We have multiple MTE's starting tomorrow — including the Charleston Classic, Myrtle Beach Invitational and the Bahamas Championship — but first, we can't forget about the value on Wednesday's college basketball slate.
I have circled three games I'm targeting with betting value.
So, here's college basketball best bets and three picks and predictions for Wednesday, including Cal Poly vs. Arizona State and more on Nov. 20.
College Basketball Best Bets
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. | |
  | 8 p.m. | |
  | 9 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. | ||
Iona vs. West Virginia
Iona sits at just 1-3 on the season after four games against stiff competition. The rebuilt Gaels are expected to climb back up towards the MAAC totem pole with a roster chock full of transfer talent.
This year’s team hasn’t quite put it all together, but it scrapped its way to a one-point loss at Ivy favorite Princeton and took down the America East favorite Vermont this past weekend.
Thus far, the Gaels’ games have mostly been ugly, and they will look to muck it up against West Virginia tonight.
The Mountaineers are also still figuring things out under new head coach Darian DeVries and a brand new roster. West Virginia got crushed by Pitt on Friday and staved off a late Minutemen comeback to defeat UMass by six the week before.
The Mountaineers' offense can be clunky, especially when its two stars — Javon Small and Tucker DeVries — aren’t finding the bottom of the net. West Virginia relies on their creation and often falls into “stand and watch mode” while the pair work to create offense.
Iona’s edge will be on the glass tonight, where it has thoroughly dominated through the early going and where West Virginia has struggled. The Gaels rank third nationally in offensive rebounding rate, led by maniacal glass eater Yaphet Moundi.
West Virginia doesn’t attack the offensive glass and showed vulnerabilities to Robert Morris and UMass on the defensive end.
The Gaels have just enough firepower to consistently put points on the board and supplement their glass efforts.
Lead guard Dejour Reaves is a true talent and electric playmaker, James Patterson was a D-II All-American last season and Moundi and fellow big man Clarence Rupert will work to get West Virginia centers Amani Hansberry and Eduardo Andre in foul trouble.
Iona will stick around in an ugly game.
Pick: Iona +15 (Play to +14)
Little Rock vs. Tulsa
Little Rock has battled the injury bug in the early going. Still without arguably its best player in KK Robinson, the Trojans also were missing starter Jordan Jefferson against UTSA last Saturday.
Despite this, getting double digits against a mortal Tulsa squad is too good to pass up.
Little Rock’s talent far exceeds the normal Ohio Valley program. Former Memphis/Creighton transfer Johnathan Lawson has emerged as a do-everything two-way centerpiece and has helped keep the ship afloat in the wake of injuries.
Fellow wing Mwani Wilkinson was a four-year player (and mostly a starter) at LSU, and big man Tuongthach Gatkek began his career at Florida.
The Trojans have great positional size – they hardly play anyone under 6-foot-3 and their wing tandem is often the 6-foot-5 Wilkinson and 6-foot-7 Lawson. Tulsa is much smaller on the perimeter, which could lead to bully mismatches for Little Rock.
Little Rock has already shown it can compete with solid competition. It held leads deep into the first half on the road at Winthrop and Arkansas State, two elite mid-major programs. Last Saturday, the Trojans blew the doors off UTSA.
Tulsa beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff (no big deal) and snuck by Oral Roberts (not impressive) before playing a triple overtime war at Missouri State. In that game, the Hurricanes got down a whopping 15 points before storming back, and the Bears had 21 turnovers.
Tulsa likely wins tonight, but double digits is far too much to lay against a roster that's talent isn’t that far off from its own.
The Trojans will need to finish plays on the glass and take care of the ball, and if they can do both at a reasonable level, they should be able to hang for a full 40.
Pick: Little Rock +13.5 (Play to +10)
Cal Poly vs. Arizona State
College basketball bettors who have been paying attention are well aware of the start Cal Poly is off to. The Mustangs are 3-1 ATS, have taken money in every contest and have moved up nearly 80 spots in KenPom since the preseason.
Credit new head coach Mike DeGeorge, who led a D-II powerhouse at Colorado Mesa and already has his Mustangs looking like a Big West contender with the help of a handful of his former players.
There is still a little meat on the bone in markets to back Cal Poly. Soon the Mustangs’ value will dry up, but it hasn’t quite yet.
To Arizona State’s credit, it has acquitted itself nicely following its nationally televised humiliation at Duke in the preseason.
The Sun Devils have rattled off wins against very good competition and hung with the mighty Zags for 40 minutes. They have young talent in Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon to go along with an experienced roster of veterans.
Cal Poly can hang tonight despite ASU’s recent surge and talent edge. The Stangs run beautiful offense and get a clean, high percentage shot nearly every time down the floor.
ASU has the athleticism to be a strong defensive team, but it can still get lost against good motion, and — luckily for Poly — the Sun Devils haven’t forced many turnovers this season.
Cal Poly will stay out of the paint — where Quaintance lurks to block every shot under the sun — and instead focus on shooting the long ball.
On the other end, ASU has good shooters too, but the Sun Devils can fall in love with the 3-ball and force tough shots. If these shots aren’t falling — like against Idaho State, when the Sun Devils were just 7-of-24 from deep in a close game — the offense will sputter.
ASU won’t look to attack Cal Poly’s vulnerable interior — at least not for the entire contest — and it won’t punish Poly on the glass.
If Cal Poly can play San Francisco to a stalemate in an 81-possession contest, it can stay within 17 points against Arizona State.
Pick: Cal Poly +17.5 (Play to +17)
