Top College Basketball Picks Today (NC State, Seton Hall Valuable Underdog Plays on Thanksgiving)

Thanksgiving may be famous for the NFL games, but there is a ton of great college basketball to watch today as well.

The BetSided team has been working to preview almost every game on the slate, but yours truly locked in two college basketball plays on Thursday, going with a pair of underdogs.

If you're down to watch some basketball today, there are plenty of tournaments to dive into, including my two favorite bets.

Let's break down why NC State and Seton Hall have value as underdogs as we look to cash in on the holiday.

Dayton Flyers vs. NC State Wolfpack Odds, Prediction and Pick

After an absolutely brutal performance against Wisconsin, is there any way we can trust the Flyers as favorites in this game? 

I certainly don’t plan on it. 

Dayton has one of the better defensive units in the country so far this season, ranking sixth in opponent effective field goal percentage and 14th in adjusted defensive efficiency, but the offense is lacking. 

The Flyers are 330th in the country in 3-point percentage, 305th in turnover percentage and play at an extremely slow pace (338th in adjusted tempo). 

I’m not sure that’s going to play against the Wolfpack and their guard play. NC State loves to push the pace and ranks inside the top 50 in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage and turnover rate. The Wolfpack are also 73rd in 3-point percentage. 

After hanging with Kansas on Wednesday, I think the Wolfpack are live to upset the Flyers, but I’ll gladly take the 3.5 points for them to at least keep this close.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Seton Hall Pirates Odds, Prediction and Pick

Seton Hall has been terrific on the defensive side of the ball this season, ranking third in opponent effective field goal percentage, sixth in opponent 3-point percentage and 28th in adjusted defensive efficiency. 

Memphis has been good on defense as well, but the team’s offense runs through senior guard Kendric Davis (20.0 points per game) and senior forward Deandre Williams (15.3 points per game).

It’s far different from the Pirates’ attack, which has seven different players averaging at last 7.0 points per game this season. 

I think 2.5 points is a few too many to give the Pirates, who are live to win this game against a Memphis team that struggles from beyond the arc (29.2 percent from 3). 

Holloway’s team has five seniors that play big minutes, and I think that experience helps them taking up a slight step up in class against the Tigers. 

Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.