Ladies and gentlemen, we made it! The 2023 college basketball season is officially upon us, and while we all can't wait for the madness to unfold in March, there's a long regular season that's set to unfold.
While opening night is exciting, there are also plenty of unknowns as many rosters have been overhauled. However, I've found three familiar faces to target.
So, without further ado, let's dive into our top college basketball player props.
Armando Bacot Over 9.5 Rebounds (-135)
Radford vs. UNC | 7 p.m. ET
We get another year of domination inside the paint as Armando Bacot is set to lead the North Carolina Tar Heels in his senior season. Bacot has been one of the most imposing forces on the glass over the last few years, and we should expect that trend to continue in the Tar Heels' opener.
Matchup-wise, Radford deploys far too small of a lineup for it to contend with Bacot down low. Justin Archer is projected to match up with Bacot, and he'll be bullied by him since he's four inches shorter and 35 pounds lighter than Bacot.
On top of Bacot having the physical advantage, we're also getting some solid line value here. Last season, Bacot played a career-high 32 games and he went over this total in 19 of them.
That hit rate of 59.3% gives us implied odds of -146.
While Bacot may not get his full share of minutes, I'm not too concerned, as he showed in preseason scrimmages that he can be very efficient on the glass. Bacot recorded 10 rebounds in 21 minutes against Saint Augustine.
Tyler Wahl Under 11.5 Points (-125)
Arkansas State vs. Wisconsin | 8 p.m. ET
Wahl is another upperclassman to target as he's a victim of the Badgers' progression entering this season. Sophomore Connor Essegian and junior Max Klesmit are projected to take on more prominent roles in the offense, which will take away Wahl's opportunities.
Bart Torvik has Wahl projected to take a big step back in the scoring department, with his projected points per game at just 7.8 after averaging 11.3 last season.
While this total is in line with his production from 2022-23, Wahl's inconsistency shows this total should be lower. He went under this total in 18 of 32 games last season.
That's not a ton of value on the price, but with his role set to decrease, we may not see this total be this high going forward.
Hunter Dickinson Under 27.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-105)
NC Central vs. Kansas | 8 p.m. ET
Hunter Dickinson makes the move from the Big Ten to the Big 12 as he joins Bill Self and a veteran Kansas squad. Despite not making the deepest of tournament runs during his time at Michigan, Dickinson established himself as one of the best big men in the country.
Expectations are high for him entering the season, as he'll likely be leaned on offensively. However, with a matchup against Kentucky just a week away, I highly doubt we'll see Dickinson get a full run of minutes in this opener against NC Central.
While his usage rate at Kansas is unknown, Dickinson was the guy at Michigan, and he still failed to surpass this mark a majority of the time. Dickinson went under this total in 55.8% of his 34 games played last season.
That hit rate gives us implied odds of -126, which means the pricing on the PRA combo should be flipped, especially if Dickinson just gets his feet wet in his Jayhawks debut.
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