Our free College Basketball Picks are out for Tuesday, November 16th, 2021! Make sure you check our College Basketball Picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free College Basketball Picks for the best games on today’s schedule!
Howard @ #5 Villanova – 6:30pm ET
How will the Villanova Wildcats respond to an early defeat? They were no match for #2 UCLA over the weekend but return home to face a Howard Bison side that is a perfect 3-0 and has won each of their games by double figures. Cleary Villanova is a big step up from the competition they have been facing, but can they follow the blueprint to beating the Wildcats?
Denis Kirilov
Howard is off to a surprisingly good start to this season in the NCAA. Standing in 1st place in the Mid-Eastern Conference ahead of Norfolk State, they are looking to increase their winning streak to 4 games. In their previous game, they were the underdogs against Bradley, but still managed to get home with the victory. Their biggest advantage in their opening matches so far was the offense. Elijah Hawkins and Kyle Foster lead the team in points as the latter had 16 points off the bench in their win over Bradley. Their 6’7’’ forward, Randall Brumant, leads Howard in rebounds and he has made 11 out of 12 field goals attempted.
On the other hand, Villanova was hoping to defeat UCLA in a pretty narrow derby in their second round for this season. In the end, UCLA came up on top with a 9-point win after overtime. Justin Moore and Jermaine Samuels will lead the main players for Jay Wright this year as the Wildcats will try to repeat their winning run in 2018. Having in mind both Howard and Villanova’s performance so far, I think that the game will be a bit narrower than what the specialists expect. So, I will trust Howard to cover their spread.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Howard +28.5 (-102)
Michael Lantz
Villanova enters their third game of the after dropping an entertaining game in Westwood to the #2 UCLA Bruins. The Wildcats were relentless at Pauley Pavillion on Friday night, but they just couldn’t handle the multi-dimensional UCLA squad. For a road game in an intense environment, they have nothing to be ashamed about, and must focus on their next game against Howard University, before taking on another ranked opponent in Tennessee.
.@Colling1021 Getting Loose pic.twitter.com/kULwBDZCRx
— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) November 16, 2021
Howard will be no easy task, as they sit 3-0 on the year thanks to a whole bunch of offensive excellence. They’re thrilled to have freshman Elijah Hawkins averaging 18.5 points per game, while senior Kyle Foster provides a major bench jolt with nearly 15 points per game. No doubt ‘Nova will be refocused and ready to wreak havoc before their showdown with the ‘Vols, but I also expect a confident Howard team to give them a bit of a hard time.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Howard +28.5 (-102)
Tony Battalio
The Howard Bison have opened up the season with a record of 3-0 after impressive victories over Bradley and two lower division schools to open up the year. Now on Tuesday, they will face their toughest test of the season when they play the number four ranked the Villanova Wildcats. Howard is a member of the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference and they have qualified for the NCAA Tournament only twice in school history with the last one coming way back in 1992. They are one of the less impressive mid-majors in college basketball but with a 3-0 start of the season they may be experiencing a turnaround.
As for the previously mentioned the Villanova Wildcats that came into the season with a lot of hype surrounding them as they have two national championships in recent memory. They won their opening contest but fell to the UCLA Bruins the other night in a game on the road that was one of the highlights of the early season college basketball matchups thus far. Despite Howard’s undefeated record I look for the Villanova Wildcats to control this game from start to finish as they are clearly the more talented team on the floor and they should have no problem walking away with a victory in this one.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Villanova (-4500)
Mount St Mary’s @ #13 Kentucky – 7pm ET
The Kentucky Wildcats are another ranked team to play against, and lose to, a ranked opponent in the first week of action. They faced Duke and fell short, but returned home and dominated Robert Morris on Friday night. They now turn their attention to the Mount St Mary’s Mountaineers, a side that was dominated by Villanova in their opener and has gone just 1-1 since.
Denis Kirilov
Mount St. Mary’s head off to Kentucky in what seems to be a well predetermined game. They opened their season with a 40-point loss to Villanova who is definitely not the team from a couple of years ago. Then, they defeated Washington Coll by 55 points, but their opponents can’t really serve as an adequate benchmark. In their last match before this meeting, they lost to Saint Josephs by 20 points, 80:60. The Mountaineers rely much on their forward, Malik Jefferson who uses his physique and athleticism to score points, to grab rebounds, and to even jump for blocks. The team will try to go beyond the 1/64 finals stage that was reached last season, but it’s easier said than done. They will have a lot of work to do, before they can have a shot in the bracket.
