You may have a Champions Classic hangover, but it's time to turn to Wednesday's college hoops slate, which is filled with plenty of betting value.
In fact, below, we have college basketball best bets and three picks for Wednesday, Nov. 15. Formulate your hoops betting card now.
College Basketball Best Bets — Wednesday, Nov. 15
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college basketball betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 8:30 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Saint Peter's vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
By D.J. James
Saint Peter’s is a defensive-focused team, even with Bashir Mason as head coach. It ranks 360th in Adjusted Tempo while averaging 22.1 seconds per possession on offense and 16.2 seconds per possession on defense.
They play Fairleigh Dickinson, which pushes the pace and ranks fourth in Adjusted Tempo going into this game.
FDU dropped its game against Seton Hall, 85-55. Saint Peter’s is not at that talent level, but Pirates head coach Shaheen Holloway puts together a similar defensive scheme, as he coached Saint Peter’s to a historic NCAA tournament run in 2022. In that game, FDU shot 41.4% on 2-pointers and 16.1% on 3s.
St. Peter's is allowing a 3-point rate over 35%, so FDU not hitting from deep is a gift for the Peacocks. Since FDU has taken 43.9% of its field goals from the outside, this shows how inefficient it can be.
Adding on, Saint Peter’s is turning opponents over 24.1% of the time. It even forced 13 turnovers against Seton Hall, so it can do the same here and slow the pace to its liking.
One issue for over backers could be offensive rebounding, as both of these teams struggle in that regard. However, seeing as they both have an effective field goal percentage under 46% this season, neither is necessarily an offensive threat.
Look for this game to be slowed down by Saint Peter’s style. FDU is bad on both ends of the ball and is not reliable enough on offense to put up points consistently.
Take the under in this one to 137.5.
Pick: Under 139.5 (Play to 137.5)
Richmond vs. Boston College
By Kevin Rogers
Both Richmond and Boston College have jumped out to 2-0 records ahead of their meeting in Chestnut Hill tonight.
The Spiders have topped the 90-point mark in each of their wins over VMI and Siena, while easily covering the double-digit spread each time. Chris Mooney’s team knocked down 23 3-pointers in the two victories, as Richmond has converted nearly 60% of its attempts from 2-point range.
On the Eagles’ side, they rolled past Fairfield in the opener before rallying past The Citadel as 9.5-point road favorites in a 75-71 win.
BC had issues covering numbers as a home favorite in non-conference games last season, posting an 0-6 mark against the spread. But the win over Fairfield looks to turn the tide for Earl Grant’s squad.
Quinten Post was terrific for BC in the opener, scoring 31 points and pulling down 11 rebounds against Fairfield. However, the fifth-year senior was limited to 19 minutes against The Citadel due to foul trouble and scored just 10 points.
The Spiders hit the road for the first time this season after putting up a disappointing 1-11 straight-up mark in true away games last season. They went 3-14 overall away from the Robins Center in 2022-23.
Let’s back Boston College in this spot and lay the points up to six against Richmond.
Pick: Boston College -5 (Play to -6)
Georgetown vs. Rutgers
By John Feltman
Jersey Mike's Arena should be rocking for another edition of the 2023 Gavitt Games, as the Hoyas will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey, to take on the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers is a 10-point favorite in this spot, but I feel much more comfortable with the under. Both of these teams have been absolute snails on offense to start the season, sitting in the bottom 50 of the country.
Granted these data points are pulled from small sample sizes, but given the history of Ed Cooley and Steve Pikiell, I would expect these trends to continue. Rutgers, specifically, has been extremely dominant at home the past two seasons, thanks in due part to the raucous environment.
The Hoyas have struggled on the defensive end of the floor thus far, but this is not the case for the Rutgers defense. The Scarlet Knights are 36th in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency and should be able to shutdown any sort of Hoyas offensive rhythm.
Another reason I looked at the under is because of how these teams are struggling from the foul line. The Hoyas are shooting a miserable 58%, which is amongst the worst in the nation.
Rutgers hasn’t faired well either, shooting 66%. These numbers can certainly trend upwards, but I have a feeling this will take some time.
Expect a slower-paced game with a lot of late shot clock shot attempts, and this could turn into a blowout early on in the second half. This will allow the Hoyas to empty their bench, and Rutgers will close the game out by bleeding a lot of clock.
Pick: Under 133.5 (Play to 132)
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