Best College Basketball Bets Today | NCAAB Picks November 15

Tuesday’s slate has come and gone, but it left us with some exceptional games, including Kansas versus Kentucky and Duke versus Michigan State. However, we have to turn to Wednesday’s games now, which will not be as high-profile but still should contain plenty of action. Check out our best bets for Rice versus Texas and Coppin State versus Louisville below!

Rice @ No. 19 Texas 

• Date: Wednesday, November 15

• Time: 9:00 pm EST

• Moneyline: Rice +1400 | Texas -4000

• Spread: Rice +20.5 (-110) | Texas -20.5 (-110)

• Total: Over 153.5 (-115) | Under 153.5 (-105)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook. Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets using our exclusive link.   

PICK: Rice +20.5 (-110)

Texas lost a lot of talent after last season’s Elite Eight run, with Sir’Jabari Rice, Timmy Allen, Marcus Carr, Christian Bishop, and Arterio Morris all departing via the transfer portal or graduation. Also, while Dylan Disu is back on the roster, he is currently injured and will not be available. 

However, the Longhorns hit the portal hard to make up for their losses, bringing in coveted senior guard, and former March Madness star, Max Abmas, as well as 6-foot-11 four-star center Kadin Shedrick, combo guard Chendall Weaver, and their current leading scorer, Ithiel Horton. They also were able to recruit four-star shooting guard, Chris Johnson, who has already logged some minutes for Texas early in his collegiate career.

The box score indicates that Texas hasn’t skipped a beat, winning by 32 and 27 points in its first two matchups against UIW and Delaware State, respectively. The problem is that UIW is 353rd (out of 362 teams) in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin, while Delaware State is merely 330th. Rice is going to be a completely different team than those two squads. 

The Owls return three of their top six scorers from last season and four starters, including Max Fiedler, a do-it-all forward who is averaging close to 15 points, ten rebounds, and five assists through the first few games of the season. 

Texas has been the beneficiary of facing two of the worst teams in the nation so far this season, and while the Longhorns will be talented this season, their inexperience together could show in this one against a team that has played with each other for longer. 

While Rice underwhelmed in its last game against Harvard, expect the Owls to put up a lot of points; they scored just shy of 76 points per game last year and return many of the same players. 20.5 points is simply too much in this spot.

Coppin State @ Louisville 

• Date: Wednesday, November 15

• Time: 7:00 pm EST

• Moneyline: Coppin State +1600 | Louisville -4000

• Spread: Coppin State +17 (-108) | Louisville -17 (-112)

• Total: Over 151 (-110) | Under 151 (-110)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

PICK: Louisville -17 (-112)

Our faith does not reside in Louisville, a program that has had quite the fall from grace since Rick Pitino’s departure; however, we do have faith in Coppin State’s inability to be an even remotely competitive basketball team. The Eagles have lost all of their first three games by double-digits, including a 14-point loss to Mt. Saint Mary’s, a 21-point loss to Towson, and a 45-point loss to Virginia Tech. Ouch.

The Eagles return just one of their top nine scorers from last season’s team, which wasn’t all that good to begin with (finished sixth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.) Further, Coppin State currently ranks 360th (out of 362 Division I teams) in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin thus far. They are shooting just 23% from behind the arc and have an eFG% of less than 40%. Both of those marks are horrendous. Lastly, Justin Winston is the only player on this team averaging more than seven points per game. 

Again, Louisville is not a good basketball team this season, evidenced by an early-season double-digit loss to Chattanooga, and despite having some impressive individual talent, such as Skyy Clark, Tre White, and Mike James, it will again struggle in the ACC. However, the Cardinals will handle business against a Coppin State team that has no offensive talent whatsoever.