NBA Best Bets of the Day (6/17)
Alex Christenson
The college basketball season is less than three weeks away, and here at FTN Bets we have you covered for what promises to be another thrilling year of upsets and incredible finishes. I will be taking you around the country with a betting preview of the major conferences. I recap the betting trends from last season, list projected starters, preview the season, identify a key player and reveal how I’m backing or fading each team.
Let’s start with the best conference in college basketball, the Big 12. Last season ended a three-year streak of Big 12 representation in the NCAA Championship game, including consecutive championships from Baylor (2020-2021) and Kansas (2021-2022). This year, the conference will add four new teams in Houston, BYU, Cincinnati and UCF. With 14 total teams, will we see a change with the top teams, or will the dominance of national powerhouses such as Kansas, Texas and Baylor be magnified further?
Let’s take a look at our betting preview for the Oklahoma Sooners.
2023-2024 Oklahoma Sooners Betting Preview
Conference: Big 12
Head Coach: Porter Moser (3rd season)
2022-2023 Record: 15-17 (5-13)
ATS: 14-17-1
O/U: 16-15-1
Projected Starters: G Javian McCollum; G Milos Uzan; F Otega Oweh; F Jalon Moore; C John Hugley IV
You would think that a coach as great as Porter Moser would be anticipating a top-25 team as he enters his third season with the Sonners. However, the transfer portal has thrown college basketball into chaos and has Oklahoma returning just 27.1% of their minutes, per BartTorvik. Moser is hoping that the experience for both Milos Uzan and Otega Oweh will serve as the foundation for a huge leap with two of his only three returning rotational pieces. Javian McCollum is a dynamic guard from Siena, who dropped 18 against Florida State and 24 against Mississippi last season. Jalon Moore (Georgia Tech) is a solid frontcourt player but hardly a Big 12 difference-maker. The key will be whether John Hugley provides the 15 PPG, 8 RPG from his sophomore season at Pittsburgh, or the enigmatic, slow post presence who left the team after seven games last season.
Key Player: Javian McCollum
The Sooners snuck in the transfer portal and pulled out one of the finest point guards available in Javian McCollum via Siena. During a breakout sophomore season, McCollum scored the ball at all three levels, created for teammates and is one of the best free throw shooters in the nation (89%). If McCollum remains healthy and continues to shoot the ball from deep with accuracy (38% career 3PT), the Sooners will be set at point guard for the immediate future.
Projection: This could be the season that Sooners fans start to express frustration with Moser. The transfer portal is here to stay, and Oklahoma needs talent to compete in the Big 12. Is adding a 6-foot-10, 275-lb center who struggles to guard quicker bigs the answer? I love Moser as a tactician, but I’m not sure he has the horses this season and could be looking at a second consecutive bottom-three finish, which will not sit well with the Oklahoma boosters. As great as Moser was with Loyola Chicago, can he recruit enough talent to be competitive at a football-first school?
How I’m Betting Oklahoma: The Sooners lost over 41 PPG and are putting a ton of faith in a mid-major transfer in McCollum and a huge (no pun intended) variable in Hugley. Milos Uzan scored in double-figures in seven of his last 11 games, but he needs to do much more. The Sooners really struggled on the road in conference play, going just 4-15 over Moser’s two seasons. Without a dynamic, flammable scorer in Sherfield, this team really needs an offensive identity. Who will that be? With tricky non-conference opponents such as Texas State, Iowa, Providence and Arkansas, there will be plenty of opportunities to fade the Sooners until Moser has solidified his style with Hugley on the interior. Not interested in Oklahoma unless they show potential, in which case I’ll look to back them as a live home underdog in conference play.