Kentucky also lost a game as they faced Duke in their season opener. The 79:71 loss came up as a reminder to Kentucky who decided to release their anger on Robert Morris in their next game. Kellan Grady led its team to the victory with his 19 points, while Oscar Tshiebwe was relentless in the paint getting 20 rebounds for 29 minutes of play. I think that exactly Oscar will make the difference in tomorrow’s game as I expect him to deny Malik Jefferson on numerous occasions. That’s why I will go with Kentucky covering their spread in this meeting.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Kentucky -26.5 (-106)
Michael Lantz
Mount St. Marys are coming off a season where they won the Northeast Conference Tournament and played in “The Big Dance”, before losing to Texas Southern in the First Four. Still, for a small school, just making the tournament feels great. But, what doesn’t feel great is when you have to start the following season by playing Villanova and Kentucky in two of your first four games. They were torched by Villanova by 40 points and then after going 1-1 in following games, they must face a Kentucky team that’s filled with five-star talent.
Kentucky wasn’t pleased to lose their first game of the season to a Duke team that, at the time, sat one ranking ahead of them (#9 vs #10). They were burned 79-71, but had a bright spot from West Virginia transfer Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored 17 points and pulled in 20 rebounds. The Wildcats bounced back from that loss against Duke by blowing out Robert Morris by 40. I don’t expect their game against Mount St. Mary’s to be much different. I’ll take Kentucky to cover.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Kentucky -26.5 (-106)
Tony Battalio
Mount St. Mary’s comes into this game with a record of 1-2 on the year. They were blown out by Villanova in their opening game, but quickly responded with a victory over Washington College before losing to Atlantic 10 member Saint Josephs by 20 points in their last contest. Mount Saint Marys is a member of the northeast conference. Before moving up to division one they found great success in division two, making five final four appearances and winning one title. I have also qualified for six Division I NCAA tournaments since being moved up, most recently qualifying in 2017 and 2021 as well as 2014 and 2009.
The Kentucky Wildcats are coming into this game at 1-1 after falling to Duke in their opening contest of the year but bouncing back with the victory the other night over Robert Morris by 40 points. Just like every other year Kentucky comes into the year with national title hopes, being led by a new stellar class of fabulous freshmen. As for the result of this game I’ll look for it to be all Wildcats. They should have no problem dispatching Mount Saint Mary’s in this one. I look for the Kentucky Wildcats to easily cover the spread in this game.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Kentucky -26.5 (-106)
Gardner-Webb @ #7 Duke – 7pm ET
The Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs will be looking to secure their first win of the season when they get on the road to take on the Duke Blue Devils. While the Runnin’ Bulldogs are looking for win number one, the Blue Devils are yet to taste defeat and have jumped up to #7 in the AP Rankings, from their opening position of #9.
Denis Kirilov
Gardner-Webb will have a tough task in the face of Duke on Monday night. They lost by 17 points to #16 Arkansas in their previous game and now they will need to pull out some miracle to come close to their upcoming opponent. Duke started off the season with three consecutive convincing wins over Kentucky, Army, and Campbell. Although analysts expected the Blue Devils to demolish Campbell, they gradually built their lead throughout the game and eventually won by just 11 points. However, Paolo Banchero, Trevor Keels, Jeremy Roach, and Wendell Moore Jr. don’t need to play at 100% in such games as they have to preserve some energy for March Madness.
Gardner-Webb seems to be an easy challenge for Duke as they don’t really have even lost to Campbell Fighting Camels in their last match for the previous campaign. They are a mediocre team who battles for a positive win ratio throughout the regular season. I think Duke won’t be conservative in this game and they will take a demanding lead in the first half, which will further be extended in the second. I am picking Duke to cover their spread, hoping that some of the aforementioned players will have a huge night in front of their fans.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Duke -18.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
In Coach K’s final year, Duke looks like a team on a mission. Last year’s failure to make the tournament already feels like a distant memory as this team is a thrill to watch from its prized recruits like Paolo Banchero to its veteran players like Wendell Moore Jr., who refuses to let last year define their time at Duke. The Blue Devils are already off to a 3-0 start, which included a huge win over ranked Kentucky. Their next victim: Gardner-Webb.
