NCAA Basketball Best Bets for November 29: Louisville Prevails In The Bahamas
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Willie Bee
- November 29, 2024
Top NCAAB Pick: Louisville -2.5 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Among the college hoops action on Friday is a clash between Louisville and Oklahoma in The Bahamas where sharp sportsbooks are favoring the Cardinals.
Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Odds
Friday, November 29, 2024 – 02:30 PM ET at Schottenstein Center
Well, what do you know? Another ACC-Big Ten matchup for those of us who lament the cancelation of that event, and a chance to once again see a couple of teams lurking in the shadows of their respective conference favorites according to NCAAB futures.
Pittsburgh makes the 200-mile drive west to take on Ohio State, and while it may not be as big as the Penn State-OSU rivalry, there’s still a lot of contempt between the Panthers and Buckeyes.
Pitt Begins 3-Game Road Trip
This is the first of three consecutive road games for Pittsburgh. The Panthers dropped an 81-75 decision at Wisconsin last Sunday in West Virginia as small chalk on the NCAAB odds, blowing a 14-point lead in the first half of the Greenbriar Tip-Off.
After falling at Texas A&M two weeks ago, the Buckeyes have ripped off 3-straight wins and covers at home. Ohio State was favored by about 25 in all three wins, going over the 100-point plateau in the last two.
Just Enough Defense for an Under
Hard to believe that it has been nearly 22 years since the schools last met on the hardwood, that December 2002 contest taking place in Pittsburgh where the Panthers rolled the Buckeyes, 69-49. Ohio State still holds a 15-11 advantage in the series.
Most shops favor Ohio State by 3.5 with 147 for the total, and the ‘under’ wins out for my play.
NCAAB Pick: Pittsburgh/Ohio State Under 147.5 (-108) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
Louisville Cardinals vs. Oklahoma Sooners Odds
Friday, November 29, 2024 – 05:30 PM ET at Imperial Arena
This is not the championship matchup promoters had in mind for this year’s Battle 4 Atlantis when the 8-team bracket was first laid out, and if there’s one thing this tourney and others have taught us this November, it’s that the two traditional polls don’t mean a whole lot.
Louisville and Oklahoma will slug it out for this year’s B4A trophy, each pulling off an upset to reach the finals, and top-rated sportsbooks are pushing the Cardinals as favorites of 2.5-3 points with totals running in the 149-149.5 range.
Point Guards Have Led Both Teams
Louisville was embarrassed at home by Tennessee a few weeks ago, but the Cardinals have looked like an entirely different team this week in The Bahamas. They dominated Indiana in the second half of the opening round, then turned things over to Chucky Hepburn on Thursday to get past a stubborn West Virginia squad in overtime.
Oklahoma had just enough to hold on and beat Providence in the opening round, then turned back Arizona on Thursday with an 82-77 decision as a 7.5-point underdog. After scoring 20 in the win over the Friars, Jeremiah Fears led the Sooners with 26 to beat the Wildcats.
First Meeting in 16+ Years
The last time these two got together was the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament where Louisville smoked Oklahoma 78-48. Oklahoma has won the other three meetings in the rivalry.
A third game in three days will test the conditioning of both teams, and the matchup out on the perimeter between the point guards, Hepburn and Fears, is going to be fun to watch.
I like Louisville with my college basketball pick.
NCAAB Pick: Louisville -2.5 (-110) at BetOnline
Seattle Redhawks vs. Duke Blue Devils Odds
Friday, November 29, 2024 – 07:00 PM ET at Cameron Indoor Stadium Arena
Yeah, I know, a complete mismatch that finds Heritage Sports favoring Duke by 27.5 over Seattle U. But with the Blue Devils coming off their second loss of the season and a visit from Auburn on deck next week, the mismatch becomes more interesting from a betting perspective.
Both Sides Recently in Vegas
The Redhawks were in Sin City to begin the week and dropped a tough 61-56 decision as small underdogs to Furman in the Vegas Showdown. It was a 2-point game with 4.5 minutes left, but Seattle then fell into a 3-minute scoring drought.
Lo and behold, Duke was also playing in the Vegas Showdown that same day, albeit against a much high-caliber opponent in Kansas. The top-ranked Jayhawks built a 13-point lead in the first half before holding off the favored Blue Devils for a 75-72 decision.
‘Hawks & Devils Meet for 1st Time
Seattle and Duke have never met before, and the Redhawks will be playing a Power 5/4 team other than Washington and Washington State for the first time since 2020. I have no doubt that the atmosphere inside Cameron will be a bit overwhelming for Seattle U.
But I also have to wonder if Duke head coach Jon Scheyer won’t ease off the accelerator late with Auburn coming to Durham next week, at least let off enough for the Redhawks to cover.
NCAAB Pick: Seattle +27.5 (-108) at Heritage Sports
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
