The fourth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers will look to get their 2020-21 college basketball season off with a confidence-boosting victory when they host a Maine ballclub that looks severely overmatched in this regular season opener. The 2019 national champs will look a bit different from the team they finished last season with, but the Cavs still have the look of a legitimate national championship contender heading into their opener. With that said, let’s take a closer look at the upcoming matchup so you can place your bets against their College Basketball odds.
NCAAB Betting Predictions – No. 4 Virginia at Maine Odds and Preview
- When: Wednesday, November 25, 2020 at 2:00 PM ET
- Where: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
Why Bet On No. 4 Virginia
Virginia went 24-7 overall and 15-5 in ACC play last season. The losses of forwards Mamadi Diakite and Braxton Key will hurt, but the Cavaliers get a big-time player in Marquette transfer Sam Hauser (14.9 ppg) who will be fired up from the outset after sitting out last season following his decision to switch schools.
“Having a redshirt year, you get a whole year to really work on your game and figure out what you need to fine-tune and what you really need to get better at, and I took that very seriously,” Hauser said. “I hope I can show everyone that I’ve gotten better and I’ve improved, and hopefully I’m more than (the) shooter that I’m labeled as. I’ve taken that personally, and I’m just really excited to showcase it.”
Virginia returns three starters from last season’s team and has a pair of gifted incoming freshmen in four-star recruits in Jabri Abdur-Rahim, the son of former NBA star Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Reece Beekman and another in three-star recruit Carson McCorkle. Virginia will once again be one of the best defensive teams in the nation under head coach Tony Bennett and they should easily challenge to cash in as a +1800 pick to win it all in 20201.
Why Bet on Maine
Maine went a dismal 9-22 overall and 5-11 in America East Conference matchups and enters the new season with some serious problems. The Bears’ saw their top returning scorer, senior forward Nedeljko Prijovic (10.7 points per game), announce late last month that he was opting out of school to return to his native Serbia to pursue a pro career in the Eastern European nation. No player on Maine’s current roster averaged more than 6.3 points per game last season. Still, head coach Richard Barron said he and his team aren’t exactly ‘fearful of the Cavaliers in this matchup.
“The team colors are orange and blue. They put their socks on just like you. Tested for COVID like we did, too,” he sings. “Meet Virginia. I can’t wait to meet Virginia. The defense is suffocating, need really good officiating to beat the odds we are calculating. Ain’t that beautiful.”
Expert Analysis and Prediction
There’s really no other way to say it, except, this regular season opener should be over by the time the half rolls around. Virginia is perennially one of the very best defensive teams in the nation under head coach Tony Bennett and I expect them to suffocate Maine’s completely overmatched roster of players that wouldn’t even make Virginia’s roster. Maybe it’s me, but I’m expecting a blowout of epic proportions in this one!
Pick: Virginia 77 Maine 47
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