right, I’m not a big Maryland guy as I’ve said before, but this could be a little too low. I’ll be interested how [inaudible 00:06:46] team plays tonight though. I’m hoping for Ian’s sake, they come in and maybe they can be a factor or a pesky team in the Atlantic 10.

TJ Rives:

The George Mason Patriots were five and zero to begin the ’19-’20 season, the 2019-2020 season. Bill was feeding me all these stats as well. Just worth noting, Maryland has been a double digit favorite all three games but they’ve only covered one of them so far. And Maryland, again, was a double digit favorite. It’s now dipped a little bit below here. We’ll see if the Patriots can hang in.

Do we want to do this one officially? I think we do. We’ll lock it in with Ian Cameron on George Mason even though he got it at around 11, it is now nine and a half. Ian is still saying, “Hey, great guns. Let’s go for it,” here in this matchup with an Atlantic 10 team going up against the Big Ten in this instance.

TJ Rives:

That gets us to game number two. Interesting here as we take a look at game two. Montana State, South Dakota State. The South Dakota State Jackrabbits, a 10 point favorite with an under-over of 156 and a half. And, while Jeff Nadu was sitting out our first game, you’re on this game for which and why, Jeff?

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah, I’m going with old reliable, something that’s always been good to me over the years. This is a South Dakota State team. If you followed mid-major basketball, they’re no secret to you. Really, whoever it’s been under, whether it’s Henderson or TJ Otzelberger, it’s a pretty simple idea out in Brookings, they want to have one of the best offenses in the country and they do.

This is a top 50 offense hitting five straight years. They’ve had some great players come in there. They, generally, surround themselves with four or five kids that can knock down shots and they’re very efficient, that’s just what they do. They’re very high in pace, they like to be efficient, they like to run up and down. They’re a team that’s, generally, going to put up 80 points a game. You look at last season, pushed 81 a game under Eric Henderson.

Jeff Nadu:

I look at tonight’s game, so far, this offense has had no trouble scoring the basketball. Scored 81 against a slow tempoed Bradley team, put up 88 against Alabama and put up 83 against Stephen F. Austin. I think this is going to be, probably, one of the easier offenses or, sorry, defenses they’re going to play. If you’re going to think about Montana State, they’re pretty frenetic as well.

They don’t look to have any issue playing with pace. They have a real issue, Montana State, over the years of the fouling their opponents. I think South Dakota State’s going to have plenty of opportunities to put a point to the board whether it be at the free throw line, which they’re always efficient at, or just shooting the basketball. They’re no different. They’re always going to be at the top of the heap from a three-point standpoint.

Jeff Nadu:

I’m not necessarily attacking the over, I’m not attacking the side because I do think Montana State’s a decent team. I’m just looking at South Dakota State and saying, “Get me into the mid-80s here,” that’s generally what they’re going to do.

It’s not a journey to get to them into the 80s, that’s what they generally do every game. I’m just going to expect that they have a slightly above average offensive game. And, against a team that’s coming in all the way from Montana, they’re at home here. I think they’ll get into the 80s here and this one goes over 83. I’m going to say South Dakota State over 83, team total, is my play in this one.

TJ Rives:

Like that one. And, for the big man on campus, again, it’s interesting, he could have gone anywhere for a first game, he went right to this game. So, just keep that in mind here as we go along. And again, we’re diverse here on the BetUS College Basketball Show.

You will get big name teams, like we were talking about Maryland in the first game, and then we’re also giving you insight on Montana State and South Dakota State. A reminder, too, to drop in a game or two in the chat. First come, first serve in the live show as you see us Monday through Friday at 1:00 Eastern Time and we’ll roll along in the live chat. Put a game in, if you don’t see it on our slate there, put a game in and we’ll take the first few if you have those.

TJ Rives:

Ian Cameron, I didn’t want to short you, if you had any thought here. Not necessarily an official play on South Dakota State, Montana, but any thought?

Ian Cameron:

I’ll just say, right off the hop, it’s not surprising to see Jeff involved with South Dakota State. It has been one of his favorite teams over the years. I don’t think anybody loved Mike Daum a few years ago more than Jeff from the South Dakota State team. The dominator and what a player he was, just absolutely phenomenal, sensational, fun to watch and just dominated the Summit League.

