The weekend is finally here. And what better way to celebrate than betting on some college basketball bets?
While conference tournaments are beginning to establish themselves at a steady pace, there are still many quality games from the regular season. Our staff found two of them to bet on Friday, and two of our authors are lined up for St. Bonaventure v. Richmond.
Check out our A-10 and MAC bets on Friday’s college list and be sure to check back tomorrow for a full set of Saturday bets.
Friday College Basketball Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the games our basketball staff targets in college from today’s list of games. Click on the team logo for one of the matches below to go to a specific bet discussed in this article.
Richmond v Saint Bonaventure
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from Kyle Remillard
No team relies more on their starting lineup from St. Bonaventure. Bonnie ranks last in the nation in minutes on the bench, so every time an injury occurs, it turns out to be even more expensive.
Osun Home Center Osuni is dealing with an ankle injury he sustained against St. Joseph on Saturday. He seems to be in considerable pain and even if he tries in this match, it is unlikely that he will be 100%.
Bonnie’s seven-game winning streak was interrupted by VCU in their first game of the season without their big man.
Osunniyi has an average of 11 points and eight rebounds per game. But his loss was felt more in the defensive end of the floor, as he is the ruling defender of the year in Atlantic 10. VCU shot 64% in their attempts for 2 points in this match, as St. Bonaventure lacks its only true rim protector.
Now Bonnie is welcome on the Richmond team, which had a season up and down. It has been proven that defense can be used, but the attacking group is strong. The Spiders are in the top 10 in terms of percentage of turnover and realize 53% of their attempts to hit 2 points.
Richmond will be able to reveal Bonnie’s lack of internal presence, especially if Osunniyi is out.
This game is closer to a choice, according to ShotQuality, and I will continue to fade the Bonnies until Osunniyi returns in full force.
Choice: Richmond +4 (Play to +2)
Richmond v Saint Bonaventure
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from DJ James
Both St. Bonaventure and Richmond are outside looking for the NCAA tournament that comes in Friday’s game. These two teams are practically united.
Neither can protect the 3-pointer. Bonnie allowed opponents to shoot 34.5%, while Spiders allowed 35.2% of 3 to fall for the opposition.
The difference between the two is the choice of shot. According to ShotQuality, Richmond ranks 73rd in distance and 59th in shots. In these same categories, St. Bonaventure ranks 114th and 260th, respectively.
This is quite a big discrepancy and much of it is related to the slightly better attack of Richmond with 2 points. Richmond has an average of 52.8% when hitting inside the arc, while St. Bonaventure comes in at 50.9%. However, this is not the only difference.
Richmond loves to play 3s. Of the Spiders’ total points, 34.9% came from deep this season against just 25% for Bonnie. Given how they both struggle to keep deep blows, this will leave many open deep blows for Richmond.
In addition, Richmond has a slight advantage from the outside, shooting 34% compared to 32.1% for Bonnie.
Finally, Osun Osunniyi is in question about St. Bonaventure. It is his main source of protection down. If he’s out or even somewhat lame, Grant Golden will have a great day for the Spiders. Much of Bonnie’s internal defense is from Osunniyi, and he is also a strong offensive option when needed.
Choice: Richmond +4 (Play to +2.5 if Osunniyi plays | +1.5 if Osunniyi is out)
Ohio vs. Northern Illinois
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from BJ Cunningham
Ohio is already out of the picture for winning the MAC title in the regular season, but this game means a lot to him in terms of crops.
The Bobcats are halfway to Buffalo and up to Akron. If they drop out of No. 3, they will have to play Buffalo or Akron, but if they keep that No. 3, they will most likely face Miami (Ohio) – a much better game for them.
Only eight teams are in the MAC tournament, so this game means absolutely nothing to Northern Illinois.
When the two met earlier in the season, Ohio won at home 74-62. But this end result is a bit misleading in terms of how the game actually goes. Ohio led 70-42 with seven minutes to go, and Northern Illinois finished the game 20-4 to cover the 18.5-point lead.
Violation of Northern Illinois is so incredibly bad. This is the 350th choice of shots, the 330th in the open frequency of 3 points and the 305th in PPP when trying to hit from the edge and behind the arc, which are the two most valuable shots in violation of half of the field, according to ShotQuality.
Ohio’s attack is incredibly effective in the half court, ranking 59th in the PPP, while Northern Illinois is 10th in the PPP, allowed in the half court in defense.
Ohio also ranks first in the conference in terms of both attack and defense speed, while Northern Illinois is ninth in the MAC in attack speed, according to KenPom.
This game matters to Ohio, so I like the Bobcats at -10.5 in DeKalb tonight.