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College Basketball

Friday’s College Best Bets

Dave Schwab
Dave Schwab Sports Betting Expert
2 minute read

For tonight's College Basketball action, we're focusing on the Continental Tire Main Event basketball tournament from Las Vegas, Nevada. All four teams in action on Friday Nov. 18 are ranked schools from major conferences that include the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12.

Friday, Nov. 18

Virginia Cavaliers vs. Baylor Bears

  • Venue: T-Mobile Arena
  • Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
  • TV-Time: ESPN2, 7:00 p.m. ET
  • Matchup
  • Expert Picks

Score Prediction: Baylor 64, Virginia 56
Best Bet: Baylor -5.5

Virginia beat North Carolina Central and Monmouth at home and the total went OVER in both these games. Baylor has won three in a row SU this season and it covered the spread in two of three contests with sizable double-digit points.

Senior guard Armaan Franklin led the Cavaliers with 14.5 points during the first two games of the season. Baylor had four players scoring double figures in the first three games led by guard Adam Flagler with 17.3 points. He also had a team-high 7.7 assists.

UVA’s total stayed UNDER in six of the last eight games against the Big 12. The Cavaliers are 6-1 SU in the last seven games played in November. The total went OVER in the last five games that Baylor played against the ACC. The Bears are 16-0 SU in the last 16 November games. 

Illinois Fighting Illini vs. UCLA Bruins

  • Venue: T-Mobile Arena
  • Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
  • TV-Time: ESPNU, 9:30 p.m. ET
  • Matchup
  • Expert Picks

Score Prediction: UCLA 81, Illinois 77
Best Bet: UCLA -2

The Fighting Illini went 3-0 SU (2-1 ATS) in the first three games of the season and the total went OVER in two of the three outings. UCLA made it three-of-three SU and ATS in the first three games. The total stayed UNDER in two of the three games.

Guard Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 22.7 points while shooting 52.9% from the field in his debut this season for Illinois. The Fighting Illini forward Dain Dianja added 17.7 points and 9.7 rebounds. The Bruins featured guard Jaylen Clark with his 17.3 points and 8.0 rebounds on the year.

Illinois is just 2-6 ATS in its last eight games going back to last season. The total has stayed UNDER in six of its last eight contests. UCLA is 2-5 SU in this last seven games against the Big Ten but the Bruins are 5-1 SU in their last six games overall.

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Dave Schwab

Dave Schwab

Dave Schwab has been covering the sports betting industry for the past 12 years as the main focus of his specialty marketing company for online content. This endeavor followed a previous career in the field of sales and marketing in the wholesaling sector.Most of his weekly pieces focus on the rapidly expanding legal US sports betting industry. However, he still does extensive work covering betting angles that can provide a competitive edge to avid players. Dave believes that it is always a challenge to take past results and current form to try and correctly determine a future result. Sports brings out the unpredictability in what should be a fairly predictable outcome based on the stats, facts and recent trends in a particular matchup. More from Dave Schwab
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