I think he’s onto something here. You look at Montana State, they’re 265th in the country, defensive efficiency, so it’s not very good. What makes matters worse is their perimeter defense is non-existent. There are 342 in the country defending the three, that’s not good. You know you’re going to see a South Dakota State team shoot some threes and they are connecting at a 35 percentage from three-point land, 115th in the country.

So, you got to believe this is a matchup offensively that should be beneficial to the Jackbunnies here in this game. So, I have no argument. This should be a game where South Dakota gets their points.

TJ Rives:

Okay.

Jeff Nadu:

Keep in mind, TJ, he mentioned Mike Daum, okay? People don’t really understand how good of a player Mike Daum was. Let me just say one thing, that this guy played at South Dakota State, think about this.

Over the last 20 years, the only player to do what Mike Daum did, 25 points a game, eight boards a game, all while shooting 40% or more on threes and 50% on twos, the only person that did that, in the last 20 years. Kevin Durant. We cannot shortchange how good of a player Mike Daum was and he’s a great kid. I’ve talked to him before, he’s a good guy. Shout out to Mike Daum, South Dakota State legend.

TJ Rives:

That’s pretty good for all time, by the way. You can live off that for a while that, “Hey, Kevin Durant and I are only two dudes with those”-

Jeff Nadu:

Yup.

TJ Rives:

… “stats and those numbers in their college career.” That’s pretty good. Did you say Jackbunnies? I heard Jackbunnies out of Ian Cameron.

Ian Cameron:

Jackrabbits, Jackbunnies. I call them [crosstalk 00:12:33].

Jeff Nadu:

That’s a normal thing. I’ve heard that before from them. They do that.

TJ Rives:

They say Jackbunnies as well. All right, very good. Well, I learn things on the Bet US College Basketball Show as well. Game number three is Missouri State and Sam Houston. Again, we go off the beaten path sometime here on the show but this is an interesting one here with Sam Houston State, a four and a half point underdog at home. Missouri State Bears coming in, the under-over total is 146 and a half. Ian Cameron, I’m going to go to you as to why you liked this game on our board?

Ian Cameron:

Yeah, I like over the total in this game, 146 and a half in this one. If you look at the Missouri State here, early in the season, it’s been a great offensive team. Dana Ford here at this program, you see what they’ve been able to do offensively, it has been extremely impressive and I don’t think Sam Houston State, defensively, has what it takes to match up. In this game, you’ve got two teams that are right on the fringe of the top 100 in pace and in tempo coming into the season.

So, this is a game, I think, where when you look at Missouri State, they’ve scored 94-78 in their first two games, the pace has been there and, I think, you’re going to see them probably good for another game where they hit the 80s, if not the 90s in this one.

Ian Cameron:

And on the flip side here with Sam Houston State, they’re capable of lighting it up as well. They play, again, a pretty solid tempo. The one concern and, look, I’ve lost overs before because of this and, believe me, it is in the back of my mind here in this game tonight. Sam Houston State is only shooting 54% from the free throw line.

That does bother me, that does worry me because, if this is a 9 of 19 from the free throw line night for Sam Houston State, this could really hurt you in terms of the over but, I think, it’ll still get there. And you look at it, the two point defense for Sam Houston State’s not great. And Missouri State, most of their field goal attempts and field goal makes and they’re better percentage is much greater in two-point range, in that pain area mid-range game from Missouri State.

Ian Cameron:

So, I think that’s going to be a good matchup here against the Sam Houston State team that struggles to defend inside the three point line. So, I think you’ll see points certainly from Missouri State. This could be one of those games where, if you’re not quite as convinced Sam Houston State scores, you could go team total Missouri State instead. But I think we’ll get enough from Sam Houston State as well here. With them being the home team in this game, I think they can score enough here. Like over 146 and a half.

TJ Rives:

All right. So, he’s calling over the total. Jeff, anything not necessarily officially but any thought on this game?

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah, anytime you take an over, it’s not rocket science. You need to hope that teams like Sam Houston State just shoot the ball monochromely well. They shoot a lot of threes, they actually have some decent players. Savion Flagg their best player, he was at Texas A&M, played for four years there. So, he’s a good player, he’s probably one of the better players in the Southland conference at this point.

By the way, interesting caveat, yesterday’s show, TJ, Sam Houston actually played LeTourneau, put up 97 points in that game. We had an interesting, Ian, caveat to LeTourneau, whatever that is. The only thing we know about LeTourneau was that she was a-

TJ Rives:

[inaudible 00:15:43] again.

