NCAA Basketball Picks: Best Opening Week to Bet On 2022

We are roughly a week away from the best season on the calendar, college basketball season!. While name, image, and likeness has attempted to rob the value and perceived wholesomeness of the sport, we carry on supporting the sport we love.

Today, we are going to take a look at the best bets available on opening night so you don’t miss you chance to bet on their NCAA Basketball Odds. While every game is a “buy” game, we are talking about spreads here, and it can be tricky when you are looking at 40+ point lines.

Best Bets for College Basketball Opening Night | NCAAB Lines

North Florida Ospreys vs Gonzaga Bulldogs

Obviously, the spreads have yet to be released, but according to predictive databases, it will be right around 28 points. That is what you are looking for on the opening night, a spread that isn’t ridiculous but also somewhat easy to attain.

Over the last four seasons, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are 35-24-3 against the spread as the home favorite. Much of that can be attributed to the Zags being favored by huge amounts during the non-conference schedule. During that stretch, Mark Few’s groups has an average margin of victory of 28.7 points per game and are outperforming the number by +2.3 points per game. The 28.7-point margin is the largest differential in the nation over that time period by 9.5 points.

You should take Gonzaga to cover this game up to 29 points.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs TCU Horned Frogs

This game has the potential to be the most lopsided game of the opening night between two division 1 schools. This is not your dad’s Texas Christian team. Heck, this is not your slightly older brother’s Horned Frogs squad. This team is going to be GOOD.

Jamie Dixon’s group is a top 15 team heading into the 2022-23 season and the first time the program has been ranked in the top 25 since the 2018-19 season. Third-year guard Mike Miles is not the most efficient player in the Big XII, but Coach Dixon is able to make it work. Miles gets his backcourt mate back in Damion Baugh, along with the team’s four other leading scorers from last season.

Joining the program this season is Oklahoma State transfer Rondel Walker who will provide a nice athletic three-and-D guy off of the bench.

The Golden Lions of Arkansas Pine-Bluff have ranked outside the top 350 in adjusted defensive efficiency in each of the last three seasons. They will likely struggle on opening night against one of the best backcourts in the Big XII, full of experienced players that know how to win.

There is not a ton of historical data to establish any kind of trend that makes sense here. This team is clearly one of the best groups to come through Texas Christian in quite some time. Recent trends would suggest that the Horned Frogs are not good at home even with this group but given their exit from last season’s tournament, you can expect them to play with a chip on their shoulder. The spread is likely to land somewhere around 38 points; take the Horned Frogs to cover the margin at home.