3 Best College Basketball Bets for Tuesday 11/5/24

College basketball is back, giving us plentiful betting options with so many teams in action each day.

Fortunately, we have abundant tools available that can aid our chances of finding good betting value. Bart Torvik and KenPom are excellent sources that give insights into team-level efficiency, and Sports Reference provides a wide range of useful team stats, as well.

Let's check out FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball odds and select some of the best bets of the day by utilizing the mentioned tools.

Please note lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published.

Today's Best College Basketball Picks

Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Tech -30.5 (-115)

After Texas Tech lost in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, coach Grant McCasland went to work in the offseason with a roster overhaul. Heading into McCasland's second season as Red Raiders' head coach, Texas Tech ranks 12th in KenPom and 20th in Bart Torvik, yet it's unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll.

TTU will be looking to exceed preseason expectations in its season-opening contest against Bethune-Cookman, who ranks 267th in Bart Torvik's preseason rankings (out of 364 teams). Last season, the Wildcats finished 308th in Bart Torvik while sitting 314th in adjusted offensive efficiency. This is where Bethune-Cookman could be in major trouble; will it be able to keep up with the Raiders' offense that finished 25th in the category a season ago?

The Wildcats are replacing four starters as All-SWAC honorees Jakobi Heady and Zion Harmon are no longer with the program. Reggie Ward Jr. is the only returning starter, and he was the team's fourth-leading scorer at 9.6 points per game (PPG). Antwann Jones and Jerome Beya are a pair of transfers that each logged under 5.0 PPG last season. Daniel Rouzan transferred from Manhattan, recording 11.4 PPG in the 2023-24 season.

Bethune-Cookman looked to attack the rim last season, finishing in the bottom 8% in three-point shot rate. Meanwhile, Texas Tech was mediocre in allowed two-point percentage (top 40%). The Red Raiders' interior defense is headed in the right direction, though. Forward Darrion Williams is a returning starter and led TTU with a 1.67 Defensive Bayesian Performance Rating (DBPR) last season, via EvanMiya. Big men J.T. Toppin (2.07 DBPR) and Federiko Federiko (1.99 DBPR) are promising transfer additions with solid defensive numbers, as well.

On the other end of the court, the Red Raiders were in the top 20% of three-point rate while cashing in 35.9% of their three-point looks (top 17%) last season. This will probably stay relevant with four of Texas Tech's five starters shooting better than 34.0% from three in 2023-24. The Wildcats were in the bottom half of opponent three-point percentage last season.

As preseason ratings suggest, the Red Raiders are entering the season as one of the country's most underrated teams. They've juiced the frontcourt while adding a quality backcourt in Elijah Hawkins and Kevin Overton. Meanwhile, Bethune-Cookman was already a bottom eater a season ago and is replacing a ton of experience. Give me Texas Tech to cover at home.

Central Arkansas Bears vs. BYU Cougars

BYU Over 92.5 Points (-108)

After a wild coaching carousel following the 2023-24 season, BYU enters a new era after Mark Pope was hired by Kentucky. The Cougs hired Kevin Young, who was the Phoenix Suns' associate head coach last season.

Similar to last year, BYU should have a productive offense as Young has cut his chops on running offenses. The Cougars return four players who logged at least 9.0 PPG in 2023-24: Fousseyni Traore (10.9 PPG), Trevin Kneel (10.6 PPG), Richie Saunders (9.6 PPG), and Dallin Hall (9.0 PPG). Young did a terrific job on the recruiting trail too, adding top-45 recruits Egor Demin (16th) and Kanon Catchings (41st).

BYU ranked 24th in Bart Torvik's rankings and 14th in adjusted offensive efficiency in 2023-24. This club is expected to stay competitive in the Big 12, entering the season ranked 28th overall and 24th in adjusted offensive efficiency.

Ranked 352nd in Bart Torvik's preseason rankings, Central Arkansas fits the cupcake narrative to a tee. The Bears ranked 345th in adjusted defensive efficiency and were in the bottom 32% in opponent two-point percentage and bottom 3% in opponent three-point percentage last season. Three of BYU's top four returning scorers shot over 35.0% from three-point land a season ago.

Adding to Central Arkansas' defensive worries, coach Young plans to deploy the "rim and three" philosophy -- aka get in the paint or let it fly from three. BYU's modern offensive philosophy will likely stick, even with a change at head coach. After logging 93 points in October 30's exhibition game, expect the Cougs to dismantle the Bears' defense. numberFire's game projections also have BYU reaching 94.9 points tonight.

UC Davis Aggies vs. Washington Huskies

Under 145.5 (-110)

So far, we've exclusively looked at games with 30-plus point spreads. UC Davis against Washington could prove to be a sneaky game with the Huskies favored by only 14.5 points.

The Aggies reached the 20-win mark in 2023-24, but they are ranked 186th in Bart Torvik compared to 159th from last season. This low spread mostly has to do with low expectations for Washington, who ranks 72nd in Bart Torvik while ranking 15th in the preseason Big Ten media poll (out of 18 teams). The Huskies are tied for the second-longest odds to win the Big Ten Conference (+5000).

The Huskies' revamped roster is led by Great Osobor, who was 247 Sports' seventh-best transfer after logging 17.7 PPG and 9.0 rebounds per game (RPG) at Utah State last season. After following his former coach Danny Sprinkle to UW, Osobor is seeing his name on a long list of honors, from preseason All-Big Ten to the Karl Malone Award watch list.

However, there's plenty of doubt around this team outside of Osobor. Plus, UC Davis was in the top 30% of adjusted defensive efficiency and top 31% in opponent two-point percentage last season. Sprinkle's Utah State squad heavily leaned on attacking the rim a season ago, sitting in the bottom 24% in three-point shot rate.

Additionally, the 2023-24 Utah State team was in the bottom 20% in two-point percentage allowed. Meanwhile, UC Davis was in the bottom 37% of three-point percentage while sitting in the top 59% of two-point percentage.

This matchup is gearing towards two teams looking to attack the rim. Few three-point shots and inefficiencies from deep doesn't suggest many points. With that said, I'm backing the under with each team sitting outside the top 80 of adjusted offensive efficiency prior to the 2024-25 season.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.