Jeff Nadu:

… teacher involved in something she shouldn’t do with her student. But yes, I hope Sam Houston just can get a high 60s here, I don’t think it’s out of the question. I really like Missouri State. I’m big under Dana Ford, I like this guy a lot. Gaige Prim, good player. I like this play. Good call, Ian.

TJ Rives:

How about Nadu going right back to-

Ian Cameron:

I hope it’ll be a good play at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time tonight. That’s what I want.

TJ Rives:

We’re hoping for that. He’s going right back to Mary Kay LeTourneau. That is Tuesday’s material, Nadu, leave it. Leave it there. Let people Google it if they want to find out more about that. Let’s lock in the pick for Ian Cameron. He’s going over on the total for Missouri State and Sam Houston State of 146 and a half for this one coming tonight. Very interesting. Big East, Big Ten, Gavitt Game battle is next up and that is St. John’s and Indiana. Both off to the modest two and zero start, both against suspect competition.

This clearly is the best team that each of them have played now in game number three. It is at Indiana. New coach for the Hoosiers is Mike Woodson, the former NBA coach who is a former Bob Knight Indiana player on the 1980 team. So, intriguing here. The line is five for Indiana, the under-over is 151 and Ian wants to take this one right away. Go ahead, Ian Cameron, on what you like and why.

Ian Cameron:

Yeah, this is a game where, in terms of official plays, I don’t do this a lot, but I have a side and a total officially on this game here. And I took the points with St. John’s, I got it at six and a half, it’s five now. I stuck with it at five. And the over which I got at 148 and a half, I’m still going to stick with it as an official play at 151. You talk about teams that play fast, well, St. John’s is doing that under Mike Anderson.

And a great quote from Mike Anderson, too, is he thinks his team has got more length, more athleticism and a greater ability to play fast to thrive in a system like this. And so, they’re actually even going faster.

Ian Cameron:

Their possession numbers have actually gone up slightly and they were playing pretty fast last year and they’ve gone even quicker this year. I really like the talent that he’s got on hand here. Of course, Julian Champagnie, a huge, big boost it was for St. John’s that he actually pulled back from going to the NBA draft and returned this year for St. John’s.

And he’s definitely already averaging 20 points per game this year, he can step out and shoot from the three point range, from the perimeter as well. The point guard, Posh Alexander, very solid as well for St. John’s.

Ian Cameron:

And, of course, what’s the key for St. John’s? It’s that press, it’s forcing turnovers. And when you look at Indiana, turnover numbers aren’t bad. But I look at a guy like Xavier Johnson, the Pitt transfer here for this Indiana team, he’s had five turnovers the last two games combined, including one where he had three. I’m not totally convinced that that St. John’s press can’t work here even on the road at Assembly Hall. And obviously, if you like St. John’s, it’s correlated to the over.

Ian Cameron:

Now, I’m going to say something about this Indiana game on Friday show. One of my plays was Northern Illinois, Indiana over the total on this show, it was 137 when I bet it, I think when we did the show, it was in the low 140s. It fell just a few points short and, yes, Indiana’s defense was great. That might have been one of the most all-time hideous offensive displays I’ve ever seen from Northern Illinois in that game. They were 5 for 24 from the field at one point in that game. Five for 24.

Ian Cameron:

And, if you’re going to have one team shooting that abysmal, that’s an over killer right there and, unfortunately, I fell victim to that on Friday night. Well, this is going to be a much better offensive team here for this Indiana team and I’m going to stick to them still being a team that you’re going to look for some overs in some spots, especially against a team like St. John’s, it’s going to push their pace, push their tempo.

Because if you look at Indiana’s possession numbers under Woodson, compared to last year under Archie Miller, there has been, still, a significant rise in the possession numbers per game for Indiana and they were playing at a pretty brisk pace against Northern Illinois.

Ian Cameron:

But unfortunately, you could still lose in over because Northern Illinois couldn’t hit anything from the field in that game offensively. I think it’ll be a different story tonight. So, I’m going to not only take the road underdog here. And, by the way, St. John’s last year, down the stretch, red hot, finished the season strong and very good, historically, as a road underdog under Anderson.

Go back to when Steve Lavin and Chris Mullin were the coaches of St. John’s a few years ago, they were still very good in the road underdog role even when they were coaching this program. So, I think this is a live dog here. We talked about the Big East success against the Big Ten so far, you’re in the Gavitt Games. I think this is down to the wire and I think we see enough points to get it over the total.

