Free College Basketball Picks Today for Monday, November 6th, 2023

Our free College Basketball picks are out for Monday, November 6th, 2023! Make sure you check our College Basketball picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free College Basketball picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!

NC Central @ #1 Kansas – 8PM ET

Tony Battalio

North Carolina Central comes into the opening game of the season here on Monday night looking to pull off a massive upset over the number one team in the country. They will need to play an absolutely perfect game of basketball if they want to get the job done against the Kansas Jayhawks on the road at the fieldhouse where Kansas is nearly impossible to beat the majority of the time. For a long time they’ve been known as the “other school” from Durham, and a victory in this game would help put them on the map. They are coming off of a winning season last year where they won 18 out of their 30 games, and they will be looking to improve upon that with a shocking victory to open up the season here on Monday night on the road against Kansas.

The Kansas Jayhawks come into this game ranked as the number one team in the country in the preseason rankings. Now they will be looking to hold true to that ranking with a dominant victory here in the opening game of the season. Kansas is one of those traditional powers in the sport of college basketball that you can expect to be solid year in and year out. Now they will be looking to open up the season with a comfortable statement victory over North Carolina Central here on Monday night at home to get the momentum rolling. This is a Kansas team that has a legitimate shot at winning a national championship as long as they remain healthy and consistent throughout the year. I expect them to open up the season with a comfortable victory and cover the spread in the process here on Monday night.

New Mexico State @ #16 Kentucky – 8PM ET

Tony Battalio

New Mexico State comes into this game looking to upset Kentucky at home to open up the season. Before the season has even started, they have plenty of distractions off of the court with several allegations surrounding the university and the basketball program. They will be looking to shake off the outside noise and pick up a massive upset victory on the road against the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington here on Monday night to open up the season. New Mexico State will have to play a perfect game of basketball in this one if they want to grab a victory over Kentucky here on Monday night. This is a New Mexico State team that is coming off of a losing season, and they will be looking to improve upon their nine win campaign last year with a victory here in the opening game of the season on Monday.

The Kentucky Wildcats come into this new season with one of the lowest preseason rankings they’ve had in several seasons. Kentucky and head coach John Calipari will be out looking to prove the doubters wrong with a statement victory early on in the season here on Monday night against New Mexico State. Kentucky has plenty of potential to be successful this season as long as their new freshmen blend in and they can remain healthy and consistent throughout the year especially when they get into SEC conference play. Although that is a long way away and for now, I don’t look for Kentucky to have much of a problem in this game at home on Monday night against New Mexico State. As I look for them to pick up a comfortable victory to open up the season and cover the spread in the process.

James Madison @ #4 Michigan State – 8:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

The James Madison football team is having a successful season and they will be hoping the momentum carries over into the James Madison men’s basketball team as well. They open up the season on the road against the number four ranked team in the country here on Monday night against Michigan State. They will be looking to pull off a fantastic episode of the Michigan State Spartans to open up the year as they look to get the momentum rolling early on in the season. James Madison was a pretty successful team last season as they picked up 22 victories in 33 games and they will be looking to kick off this season on a similar note with a massive upset victory over Michigan State here on Monday night in East Lansing. Despite only having a couple of opportunities against top 25 teams last season they were pretty competitive and they will be hoping that trend continues here in this one.

Michigan State will be looking to open up this season with a statement victory and cement their status as the number four team in the country with a quality win over James Madison here on Monday night at home. Michigan State is a traditional powerhouse in college basketball, and they are always a team that competes for a national title. This might be the first year in quite a while that this is a legitimate national title contender from the beginning of the season from Michigan State. You could argue that many people would have them pegged as favorites to win a very tough Big 10 Conference as well as make a deep tournament run. I expect them to pick up a solid victory here on Monday night at home against James Madison to open up this new college basketball season. 

Dartmouth @ #2 Duke – 9PM ET

Tony Battalio

Dartmouth will be looking for some Ivy League magic when they head south to Durham to play the Duke Blue Devils here on Monday night to open up the season. It would take a pretty incredible game of basketball for Dartmouth to grab a victory over the Duke Blue Devils to open up the regular season here on Monday night. There is a lot of experience returning on this Dartmouth team, which could give them a potential edge against the team like Duke that is constantly rotating freshman and sophomores in and out as players leave early, transfer or graduate. This is a Dartmouth team that had a losing season last year as they only manage to pick up 10 victories in 28 games and they will be looking to improve upon that within an upset victory from the opening tip of the regular season. 

Once again the Duke Blue Devils are back and they are expected to be a national championship contender this season. They will be looking to open up the year with a statement victory over Dartmouth on Monday night at home as they look to cement their status as the preseason number two team in the country. Duke is a traditional power and a massive blue blood when it comes to college basketball and they are in the running for the national championship every single season. This is a year where Duke has plenty of potential as long as they remain healthy and consistent, and can avoid losing early on in the tournament. I expect them to open up this brand new season with a statement victory over Dartmouth on Monday night as I look for them to cover the spread in the process. 

#21 USC @ Kansas State – 10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The USC Trojans come into this game ranked as the 21st team in the country in the preseason rankings. USC has been a consistent team over the last several seasons, but they will be looking to take the next step and potentially compete for a national championship as well as a PAC 12 title. They will also be looking for a tournament run as they look to string some momentum together early on in the season. This game will arguably be the most competitive game of the opening night of the year as it features two power five programs, and both of them will be looking for quality victories to open up the season here on Monday night. USC put together a winning season last year and they had a tournament appearance, and they will be looking to improve upon that this season and it starts with grabbing a season opening victory here on Monday night.

Kansas State comes into this game looking to open up their season with a top 25 victory against the USC Trojans here on Monday night. They will open up the year in Las Vegas for the special attraction game against the USC Trojans, and this game will likely have a lot of eyes on it because of some of the players on USC’s roster. Kansas State will be looking to kill the expectations of the USC Trojans early on in the year with a huge victory on opening night here on Monday night in Las Vegas. Jerome Tang will be entering his second season and this is a team that finished as a top 10 team in the country last season, and they will be looking to improve upon that this year. They made an elite eight run last year and as long as they remain healthy and consistent, they have the potential to make another this season. I expect this to be a high scoring game that goes over its total points line here on opening night in Las Vegas between USC and Kansas State.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.