Shoot-around 📸 pic.twitter.com/ff4I8k9nk7
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) November 16, 2021
The Gardner-Webb Runnin Bulldogs are off to a disappointing start. Sure, they’ve had to face two tough opponents in UNLV and #16 Arkansas, but 0-2 is 0-2, and with Duke around the corner, it won’t get any prettier. This is a tough one, not for who wins (it’ll be Duke), but if Gardner-Webb can cover. They played decently against UNLV and had a solid second half against a ranked Arkansas, but Duke feels like a whole other beast. I’ll pick the Blue Devils to cover.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Duke -18.5 (-110)
Tony Battalio
Gardner Webb is having a rough start to the year they’ve started off the 2021 campaign with a record of 0-2. After putting up a competitive fight against UNLV Gardner Webb was absolutely blown off the floor by the Arkansas Razorbacks in their last game. Now it’s not gonna get any easier for Gardner Webb they have to take on one of the top teams in the country in the Duke Blue Devils.
Duke blue Devils are currently undefeated with a record of 3-0 season and what is Coach K’s final season after a lengthy and legendary career. After an impressive win against Kentucky to open up the year they blew Army out and then survived a scare from Campbell to come into this one undefeated. I could quite possibly be Duke’s most talented team in the coach K era and so far through 3 games they have shown that. As for the results of this game it should not be close at all. Duke is by far the more talented team on the court and should have no problem beating Gardner Webb by a substantial margin. Following this game they have a couple more tuneup games before meeting potentially their toughest test of the season in the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Duke -18.5 (-110)
Seton Hall @ #4 Michigan – 9pm ET
The Michigan Wolverines are another side that has jumped up the AP Rankings after a week of action. After moving from #6 to #4, the Wolverines open Week 2 by hosting Seton Hall. The Pirates have used good depth and a tenacious defense to start the season 2-0, but can it hold up against one of the best teams in the country?
Denis Kirilov
Seton Hall had an explosive start to their season with two victories by 44 points and 36 points respectively against Farleigh Dickinson and Yale. The Pirates displayed consistency and high efficiency in both games. One of their biggest advantages is that they don’t rely on a single player to carry them, rather they focus on the team itself as 10 players have at least 15 minutes per game playing time after the opening games. Myles Cale leads the team in points and steals, while Tyrese Samuel shares the first place in terms of points and rebounds.
We all know that Michigan is frequently a title contender, but they have only won the tournament just once, back in 1989. After that, they had four unsuccessful attempts in the final, the most recent one being in 2018. The Wolverines will try to make up for the surprising loss they suffered last season against UCLA in the 1/4 finals of the bracket. They don’t play such open basketball like many other teams, rather they prefer to gradually build their attacking plays and focus more on their defense. Normally, I would pick the option for “under points”, but I will fancy my chances with Seton Hall covering their spread.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Seton Hall +8.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
While Michigan is the only ranked team in this matchup, Seton Hall very well could be. The Pirates are off to a 2-0 start after blowing out both Fairleigh Dickinson and Yale. While they may not be terribly impressive opponents, Seton Hall disposed of them both by an acceptable amount of points. Now they’ll face a true test in the Michigan Wolverines.