TJ Rives:

There’s Ian’s thoughts. Jeff, you got some thoughts? Including Mike Woodson, again, there’s a lot of people that were curious about what Indiana would do. And Woodson has great ties in terms of recruiting to Indianapolis, et cetera. But a lot of people are wondering if a coach in his mid to late 60s is out of touch in the college game, he’s never been a college head coach. All right, Jeff, I’ve said enough about that. Any thought on that and/or the game?

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah, whether you believe my opinion or not, I don’t really care much about the whole older thing. Look, Herman Edwards has done a great job as an older coach out in Arizona state. I think, sometimes, you have to recognize that you’re looking at someone like Mike Woodson, really, as a father figure and Mike Woodson went to Indiana, coached in the NBA, he’s been around a lot of different types of guys.

And, I think, a lot of these kids in Indiana are looking at him and saying, “Wow, this guy’s probably got a ton of wisdom. He’s like my dad in a way.” And not every coach has to be young, but I understand your point of view as well.

Jeff Nadu:

I don’t have much in this game, kind of a clash in styles. I think, if Indiana’s smart, they’re not going to look to run with St. John’s because that could get ugly. And I think St. John’s is going to want to run and I don’t know if Indiana will. So, yeah, I didn’t have much here. I think St John’s is better than being six and a half, seven point dogs. That reminds me of that game last night between Seton Hall and Michigan.

Seton Hall is a solid team. It’s really about can they just hang in the game, keep it close, rebound the basketball, hit some threes. I like St. John’s, I think they’re really good, they got a lot of good [inaudible 00:22:01] that came in. And I think, finally, there may be a better defensive game than we’ve seen in years past. Hopefully, for Ian’s sake, that doesn’t necessarily come tonight. But yeah, I like St. John’s a little bit here.

TJ Rives:

All right, fair enough. Let’s do this officially again. Ian Cameron, not only loves the over total but he also loves St. John’s and that line is actually moved down a little bit. You were saying, Ian, I think you got it around six or six and a half and, I think, we see that the latest line is now around five but you still like them as the doggy?

Ian Cameron:

Six and a half, yeah, down to five which is actually not as big a line move against me and some other games I’ve had on this show since the start of the season. So, it’s actually a minuscule line move in comparison to some.

TJ Rives:

All right. So, there it is officially and, again, a lot of pressure to win everywhere but especially in a place like Indiana where they have been lean for a lot of years and struggling just to get into the NCAA Tournament. That gets us to one more game on our slate and then we’ll get to your Q&A.

That game is Merrimack vs Army. I said it earlier on the Wednesday show, we go with the big time brand name programs and then, we might go a little Merrimack vs. Army which is what the case is here.

For this matchup, you see the line and you see that Merrimack is the underdog here against the Black Knights of the Hudson. Actually, Merrimack, I’m sorry, is the favorite. The Black Knights of the Hudson are the home dog at plus one and a half. Jeff Naidu, you spotted this and you wanted to chime in as to why you’re on one side of the other. What are you on here?

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah. So, Ian led to the fact that I like South Dakota State. This is a team that I probably led the brigade for throughout America. I don’t know if you’re going to hear a lot of people mentioning Merrimack. But Merrimack recently came into the NCAA, they’re only a couple of years old. But crazy Joe Gallo, the coach, which I’ll drop a little mob reference. I do have a mob podcast, by the way, if you’re interested.

So, Joe Gallo is a gangster. Now, he was a crazy guy. Joe Gallo, the coach, is pretty crazy from a defensive standpoint. This guy comes at you, man. This defense is like going to war every night, they extend a pressure. They play zone 93% of the time, they’re not going to ever get away from that. And, if you cannot shoot against a zone, you will not win. It’s pretty simple. Every game they play is low-scoring.

Jeff Nadu:

Since they joined Division One, the under is 32 and 16. They’re one of the best under teams over the last couple years in college hoops. And, as they said, it’s pretty simple. It’s hard to score against them, they’re not a real flashy offense, they take a lot of time, one of the slower teams in the country.

You look at Army, actually played Merrimack in 2020 with a better team and didn’t fare real well, they had better players in that group. I worry a little bit tonight. Army’s got a guy called Jalen Rucker, he was 8 for 11 last time out from three, but I’ll challenge them to make shots tonight. It’s not going to be easy against Merrimack.

