Beer Belly Frank offers his Wednesday night College Basketball picks
The college basketball season is finally upon us, and with it comes tasty spreads, backdoor covers, and inevitable upsets from no name schools. Tonight we’ll be looking at a few games from across the nation, as yours truly attempts to navigate these treacherous degenerate waters.
Often in the first week of the season, teams will take one of two routes in their schedules, a ridiculously overmatched game searching for an easy win (Villanova vs Mount Saint Mary’s), or an evenly matched opponent as an opportunity for a statement win to start the year (Kentucky vs Duke).
Today's picks will consist of five games that CBS' John Rothstein tweeted out earlier today as five matchups to watch.
BUFFALO AT MICHIGAN (-13.5)
In this matchup, the preseason title contender Michigan Wolverines host Buffalo as the Bulls travel west across Lake Erie to Ann Arbor. Michigan should win this game as they are 14-1 in their last 15 home games, but Buffalo is an experienced team and they finished last season undefeated against the spread in their final 6 games road games.
THE PICK: Buffalo +13.5
LEHIGH AT RUTGERS (-20.5)
No one believes in the Big Ten more than Coach Steve Pikell, and the strength of their conference allows RU to tune up with some cupcake matchups before their grueling conference schedule. The RAC may now go by a different name, but as fans return for the first time in what feels like forever, the arena will gift the Scarlet Knights the same home court advantage as years past, the pick here is easy.
THE PICK: Rutgers -20.5
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON AT SETON HALL (-25.5)
The Pirates of South Orange host Fairleigh Dickinson University in their opening matchup for the season. Though with a large group of talent that hasn’t had much playtime together, coupled with a bad ankle for star player Jared Rhoden, the point spread made be too steep for the Hall to cover.
THE PICK: Fairleigh Dickinson (+25.5)
YOUNGSTOWN STATE AT PENN STATE (-17)
This is the first matchup between these two schools in almost 10 years as Penguins from Youngstown State take Route 80 east for State College,PA. Although the spread of -17 is rather large, I believe new head coach Micah Shrewsberry will get the Nittany Lions off to a positive start in the team’s home opener by capitalizing on the positives from last year’s team, the most important of which being second half covers in the team’s final four games.
THE PICK: Penn State -17
PENN AT FLORIDA STATE (-19.5)
In this ACC vs Ivy League matchup, the Quakers travel south to Florida’s state capital as the Seminoles look to build momentum off of last season’s Sweet Sixteen appearance. As the entire Ivy League opted out of last season, rust is to be expected out of every school, and traveling to an opponent that has won 35 of its last 36 home games doesn’t sound like a recipe for success.
THE PICK: Florida State -19.5
BBF Wild Card Pick
FLORIDA ATLANTIC AT NEW MEXICO (+1.0)
Ahhhhh yesssss —— Do you smell that?This is some serious cheese, some dense pungent cheddar, for my wild card pick of the night. There’s nothing quite like close games where I have no knowledge about either team, my gut, or should I say my beer belly, truly gets tested in matchups like this.The Lobos were an inconsistent team last season failing to win back to back games after starting the year 3-0, and the FAU Owls have fallen off from their once mighty Cinderella team apex. Although they are traveling across the country to play in this game, the Owls have 7ft transfer Vladislav Goldin from Texas Tech on their side, and despite what your mom said last weekend, in basketball, size actually matters.
THE PICK: Florida Atlantic University ML
**This information is for entertainment purposes only. We make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any content.**
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