Best College Basketball Bets Today: NCAAB Picks for November 15

It’s Friday, and you’ve got plenty of time on your hands. So—what are you going to do with it? How about placing a bet or two on one of the many college basketball games taking place today?

You can find the odds for the basketball game that catches your eye at your favorite online sportsbooks.

But there are so many games, and none of my favorite teams are playing. Which game(s) should I bet on? Every bettor has to answer that question for themselves. But the following are what we consider some of the best college basketball bets of the day.

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.

No. 2 Alabama @ No. 13 Purdue

• Date: Friday, November 15

• Time: 7 p.m. ET

• Moneyline: Alabama -126; Purdue +105

• Point Spread: Alabama -2.5 (-105); Purdue +2.5 (-115)

• Total: O/U 163.5 (-110/-110)

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

If this were a football game, no one would care since we all know how it would end—but it’s not. When it comes to basketball, Alabama’s team has something in common with its football counterparts—they are both among the best in the nation at what they do.

As for Purdue, luckily, their basketball team is nothing like their football program. These guys are pretty good; one of the better teams in the nation. On that note, let’s take a long, hard look at both teams.

Alabama

Alabama was a welcome surprise last year, going 25-12 during the regular season and making a run to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament. But with most of the team leaving the program during the offseason, head coach Nate Oats had to do a quick rebuild.

In this day and age, that means mining the transfer portal for all its worth, which is just what Oats did. He was able to add Chris Youngblood from South Florida, Clifford Omoruyi from Rutgers, Houston Mallette from Pepperdine, and Aden Holloway from Auburn.

Between the transfer portal class, one of the best recruiting classes in the country, and the players coming back, Alabama has a ridiculously talented team with depth. AP voters thought high enough of it that the Crimson Tide got 14 first-place votes.

So far, they’ve been living up to expectations, easily winning their first three games. But Purdue will be the first quality team they’ve faced this season.

It’s time for proof-of-concept.

Purdue

With the Player of the Year, Zach Edey, leading the way, the Boilermakers had a solid season last year. They went 29-4 during the regular season and rolled through the NCAA Tournament until they ran into UConn in the title game and lost.  

As for this season, Edey has moved on to the NBA. Several other players opted to move on as well. However, head coach Matt Painter is not one to go for a quick fix via the transfer portal. So, the Boilermakers will need last year’s role players and/or Purdue’s recruiting class to step up and take on more significant roles.

So far, the results have been expected. They’ve won their first three games already, but an argument could be made that they were not the resounding, dominant wins you want at this stage of the season.

To be fair, 17-point and 22-point wins are nothing to shake a stick at. But against these early opponents, teams hope for more lopsided wins.

PICK: Purdue ML (+105) at FanDuel

Alabama will want to play in the paint a lot since that’s where its strength is. Purdue, on the other hand, will want to make it rain from three-point range. If the Boilermakers start hitting these shots, Bama doesn’t have good enough three-point shooting to keep (or catch up).

This should be a great game between two of the best teams in the country, but we’re leaning towards Purdue ML for this one.

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No. 21 Ohio State @ No. 23 Texas A&M

• Date: Friday, November 15

• Time: 9 p.m. ET

• Moneyline: Ohio State +205; Texas A&M -255

• Point Spread: Ohio State +5.5 (-102); Texas A&M -5.5 (-120)

• Total: O/U 146.5 (-110/-110)

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

After a promising 12-2 start to the season, things went off the rails for the Buckeyes once conference play started. They stumbled to a 22-14 record and got an invite to the NIT. Texas A&M gave Houston a pretty good fight in the second round, only to fall to the Cougars.

Both are out to prove this year that they can be better.

Ohio State

A win at this stage of the season gives you an idea of where the team is at in its development. However, a win would mean a little more for Ohio State. Why? Because the Buckeyes have never beaten Texas A&M in basketball (the Aggies are 3-0).  

To that end, new head coach Jake Diebler hit the transfer portal hard in order to rebuild the roster into a more competitive team.  Diebler did a pretty good job of reeling in talent: Aaron Bradshaw (Kentucky), Sean Stewart (Duke),  Micah Parrish (San Diego State), and Ques Glover (Samford).

If a youth injection is needed, the Buckeyes have a solid pair of freshmen they can turn to in Colin White and/or John Mobley Jr.

Ohio State opened the season with an 80-72 win over Texas and followed it with an 81 to 47 shellacking of Youngstown State. Bruce Thornton leads the team in scoring with 16 points per game. He is one of three players scoring in double digits for Ohio State.

While they are off to a good start this year, this is the Buckeyes' first road game; Ohio State went 2-8 on the road last season.

Texas A&M

The Aggies got the season started on the wrong foot by losing to UCF, 64-61. Any loss at this stage of the season is disappointing, but this one hit harder for the Aggies. With an experienced veteran roster, they should have played a better, more team-oriented game.

After taking the L, they took care of a couple of soft opponents in East Texas A&M (87-55) and Lamar (97-71). With the win over Lamar, Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams got the 350^th win of his career.

"I'm blessed and living a dream way bigger than I ever thought. You grow up wanting to do it. I feel incredibly blessed.”

The Aggies should be one of the best rebounding teams this season (they were No. 1 in the country last year). Fans hope the experience in the backcourt can keep the offense from getting derailed and disappearing (which was an issue last season).

PICK: Texas A&M Spread -5.5 (-120) at FanDuel

A&M’s roster already has chemistry since most of them were on it last season.  That will make it easier for the Aggies to get on the same page and make some plays. Ohio State has a good, talented roster as well, but since much of it has not played together until this season—advantage, Texas A&M,

Take the Aggies to cover the spread.

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