Jeff Nadu:

And, I’ll also point this out. Look, if Army and Merrimack make 12 of 23 threes, so be it. It just is what it is. Merrimack wants to take you out of what you’re comfortable doing, they want to play every game in the 50s. Keep in mind, guys, this season, Merrimack’s only scoring about 55 points a game including being off of a 48-35 game against Rutgers. Yes, they only scored 35 points. It’s like a rec league game when they play. There’s just not a lot of offense. I played under 130, I like that. I think this is a first to 60 wins.

TJ Rives:

Wow, first to 60. Might even be first to 55, it sounds like. Ian, anything on Merrimack-Army?

Ian Cameron:

Well, definitely. Army, actually, was a gate team I cashed some tickets with late last year. They got a little bit of a roll down the stretch and they started to play some better basketball, they had some impressive wins. I think they beat Buffalo, too, down the stretch last year, this Army team. So, they played a lot better but you look at them so far this year, now, again, this is a small sample size, it’s only early in the year.

But 339th offensive efficiency ranking for Army coming into the year and it definitely is a clash of styles. The Army does play above-average tempo but Merrimack is like a snail, as Jeff alluded to in terms of their pace. They come into this game in the 300s, but their defensive efficiency has been outstanding.

Ian Cameron:

So, if Merrimack’s going to have their way, they might be able to shut down Army here a little bit. The one thing so far with Army is, we’ve seen this team offensively scuffle here in the first couple of games. That could be some trouble here against Merrimack. Again, I didn’t bet this game but wish Jeff luck with that under.

TJ Rives:

Let’s do it officially and take a look at what Jeff Nadu has. And the big man on campus does have under 128 and a half for the total for Merrimack and for Army. Again a reminder, we’re live 1:00 Eastern, Monday through Friday on this show and first come, first served in the chat. Get the questions there as we’re live and we will get to them with some of the games that you’re interested in as well.

Let’s get to that while we still have time on the Wednesday show. Let’s see. Cody, I believe, is first. Cody Donaldson wants to know, Wagner-St. Peters. “I’m all over Wagner,” Cody says. Either one of you want to take that, Jeff or Ian, about that game?

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah. I’ll say this. If you look at the start to the season for St. Peter’s, they’ve played a lot of teams that want to press you. VCU, St. John’s, Wagner is going to do the same thing. Bashir Mason plays extended pressure, they’re going to come at you hard. I like Shaheen all the way, though. Good defensive team in St. Peters. I think this is an ugly game, probably. Wagner’s not ever very good offensively.

So, yeah, this would probably be another one. This might be first to 65 wins. But yeah, St. Peters is better than Wagner, you just have to hope that, from what they saw against VCU and St. John’s, that’ll prepare them a little bit more here with the ball pressure. But whenever you get a team like St. Peters, they’re going to turn a ball over against pressure, just how it is. That would be my thought. Maybe under.

Ian Cameron:

Yeah, in terms of my thoughts, I lean St. Peters, believe it or not. I’m not betting it but I wanted more points. But I’m also concerned about the spot here for Wagner. Big win against VCU, but VCU has got their point guard out and they’ve got some backward depth concerns to begin the season here, that VCU squad. So, that’s definitely something that concerns me a little bit and, obviously, Wagner took advantage of that.

Maybe a little let down here potentially, I don’t know, but just generally, conceptually, St. Peters, when they’re catching points, I typically like to back them in that spot over the years. I’m a big metro Atlanta guy and they’ve been one of the better Metro Atlantic teams the last few years in that conference.

They play solid defense. Sometimes, offensively, it can be an eyesore to watch St. Peters but their defense is good enough to keep them in this game and I worry about Wagner off the big when they had against VCU. So, I didn’t bet it because I wanted more points but my lean is St. Peters.

Jeff Nadu:

Real quick, TJ.

TJ Rives:

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jeff Nadu:

This is just a little piece of info that I’ve watched. I watched, a couple years ago, the FIBA games in Africa. There was two players on St. Peters, the Drame brothers, 6-7, 6-7, they’re, I believe, twins.

They’re from Bamako, Mali, it’s a country in Africa. They were absolutely eye-opening defensively and they have come over to St Peters and are no different. They’re long, they’re lengthy and that’s what Shaheen Holloway wants, he wants long defenders. You’re not going to see a lot offensively from this group but they just have tenacious kids, they’re like Bulldogs. I would think, no way here other than under, that’d be my only thought.

