Eric Uribe
Wednesday features a plethora of NCAA basketball games, giving you plenty of betting opportunities to bank on. To help you do just that, we’re giving you our best college basketball bets of November 17, 2021. Do as you wish with this completely free, expert betting advice — whether that’s riding with our betting picks or fading them, the choice is yours!
Against The Spread: Michigan State Spartans at Butler Bulldogs
Among the most bettor-friendly NCAAB betting sites, this Spartans-Bulldogs matchup is one of the closest against-the-spread of Wednesday night. Currently, the visitors are slight favorites to pull out the victory:
| Team |  |  |
| Michigan State spread | -2.5 | -2.5 |
| Butler spread | +2.5 | +2.5 |
This early in the season, the verdict remains out on most teams. Sure, they’ve played a few games, but that’s come against tomato-can-like opponents — Butler’s beaten the likes of Central Arkansas, while Michigan State toppled Western Michigan — so it’s tough to gauge any teams’ real strengths and weaknesses. In these scenarios, we lean heavily on experience and pure talent to make betting decisions.
Off rip, we like what we see from the Bulldogs. On paper, they should be good and make a run in March Madness. Why, you ask? Well like classic Butler teams of old, this year’s squad is deeply experienced. No one-and-dones here. No, the core of this roster has been together for years now. Get this, Butler has five fifth-year or graduate seniors, plus two more fourth-year players on the team. Experienced indeed!
We’re taking the Bulldogs and the points. For those with a higher risk tolerance, you might just want to bet the Butler moneyline for plus-money odds. Either way, we like them to defend home court well against Michigan State.
Against The Spread: St. Johns Red Storm at Indiana Hoosiers
It’s obvious but it bears repeating: home-court advantage is officially back. The pandemic removed it a season ago and cause of that, road teams fared relatively well betting-wise all 2020. This time around though, who is at home and where must be considered, as it should be in this St. Johns-Indiana spread.
The Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall that the Hoosiers call home is one of the rowdiest in all of the nation. And a sell-out crowd should be on-hand to witness this intriguing matchup. We have question marks about how the Johnnies will respond to the rowdy environment. Here’s a program that hasn’t been a contender in ages and typically, you don’t trust those types of teams in bright-light situations.
Beyond the crowd, Indiana will also benefit from having the single best player on the floor that night. Of course, we’re talking about Trayce Jackson-Davis. The do-everything forward averaged 19.1 points and nine boards a game last year. We believe Davis will help blow the doors open against an inexperienced Johnnies team, which should be enough to cover the 6.5-point spread.
Over/Under 140 Points: Northern Iowa Panthers at Arkansas Razorbacks
| Outcome | | |
| Over 140 Points | -110 | -110 |
| Under 140 Points | -110 | -110 |
Earlier on, we mentioned how important experience is at this point in the season when there’s so much unknown still. That experience is once again a factor here when evaluating the over/under line between Northern Iowa and Arkansas. That’s because Eric Musselman has assembled a deeply experienced bunch on his Hogs team.
Four Arkansas players that contributed regular minutes for last year’s Elite 8 team have returned to the mix in 2021-22. Joining them are a slew of ready-to-play transfers, which has been Musselman’s favorite way to build winning teams in a hurry — player development be damned. With this grizzled roster, the best online sportsbooks for basketball are giving the Razorbacks serious March Madness contention in the futures odds category.
So far, so good for the Hogs. They scored 74 points in the season opener then tallied 86 in game two. Against a really bad Northern Iowa side, Arkansas might even threaten for 100 points on Wednesday, which signals an impending over.
Against The Spread: Northern Colorado Bears at Texas Longhorns
| Team | | |
| Northern Colorado Bears spread | +21 | +21 |
| Texas Longhorns spread | -21 | -21 |
Let’s cut right to the chase: Texas is going to completely blow out Northern Colorado, and with that, cover the 21-point spread. Yes, it’s a huge line, but this Longhorns team is looking to “blow off some steam” after losing to No. 1-ranked Gonzaga only a few days ago. The Bears are simply in the “wrong place at the wrong time” while the Longhorns try to avenge that so-so performance on the big stage. They should have no problems disposing of this lesser team at home.
How To Bet On College Basketball This Season?
Wednesday night in NCAA hoops is dotted with way more bets than the four games we covered above. To get a full list of every college basketball bet available — whether it’s spreads, futures, props, or other bets — then you should visit one of the bookmakers we’ve listed below. These bookies have you covered from now until March Madness with a litany of wagers at great prices.
Even more, if you’ve never gambled on the sites before, you could earn a sign-up bonus worth hundreds to thousands of dollars in free play within minutes of creating an account. The underneath table has details on what sites are currently offering what deal. Pick one and reap your reward before Wednesday’s college games begin to play for free!
