Best College Basketball Bets Today: NCAAB Picks for November 4

College basketball is finally back!

After a seven-month drought, we will finally be able to watch college basketball again.

Hopefully, you are locked in for this enthralling slate and don’t mind staying up late, as the best game of the night, Baylor vs. Gonzaga, tips off on November 4, 2024, at 11:30 PM EST.

Find our best college basketball picks today for Baylor vs. Gonzaga and UNC Asheville vs. Alabama below, including odds and analysis!

UNC Asheville @ No. 2 Alabama

• Date: Monday, November 4

• Time: 9:00 pm EST

• Moneyline: UNC Asheville +2500 | Alabama -10000

• Spread: UNC Asheville +25.5 (-110) | Alabama -25.5 (-110)

• Total: Over 161.5 (-110) | Under 161.5 (-110)

All odds are available via FanDuel Sportsbook but are subject to change. Place your bets at FanDuel and claim $150 in bonus bets + 3 months of NBA League Pass.

PICK: Alabama -25.5 (-110) via FanDuel

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This line actually surprises me quite a bit given the Crimson Tide’s pedigree and returning talent.

The Alabama Crimson Tide enter this season as the No. 2 team in the country, behind only the Kansas Jayhawks.

Alabama returns several key players, including a Wooden Award frontrunner in Mark Sears. 

Sears is one of the most efficient scoring guards in the nation, capable of pouring in points at all three levels.

In fact, Sears is fresh off a campaign where he led the Crimson Tide to the Final Four behind a season average of 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and four assists per game on a ridiculous 51/44/86 shooting split.

The Crimson Tide also brought back 6-foot-11 forward Grant Nelson, who had a relatively underwhelming season but broke out in the NCAA Tournament, scoring 24 points against UNC and 19 points against UConn.

Jarin Stevenson, and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. also return for another season and should take a huge leap forward in production.

For UNC Asheville, it will now experience life without star stretch forward Drew Pember, who has averaged roughly 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two blocks over his last two seasons with the Bulldogs.

Pember had an exceptional effective field goal percentage of 54.4% in 2023-24 despite drawing the attention of opposing defenses every night. The Bulldogs will miss his presence on both ends of the floor, as he also led the team in steals and blocks per game.

Luckily, the Bulldogs were able to return their second and third-leading scorers from last year’s squad, Josh Banks and Fletcher Abee. 

Banks and Abee are both 40% shooters from 3-point land, giving the Bulldogs a strong offensive foundation entering the season. 

Unfortunately, UNC Asheville will miss Pember’s size, three-level scoring, and defensive presence in this one. The Bulldogs’ don’t have the size to keep up with ‘Bama on the glass, and they also are going against one of the premier perimeter defenses in the country.

While Alabama struggled to stop opposing teams from scoring in the paint during the 2023-24 campaign, it held opponents to just 31.7% shooting from behind the arc, an impressive number given it plays in one of the nation’s tougher conferences (SEC).

Further, the Crimson Tide can be even more aggressive on the perimeter now since Clifford Omoruyi is patrolling the interior and protecting the rim. 

Expect ‘Bama to pressure UNC Asheville’s guards and funnel them into the paint where they will be met by one of the country’s premier shot-blockers.

Offense will be hard to come by for the Bulldogs and Alabama will thrive in transition. This line should be much closer to 30 than 25, in my opinion.

No. 8 Baylor @ No. 6 Gonzaga

• Date: Monday, November 4

• Time: 11:30 pm EST

• Moneyline: Baylor +164 | Gonzaga -200

• Spread: Baylor +4.5 (-105) | Gonzaga -4.5 (-115)

• Total: Over 157.5 (-106) | Under 157.5 (-114)

All odds are available via FanDuel Sportsbook but are subject to change.

PICK: Gonzaga -4.5 (-115) via FanDuel

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Few teams across the nation return as many key contributors as the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who were able to bring back Ryan Nembhard, Graham Ike, Nolan Hickman, Ben Gregg, Braden Huff, and Dusty Stromer.

Those players finished as six of the top seven scorers on last season’s Gonzaga team, which made a Sweet 16 before falling to eventual runner-up Purdue.

The Bulldogs finished with the fifth-highest adjusted offensive efficiency in the country, per KenPom, and ranked eighth in points per game and sixth in effective field goal percentage.

Additionally, in its final 16 games, Gonzaga shot an absurd 53.8% from the field and 40.6% from 3-point land. 

The Bulldogs’ offense became nearly unstoppable and only fell short of their Final Four hopes due to running into the buzzsaw that was 7-foot-4 Zach Edey, the back-to-back Wooden Award winner.

And most of the contributors from that team are back, save Anton Watson.

Head coach Mark Few also spent time in the transfer portal, snagging former Arkansas combo guard Khalif Battle and rangy scoring wing Michael Ajayi (Pepperdine) to add to an already elite group of players.

Meanwhile, Baylor also had an extraordinary offseason, pulling in an absolute haul in the transfer portal and on the recruiting trail.

Head coach Scott Drew and the Bears brought in highly touted transfer Norchad Omier (Miami) and Jeremy Roach (Duke); they also signed freshman 5-star wing VJ Edgecombe, a likely first-rounder in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft.

Omier, Roach, and Edgecombe join returners Langston Love and Jayden Nunn to form an incredible group of offensive players.

If this game were played a few months from now, Baylor might have a legitimate shot of winning; however, the Bears don’t have the same chemistry and experience playing together as the Bulldogs.

In fact, Roach, Edgecombe, and Omier are brand-new to the program, meaning there will inevitably be an adjustment period, especially on the offensive end of the floor; it is highly unlikely that they will all click perfectly from Day 1.

Between the substantial advantage in overall cohesion, the ‘Zags will also have a favorable crowd in their home city of Spokane.

I’ll lay 4.5 points with the Bulldogs.