TJ Rives:

Listen to Nadu going FIBA scouting for different players. That’s what it takes to get some insight, to get some angles and to get some edges. Clark puts in the chat, Toledo and Oakland and he says, “I grabbed Toledo at minus one and a half but now, it is Oakland minus two.” There’s the line movement we keep talking about. Guys, Greg Kampe and the Oakland Grizzlies at home in this game. Anybody have a thought on this?

Jeff Nadu:

Ian just mentioned it, I’m not really interested in Oakland off that huge win at Oakland at Oklahoma State.

Ian Cameron:

Yeah.

Jeff Nadu:

It was five days ago, but that’s a pretty big win. Look, I’m not sure how they beat Oklahoma State. I highlighted this the other day, in the first game for Oakland, Jalen Moore, the point guard, had 13 turnovers by himself.

TJ Rives:

Yup, yup.

Jeff Nadu:

I’ve never seen that before, that’s crazy. These are two pretty good mid-major teams. Toledo is really solid, not sure why Oakland’s become the favorite. I guess sharp money is backing them, but I didn’t have much in this, this seems like a complete toss up. And, the only thought would be, Oakland’s off a huge win, now you got to face another good team. I think Toledo is probably the play, but I didn’t bet it. Not bet it.

TJ Rives:

Ian, quickly?

Ian Cameron:

You know what? I think Oakland might be undervalued but I don’t love the spot. Jeff hit it on the head, that’s exactly why I didn’t bet Oakland here because of the spot. They’re out the big win against Oklahoma State, but Greg Kampe is one of my favorite coaches. And I bet this team a little bit down the stretch in the Horizon League last year when they got on a bit of a run, I like their ability.

Their ability to defend is a lot better, that’s what’s impressed me. Oakland used to be this team all offense, no defense, especially in the earlier years of Kampe. Their defensive game has been good. When you’re holding West Virginia to 60 and Oklahoma State to 55 points, obviously, two power five conference teams, you’re doing something right.

Ian Cameron:

So, Oakland’s been impressive and they’ve beaten the point spread in these two games by plus 10 points against West Virginia and plus 17 and a half points against Oklahoma State. So, early in the season, when you see that the oddsmakers are way off on a team like they’ve been with Oakland, I’m not betting against that team until I see a market correction with Oakland and I haven’t seen that yet.

So, I don’t love the spot for Oakland but it would be Oakland or pass for me. That being said, Toledo is a good offensive team, they’ll test them. Todd Kowalczyk’s a great coach, done a good job here. He’s great at Green Bay with the Phoenix many, many years ago as well. So, it’s going to be a challenge. Don’t love the spot for Oakland, but the oddsmakers have been off on this team and, until the correction is made, I would still lean Oakland even though it’s not the greatest of spots for them.

TJ Rives:

I’ve done some Horizon League basketball championship games on TuneIn on national radio and, every year, it seems like Oakland’s near the top of that conference and, every year, they falter, for whatever reason, in that tournament. But Greg Kampe’s teams always have long athletic players, et cetera, et cetera. They seem to win, 18, 20, 22 games every year, it’s just not been translating in March is my point with that.

Ian Cameron:

And I got to give props to Greg Kampe because, he and Jeff Naidu, they’ve been seeing the same trainer the last few years. They’ve committed to their health and they’re doing a great job with that. Both of them.

Jeff Nadu:

By the way, I’ve had many people reach out to me and say, “In 20 years, you’re going to look a lot like Greg Kampe.” So, we do look alike. He has lost weight, I’ve lost a lot of weight myself. So, yeah, shout to him. And also, by the way, keep in mind, I just got this across the wire, Wagner has paused team activities. We just talked about Wagner, that game’s canceled tonight, I believe. So-

TJ Rives:

Wow.

Ian Cameron:

Wow.

TJ Rives:

Okay. And so, this brings up a good thing that I don’t know the answer to and you two might. So, if you bet the game already, is it completely invalidated? Or, if they reschedule, does your bet still count? Because they got to play it on the day and the time, right?

Jeff Nadu:

No, they’ll-

TJ Rives:

If I understand it-

Ian Cameron:

[crosstalk 00:33:26].

TJ Rives:

… your bets are gone?

