Top College Basketball Picks Today (Cincinnati Poised for Big Game vs. Cleveland State)

I planned on waiting until I got a few weeks of stats to use to handicap the games before diving into the world of college basketball, but there are a couple of spots tonight so it's time to jump in.

We have no shortage of college basketball bettors here at BetSided, so be sure to check out the work of Reed Wallach, Josh Yourish, and Joe Summers but it's my turn to give out some picks for tonight.

Let's dive into them.

Iain's CBB Best Bets Record-to-Date

• 0-0 (0.00 units)

CBB Best Bets for Today (Thursday, November 10)

• Penn State -17 (-110) vs. Loyola-Maryland
• Cincinnati -22 (-110) vs. Cleveland State
• Vermont +8 (-110) vs. Saint Mary's

Penn State -17 (-110) vs. Loyola/Maryland

Penn State shot the lights out in their season opener against Winthrop, scoring 93 points while sporting an effective field goal percentage of 70%. Meanwhile, Loyola-Maryland lost a 72-66 decision to DePaul, but their defense had a rough outing, allowing DePaul to shoot 43.1% from the field.

Loyola is greatly missing their top scorer from a year ago, Cam Spencer, and I don't think they have the firepower to keep pace with the Nittany Lions.

Cincinnati -22 (-110) vs. Cleveland State

Cleveland State's roster was decimated in the offseason. The 2021 Horizon League champions lost their three top scorers from last season, and it showed in their season opener when they lost to Notre Dame College, not the Fighting Irish either, the Notre Dame College Falcons, who are a division 2 team.

I think Cleveland State is going to be overvalued early in the season until people realize they're a far cry from the team they looked like the past two seasons.

Vermont +8 (-110) vs. Saint Mary's

No matter what year it is, Vermont head coach John Becker leads one of the best defensive teams in the country. The Catamounts have had a ton of turnover from last season's roster, but I expect them to once again be extremely strong defensively.

Vermont beat up on Browns, 80-65, in their season opener behind Aaron Deloney's 30 points.

Saint Mary's edged out Oral Roberts in their first game, but had an effective field goal percentage of only 46%. Vermont's defense should be able to keep the Gaels offense in check. If they do, they can keep this game close.

You can track Iain's bets on Betstamp here.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.