Charleston vs Wyoming Odds, Pick
| Charleston Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-5.5 -115 | 151.5 -110o / -110u | -250 |
| Wyoming Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+5 -110 | 151.5 -110o / -110u | +200 |
Below, we have college basketball odds and a pick for Charleston vs Wyoming on Friday, Nov. 17.
Wyoming and Charleston will both feel they squandered real opportunities to win their opening games of the Myrtle Beach Invitational. Both teams are now in the consolation ladder of the field and will face off against one another on Friday in the second game of the four-game slate.
Both teams led at halftime of their respective contests, and both led by 10+ at one point.
The Cowboys couldn't overcome the second-half red hot shooting from Saint Louis. Meanwhile, Charleston's entire team failed to execute in the second half, as Vermont closed on a 24-6 run en route to a nine-point Catamount victory.
The story of the Charleston season thus far has been wild swings back and forth. The Cougars allowed 15-0, 17-3 and 14-2 runs in their Friday night loss to Duquesne. Against Vermont, the run was 17-2 as the game entered the home stretch.
The Cougars have produced some big runs of their own against Duquesne and Iona in the opener, but Pat Kelsey's side has really struggled to maintain any real consistency.
Wyoming has an almost entirely new roster and the turnovers appear to be an early-season potential landmine for Jeff Linder's squad. One thing is clear from the eye test and box scores: The Cowboys have more rim protection.
Charleston Cougars
Charleston is following a similar blueprint to last season, shooting a ton of 3s and running the floor as much as possible. The Cougars are 20th in tempo early in the season and they're shooting 3s at a top-70 rate in the country.
Pace, space and shooting is fun to watch and generally analytically sound, but the Cougars have one big problem: They're not actually making any 3s. They rely heavily on crashing the offensive glass and getting a lot of shot volume, but that's hard to pull off against this Wyoming defense.
The strength of the Cowboys' defense is at the rim this season. The backcourt isn't going to have a ton of ball pressure, but the frontcourt can guard screens, switch well and is generally undervalued by the market. The Cowboys dominated SLU on the glass even in the loss and should be able to take away second-chance looks for Charleston.
That means Charleston needs to be better on its first shot.
The Cougars won't shoot 18.8% from 3 all season, but there's real questions about whether there's enough shot making on this Cougars team. Their ShotQuality 3-point expected percentage was 35% entering Thursday, so for now, it's reasonable to give them the benefit of the doubt and expect them to shoot better going forward.
Wyoming Cowboys
Wyoming has to try to slow this game down if it wants any chance of staying in it. The Cowboys had problems with turnovers and got sped up by Saint Louis on Thursday, but Linder's squad doesn't have the depth to compete with the much deeper Charleston bench.
Given that this will be the second game in 24 hours for his players, expect Linder to put the handbrake on this offense and force Charleston to execute in the half-court.
One of the major keys to slowing down the high rim and 3-rate offense of the Cougars is having size to match up inside with Ante Brzovic. The Cowboys made it a point in the offseason and transfer portal to find size to better protect the rim.
Saint Louis hit a lot of contested mid-range jumpers, but it wasn't able to get many easy looks at the rim against this Wyoming defense. Sophomore Caden Powell and freshman Cam Manyawu combined for five steals and blocks in the loss, and sophomore 7-footer Oleg Kojenets showcased some flashes of quality rim protection.
The Cowboys will surrender some open looks from beyond the arc because the perimeter defense is average. But as long as they're taking away second chance looks and not turning the ball over — Charleston is much less active than SLU — the Cowboys can control the pace and stay in this game.
Charleston vs. Wyoming
Betting Pick & Prediction
For the second consecutive day, the market opened too high for a Wyoming total in my view. The Cowboys are improved defensively at the rim, and there's still real questions about where the consistent offense is going to come from.
Brendan Wenzel didn't score at all against SLU and D-II transfer Akuel Kot has really struggled for efficiency as he's gone up a level.
The Cougars are a very high variance team because of how many 3s they shoot, and this offense is due to get hot from 3 at some point — given how poorly they've shot it thus far in the new season.
Even with that being said, this total is a touch high, and I'd bet under at 149 or better.
Pick: Under 151 (Play to 149)
ESPN Bet Sportsbook is now another option to maximize your Charleston vs. Wyoming action. You can now use our ESPN BET promo code TANBONUS for a new user welcome.