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah, they’ll just return your money. I would imagine, with a non-conference game, early, they’re just going to scrap it. This sucks. We haven’t seen this much-

TJ Rives:

Right.

Jeff Nadu:

The NFL has had some problems with players out but most of these sports, knock on wood, had been okay. But yeah, you’ll just get your money back.

TJ Rives:

You are all over it and this is a very good point that we’re about to head into Thanksgiving week next week where there’s going to be a lot of traveling, a lot of these teams playing in tournaments, a lot of people around family, et cetera, and there’s a real concern that coming off of that, two weeks from now, you’re going to see this more and more across the board in sports, in this country in particular.

Not just college basketball but college football, the NFL has already put an edict out today on more stringent testing, mandatory mask wearing, the NFL is talking about coming off of thanksgiving. So, just be mindful and be careful. This may become a more prevalent thing like Jeff was talking about with COVID-19-

Ian Cameron:

Yeah, it’s frustrating, guys. It’s frustrating.

TJ Rives:

and the guidelines. Yeah.

Ian Cameron:

It’s definitely not done yet. We thought, maybe, we’re done with the cancellations and-

TJ Rives:

Right.

Ian Cameron:

… postponements and we’ve gotten through the worst of this COVID-19 pandemic. And now, unfortunately, because vaccination rates and a lot of places aren’t where they need to be, you’ve got situations where you’re going to see more positive tests, you’re going to see, unfortunately, postponements. And it’s sucks for the sports fan and the sports bettor but, especially now, we’re getting closer to the holiday season, yeah, that’s definitely-

Jeff Nadu:

But-

Ian Cameron:

… something that’s not going away, unfortunately.

Jeff Nadu:

But remember, as long as you’re a fan, there’s no check systems. You can come in and please and go as you please.

Ian Cameron:

Yup.

Jeff Nadu:

Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me but-

TJ Rives:

That is kind of strange.

Jeff Nadu:

… hopefully-

TJ Rives:

Yes.

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah, hopefully it gets fixed now. But again, we’ve been okay with it for the most part. I haven’t seen one cancellation so far in basketball, knock on wood. So, hopefully. it doesn’t continue.

TJ Rives:

All right. And one more before we are done. Matt, on the chat, wanted to know what thought on Michigan State-Butler here, again, is another one of those Big Ten, Big East games. This one is at Hinkle Fieldhouse for Butler. I see Nadu shaking his head. You’re shaking your head why?

Jeff Nadu:

Go look at Butler’s roster, they have no one, they have no depth. I think somebody’s out tonight for Baylor or Butler, I got to double check on that. But yeah, there’s just not a ton of depth in this team, I feel bad for them. They had depth problems last year as well.

Michigan State’s improved. They’re always, obviously, very solid under Tom Izzo. They have a new point guard in Tyson Walker, he’s better than what they had last year. So, yeah, I’m not really interested in Butler but it’s a toss up for me. As Ian alluded to, Big East has done well in these games start of the season.

TJ Rives:

Final thought, Ian-

Ian Cameron:

Yeah, this is the-

TJ Rives:

… on that one?

Ian Cameron:

… one Big Ten team, TJ, that I like, actually, tonight. I would look to Michigan State. I just think there’s a talent edge. This Butler team can be nails on a chalkboard offensively, especially when they play a good team and it looks like, to Jeff’s point, about the injury situation, Myles Tate out with the knee injury and won’t be back tonight for Butler. So, that’s a critical absence again. This team can’t afford injuries when they’re already not the greatest and most fluid offensive basketball team. And I know they put up 70 points against Troy, at home, is not that great-

TJ Rives:

Right.

Ian Cameron:

… if you ask me, in 25 of 47. And Central Arkansas, forget it. You can’t put too much stock into that. They’re facing a very, very good Michigan State team that, defensively, has been pretty solid this year. I know they struggled with Kansas there in the champions classic but Tom Izzo said we got to get back to defensive fundamentals after that Kansas game. Boy, did they do that against Western. Held them to 46 points, 18 of 68 shooting. Again, the Big East has dominated in this Gavitt Games so far, but this is one Big Ten team that I like tonight. Haven’t-

Jeff Nadu:

This line makes no sense at all. When you’re looking at-

TJ Rives:

Yes, it is. If I could interject. It’s Buttler minus three and you’re shaking your head again, Jeff.