So far Michigan has faced two teams to begin their pursuit of a National Championship. They fended off a pesky Buffalo team 88-76 to start the season and then wrecked Prairie View 77-49 on Saturday. Now they’ll play a Seton Hall team that has big hopes to compete in the Big East and eventually have an NCAA Tournament run. Michigan will hope to have Hunter Dickinson in peak form for this one as he’ll go up against everything Seton Hall can throw at him, including two talented forwards Tyrese Samuel (who is averaging a double-double on the year) and Alexis Yetna, who is averaging double-digits in scoring as well. Michigan will enjoy home-court advantage, but I’ll still take a hungry Pirate team to cover.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Seton Hall +8.5 (-110)
Tony Battalio
Both schools are coming into this game with undefeated records of 2-0 on the season and this will be the most competitive game of the night by far. This matchup is part of the Gavitt tip off games which is a yearly tournament matching up Big 10 and Big East schools. Seton Hall opened up the year with a pair of victories over Fairleigh Dickinson and Yale and blowout fashion. Seton hall has the potential to be one of the better schools in the Big East this year and they look to make a run in the NCAA tournament. As for the Michigan Wolverines they also open up the season at 2-0 which is a good start for a team that is one of the best teams in the best conference in college basketball that being the Big Ten. Michigan opened up the year with a pair of victories over Buffalo and Prairie View A&M. This game and they’re following game against you and LV will be their first real test of the young season but they are both tests that Michigan should pass without too much of a scare as they look to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament and get that national title the resolute of them several times over the past decade.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Michigan (-445)
BYU @ #12 Oregon – 10pm ET
The BYU Cougars get on the road for the first time this year to take on the Oregon Ducks inside Portland’s Moda Center tonight. Both sides come into this clash with a 2-0 record, with Oregon clearly being more dominant through the first week of action. The Cougars and Ducks haven’t seen each other since March Madness in 2014, with the Ducks coming out on top, but will the new crop of talent be able to replicate that performance tonight?
Denis Kirilov
Two teams who started off with 2-0 runs this season will face each other and will decide between each other who will keep this streak and who will have to start from scratch. Brigham Young defeated Cleveland State and San Diego State in a conservative fashion, while #13 Oregon took two convincing victories over Texas Southern and SMU Mustangs. However, Oregon’s opponents feel a bit easier and this might explain the difference. BYU fell victim to UCLA’s fantastic run last season and had to head home after 1/32 finals. Oregon, on the other hand, lost to USC in 1/8 finals which can be considered to be a pretty good performance.
The Oregon Ducks will need to give it all they have in the game against BYU as their opponents shouldn’t be underestimated under any circumstances. Hence, I think that we might see some strategic plays from both sides with which they will hope to gain some minor advantage in the game. However, based on Oregon’s focus on their offense tells me that we might as well see plenty of fastbreak points. For me, I would like to go with Oregon in this one, but I believe choosing “over 141.5 points” brings more value to the pick itself.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Over 141.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
The Oregon Ducks have started their 2021-22 campaign with two easy wins against Texas Southern and SMU. This Ducks team hopes to challenge the UCLA Bruins for a Pac-12 title, and they definitely have the talent to do so which includes the star power of seniors Will Richardson and Jacob Young. This Ducks team should be riveting to watch all year, and they look to put on another show against the BYU Cougars.
Gameday in the Rose City.#GoDucks | #AlwaysUs pic.twitter.com/BAVCVOVU2I
— Oregon Men’s Basketball (@OregonMBB) November 16, 2021
BYU is off to a 2-0 start, but it’s been far from comforting. They beat Cleveland State at home by ten, but the opposing Vikings never fully went away until close to the final buzzer. Their next matchup was against the San Diego State Aztecs, who also stuck around until the very end as BYU escaped 66-60. The Cougars will have their hands full against a tough Ducks team playing in Eugene. Right now the spread is only at -4.5 in Oregon’s favor, which to me seems like a steal, because based on BYU’s first two games I’m not sure they’ll be able to handle Oregon’s talent.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Oregon -4.5 (-105)
Tony Battalio
Both schools are coming into this game with undefeated records of 2-0 on the season and this has a chance to be the most compelling game of the evening next to Seton Hall versus Michigan. This one is part of the film night invitational, a yearly tournament held by Nike in the early stages of the college basketball season. BYU has opened up the season with a pair of close victories against Cleveland State and San Diego State respectively. They are definitely capable of pulling off a huge upset against the Oregon Ducks on Tuesday night. As for the previously mentioned Oregon Ducks, they opened up the season with a pair of victories over Texas Southern and Southern Methodist university in blowout fashion. Winning those two games by a combined score of 169-129 as they look like a potential national title contender early on in the year. As for the result of this game I can honestly see it going either way as according to ESPN Oregon is only four point favorites over BYU. This has all the makings to be a back-and-forth game down to the very end of regulation and potentially overtime. However when the final buzzer sounds I have the Oregon Ducks coming out on top.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Oregon (-200)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
