Best Bets For Friday At The NCAAB

It’s a New Year and we are now heading into the heart of the conference schedule in college basketball. What we believed we knew about certain teams might begin to change now that they are facing tougher opponents and starting to think about winning a regular season conference crown. As we do every week at this time, we are going to look at the Friday night schedule to see if we can pick out some winners. We have a pair of picks against the spread and two more for the point total, so let’s get right to those selections.

Saint Peter’s Peacocks at Sienna Saints (-8)

Sienna comes into this game with a 9-5 record, but they are a team that has stepped it up a notch in conference play, going 3-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. On the flipside, you have a Saint Peter’s team that has been inconsistent to say the least in conference play, going 2-3 in those outings. They are also just 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games and have failed to cover in 7 road games this season. Sienna has covered the spread in 4 of their last 5 and should do so again here.

Canisius Golden Griffins at Manhattan Jaspers (+2)

We have a pair of teams struggling for wins going head-to-head on Friday night in a game that the bookies see as a close one. The Golden Griffins are just 2-11 on the season, which includes being 0-4 in conference play. The Jaspers aren’t doing a whole lot better, sitting at 4-9 on the season, but they have been more respectable in conference play, going 2-2. It is Canisius that is in as the slight favorite, but they can’t buy a win right now and I think Manhattan might just edge it as the underdog.

Dartmouth Big Green at Yale Bulldogs – OVER 129 ½l

We have what appears to be a bit of a mismatch here, with Yale in as a big favorite, but this is also a game that they need to win given that they lost their opening game in conference play and are now at 10-4 on the season. Dartmouth is just 4-11 on the season and head into Connecticut having lost each of their last 6 games. Both teams have been trending UNDER of late, but when they meet, 4 of the last 6 have gone OVER, plus I think Yale is looking to win big and get back into the conference picture.

Pennsylvania Quakers at Cornell Big Red – UNDER 154 ½

We have another Ivy League Conference matchup to close out our Friday picks, with this one being very important for both teams given that they are both 1-0 in conference play. The winner of this one will get a bit of a leg up in the race for the regular season crown. Overall, Cornell has certainly been the better of the two teams, posting an 11-3 record, while the Quakers are at 8-7. Cornell has seen the UNDER hit in 5 of their last 6 Ivy League games and I think we will see more of the same in this one.