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah, I don’t understand this at all. Ian mentioned that-

Ian Cameron:

Michigan State minus three, TJ. Michigan State

TJ Rives:

My bad, my bad. My mistake. Michigan State minus three.

Jeff Nadu:

Even that number. Michigan State, obviously, faced a team like Kansas. I thought they played pretty well there and made that point about the schedule for Butler. It is one of the worst in the country so far, okay? They played two teams that are bottom 10 in America, okay? Without Tate, as he alluded to, they’re going to get back, I think, Aaron Thompson tonight but I don’t know how much he’s going to play.

This has to be a game for Michigan State where we have to view it as a winnable game. I don’t give much credence to the crowd early, especially non-conference. It should be good tonight. But yeah, I think Michigan State’s in a good spot here.

TJ Rives:

But Butler hasn’t played LeTourneau. I stick it in one more time here towards the end of the show. Google it if you don’t know what we’re talking about. Time to get to our best bets before we are done. Here’s what the guys came up with on the show today.

Ian Cameron:

I just want to throw it-

TJ Rives:

Let’s take a look. Yeah?

Ian Cameron:

Yeah, UConn minus 26, someone in the chat asked about that. I like it, I would lay the points there. I don’t think this is one of Derek Kellogg’s better LIU Brooklyn teams. I think UConn could roll there.

TJ Rives:

However, that’s not one of your best bets. We do see the best bets up on the screen. Jeff going with the team total being over for South Dakota State and, also, the under on the overall total for Merrimack and Army. Ian, meanwhile, busy, busy with George Mason taking points, with the over in the Missouri State-Sam Houston State game.

St John’s, he doubles up on taking the points and taking the over in the game with Indiana for tonight. Before we are done, a final thought at all, guys, here before we get out of here? I’m very intrigued. These are made-for-TV games, these Big East, Big Ten games and we got a couple more of them tonight that are going to be very interesting including that Indiana-St John’s game that you guys are honing in on.

TJ Rives:

I was on the Indiana campus about three weeks ago doing national radio of college football. I was in the football stadium for Ohio State clobbering Indiana. I saw Assembly Hall from the outside, I could not go in. It was closed, I couldn’t go in. I’m heartbroken over that. I was right there and couldn’t see it but I’ll watch it on TV tonight gentlemen.

Ian Cameron:

One of the great venues in college basketball and there are many. I think The Kennel in Spokane with Gonzaga, I’d want to go there. I know it’s small, it’s not that-

TJ Rives:

Yeah.

Ian Cameron:

… grand big environment. But man, when Gonzaga is great and they got a big game in that little environment, The Kennel, it is loud. I’d want to go there, the McCarthy Center.

TJ Rives:

Love that. And I can let you know a little secret before we go. I’ve been in Cameron on a couple of occasions for North Carolina games and everybody thinks … It is on TV, it looks a little cramped, it looks like your living room. When you go walking into Cameron, you’re like, “How do they even have 5,000 people in this place?” Much less the 10 or whatever it is to make some noise with the Cameron Crazies. On that note, I think we’re good. Anything else? Jeff Nadu, anything else? You’re still shaking your head about Michigan State and Butler, I can see.

Jeff Nadu:

No, no, I’m just getting my bearings here. Another big night. Look, guys, again, we have to remember we’re very early in the season. I know, personally, I’m only betting a half unit on these games every night.

I tell people that follow me the same things. You’ve got to understand, you got to keep it low. I would advise keeping it like that until closer to Christmas. The good point of college hoops is January 1st until April 1st. That is where the money is made, that is where the pasta comes in. You’ve got to just make the pasta, you got to see what happens, you, maybe, throw some out, you got to figure some things out and then you get going. And then, by the end of it, you have a great meal and, hopefully, the pasta tastes good.

Jeff Nadu:

So, that’s what you got to do. Stick with that, don’t go crazy, it’s still real early. We got match in tonight, too, there’s other people betting on other things. So, just slow and steady wins the race.

Ian Cameron:

I agree with that.

TJ Rives:

cooking? Is Jeff cooking, though, for us? He was throwing out the cooking advice as well on the Bet US College Basketball Show. Boys, I think we’re good. Great stuff from Ian Cameron and from Jeff Nadu. We appreciate it.

Jeff Nadu:

Thank you, guys.

Ian Cameron:

Thanks, everyone. Good luck.

TJ Rives:

And we thank you for watching.

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