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Horse Racing NCAA Basketball Opening Day Best Bets: Monday, November 7th
NCAA Basketball Opening Day Best Bets: Monday, November 7th
It’s time to pop the cork on the 2022-23 college hoops campaign, and we have brought in our US sports expert from New York to give out the best bets for Monday, November 7. You already know him from his NHL, MLB, and NCAA Football articles, but he considers NCAAB as his bread-and-butter league. Buckle up for a long season, and let the madness begin!
In this article:
- Holy Cross Crusaders vs Siena Saints Preview
- Holy Cross Crusaders vs Siena Saints Best Bet
- New Mexico Lobos vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Preview
- New Mexico Lobos vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Best Bet
Holy Cross Crusaders vs Siena Saints Preview
November 8, 00:05 (UK time)
Oh, baby, here we go again. And for me, the again means over 30 years of college hoops prognosticating for this guy who grew up in MAAC Country. I don’t even think 30 years is the truth, because I was born in New Rochelle, NY, raised in Larchmont, NY, and literally lived less than 2 miles from Iona College.
I have been to 13 end-of-season MAAC Conference Tournaments in my life, and when it comes to the MAAC you start with me and work your way down to the others below me.
I chose this match to preview because I know Siena quite well, and I know Holy Cross because these two met last year and I called for Siena to hand the Crusaders a whooping, and they did, 72 – 59. Holy Cross also hosted last year’s meeting here at the Hart Center in Worcester, MA, and they’ve lost the last two meetings with Siena in non-conference play.
Holy Cross was terrible last year, to the tune of 9 – 21 while only winning 5 home games all campaign. If you follow college hoops you certainly know that home-court advantage can be as big in this league as any around the globe, professional or not.
I watched Coach Brett Nelson’s press conference that he held the other day, and he was rather diplomatic in his response toward the outlook for 2022-23. “The guys are together, they picked up quick enough to get to 5-on-5 drills sooner than expected and we have grown defensively as a unit.”
Now, I think there are about 180 other head coaches with similar comments about unity and how everyone feels about each other. No games have been played yet, of course, everyone feels like things are great. Unfortunately, Holy Cross stunk up the gym a year ago with a 7 – 11 conference record to go with that 9 – 21 overall number.
The outlook is bright this season because Holy Cross brought in a few dudes from the transfer window on top of all they brought back from last season. Coach Nelson needs a big campaign to possibly keep his employment status, but he is going in the right direction. This is year 4 with him in charge, and the win total has gone up every year since he arrived. Now, that’s great but we are talking from 3 wins in his first year to 5 in year 2. The jump to 9 wins last year is all right, but that still is sub-par and leaves plenty of room for improvement.
Gerrale Gates is back after back-to-back all-Patriot efforts, and his experience will certainly come in handy. Gates took in 16.2 points in 2021 on top of the 8.6 rebounds per game. He made 75.2 percent of his foul shots and those 22 double-doubles aren’t too shabby either.
The Crusaders are bringing back 4 other players who saw a good bit of time as a starter so this could be another season of improvement.
Siena finished 3rd in the final MAAC regular season table last year, and it was supposed to lead to a deep run in the year-end MAAC tourney. That didn’t go as planned, and the Saints fell apart as the season came to an end bailing out in the first game to Quinnipiac, 77 – 71. Iona has such a grasp on the top spot in the conference, but it will be tough for any of these programs to compete with them, but that’s another preview for another day.
Holy Cross Crusaders vs Siena Saints Best Bet
What you are doing in this spot is taking this total to fly over the 137, and I don’t know if that number will last too long. I expect a game in the 70s while landing somewhere in the 140s.
- Selection: Over 137
- Best odds: 1.91 (BetOnline)
- Stakes: 4/10
Odds as of 9:00 am November 7th, 2022. Odds may now differ.
More Holy Cross Crusaders vs Siena Saints Tips
New Mexico Lobos vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Preview
November 8, 02:00 (UK time)
We’re headed to The Pit for the second game of the day, as the Southern Utah Thunderbirds will take on New Mexico in Albuquerque to open the campaign. The T-Birds are no longer a Big Sky Conference outfit after moving to the Western Athletic Conference this season, but they are still full of expectations to continue what they’ve built on the last couple of years.
Last year was certainly one filled with disappointment for the Lobos, as a 13 – 18 record to go along with a 5 – 12 Mountain West Conference tally had New Mexico near the bottom of the table. Only Air Force and San Jose State stood in the way of ending up in the conference basement, yet the line setters are giving them a lot of respect tonight against the Thunderbirds.
I took this game because of my familiarity with the Big Sky Conference, as I graduated from Montana State in 1991, and I have followed the conference ever since. I spent 7 years in Montana and I was exposed to a lot of WAC, MWC, and Big Sky games as a result, and I have never lost interest since. In fact, between the MAAC and Big Sky, I would put myself right up with anyone you know making predictions from following the two conferences as closely as I do.
Southern Utah is getting +6, and this is a program that has won 20-games in back-to-back campaigns a new conference is not intimidating, to say the least. Do you see all the teams in the newly formed WAC for the 2022-23 campaign? I will tell you right now that Southern Utah has a great chance to be in the top 3 of the standings come conference tournament time.
Senior guard Tevion Jones is going to take All-Wac 1st team honours as long as he stays healthy and stays on the court for the T-Birds this season. Maizen Fausett is returning with his extra year of eligibility, and that puts 19 points a game back in the mix for T-Bird Head Coach Todd Simon.
Between enough returning experience for the T-Birds and not having enough faith in New Mexico to cover the number, I suggest you find some action on that +6 and expect the Thunderbirds to not go away lightly. They can win this game outright, so we might not even need any points when the final whistle blows! We’ll take them anyway though.
New Mexico Lobos vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Best Bet
The change of conferences concerns me none, and the Thunderbirds are the play here with points in our pockets. My 4 favourite words!
- Selection: Southern Utah +6
- Best odds: 1.91 (Unibet)
- Stakes: 4/10
Odds as of 9:00 am November 7th, 2022. Odds may now differ.
More New Mexico Lobos vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Tips
