Best College Basketball Bets Today (Saturday 11/25)

The 2023-24 College Basketball season is finally underway. It’s the final day of the Emerald Coast Classic in Florida, and below is my favorite bet of the  slate. Let’s have some fun.

Ohio State vs. Santa Clara

(Ohio State -7.5, DraftKings Sportsbook)

As we wind down feast week, we have an unexpected finals matchup in the Emerald Coast Classic held in Destin, Florida, between Ohio State and Santa Clara. The Broncos wore down a short-handed Oregon team in the semis with their size, along with a career game from Arizona transfer Adama Bal. Ohio State controlled Alabama from the tip in their first major test of the season after experiencing a ton of roster turnover from last year’s No. 1 seeded squad.

Unique for a mid-major, Santa Clara’s lineup has a ton of size that doesn’t run out a starter under 6-foot-5. The strength of Ohio State comes from their ability to get their guards Bruce Thornton and Roddie Gayle into the lane off ball screens to the rim. Although the Bronco perimeter defense has struggled a bit keeping guards out of the paint, their interior size and ability to recover with their length should cause Thornton and Gayle some issues, as they rank 12^th nationally in 2pt FG% defense. On offense, Santa Clara will have to compete in this game through the three-point line since (typical of most Big Ten schools) Ohio State clogs the paint and forces teams to shoot over them. They rank 336^th in 3pt FGA allowed per game. The Broncos shot 41.2% from beyond the arc against Oregon yesterday, and I’ll bet the hot shooting continues on a one-day turnaround in the same gym. I trust Herb Sendek on short prep with his inside-out Princeton style offense, mobile bigs and enough size and length to keep this one close and pull out the victory if they shoot well. I’ll be taking the points.

The Pick: Santa Clara +7.5