College Basketball Best Bets: Three Favorite Picks for Wednesday, November 16

Wednesday's college basketball slate is shaping up to be an awesome one, so make sure you check out our best bets of the night for November 16. We've been doing well with these all year and we're confident we'll keep it up moving forward.  

If you haven't already, you should consider signing up for DraftKings ➡️ here ⬅️ as you can turn a $5 pre-game moneyline bet on any game into a free $200 if your team wins. 

RELATED: College Basketball Bet Hub 

College Basketball Best Bets for Wednesday, November 16

Michigan Wolverines vs. Pittsburgh Panthers - 6:00PM ET

Michigan and Pittsburgh will meet at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where the Panthers will be hoping to bounce back from a 25-point loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers. Fortunately for Pittsburgh, we did see that Michigan is somewhat vulnerable in an 88-83 win as a 17-point favorite against the Eastern Michigan Eagles last week. 

One thing to note when looking at this game is that Pittsburgh is 7-0 against the spread when playing away from home under head coach Jeff Capel in November games. The Panthers have won those games by an average of 5.5 points per game. And while we don't necessarily think they'll win this one outright, we do think they can keep it close. They clearly are comfortable in early-season games against non-conference opponents, which is also backed up by the fact that they're 9-1 ATS when playing away from home in non-conference games under Capel.

The X-factor in this game will be the play of Pitt sophomore Federiko Federiko. Not only does he have the best name in college basketball, but he also has the difficult task of going toe to toe with Hunter Dickinson tonight. Federiko will need to be tough on the glass and try to avoid foul trouble. If he can do that, the Panthers should be able to keep this close. 

BET: Pittsburgh +8.5 (-110) at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏀 Michigan vs. Pittsburgh Predictions
📈 Betting preview: Michigan vs. Pittsburgh

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VCU Rams vs. Arizona State Sun Devils - 8:30PM ET

In the second game of the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center, it's just impossible not to see VCU as tremendous value. Arizona State looks like it is on its way to yet another disappointing season, as the Sun Devils have had trouble managing their insanely easy early-season schedule. Arizona State nearly lost outright as a 14-point favorite against Tarleton State in its season opener, and the team lost as an 11-point favorite against Texas Southern last game. The Sun Devils are now 0-3 against the spread and will be without Marcus Bagley against the Rams. 

VCU is also an impressive 4-2 both straight-up and ATS as a neutral-court favorite under Mike Rhoades. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils are just 5-15 SU and 6-12-2 ATS as neutral-court underdogs under Bobby Hurley. With that said, we're keeping things simple and fading a lousy Arizona State program. 

BET: VCU -4 (-120) at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏀 VCU vs. Arizona State Predictions
📈 Betting preview: VCU vs. Arizona State

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Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Texas Longhorns - 9:30PM ET

These are two of the best teams in college basketball, as Texas is second in adjusted efficiency margin (according to KenPom) and Gonzaga is right behind in third. With that said, this is going to be an incredible game to watch. But it's hard not to go with the Longhorns here, as they're playing this game at the Moody Center. This will be the first big game ever played at the arena, so the energy should be electric in there. 

The Longhorns also happen to match up pretty well with this Bulldogs squad. Texas has one of the best backcourts in all of college basketball this year, as Marcus Carr and Tyrese Hunter are both studs. And while the Longhorns don't have anybody to handle Zags star Drew Timme, Texas does have a great forward in Timmy Allen. He should be able to turn in a nice all-around performance in this game. 

Gonzaga also didn't look great against Michigan State last game. The Zags were lacking a bit in the toughness department, and Chris Beard's teams are generally strong in that regard also. We're going bigger on this one. 

BET: Texas -2 (-110) at DraftKings Sportsbook

Best College Basketball Parlay Today

There are numerous different ways you can wager on college basketball games in 2022, such as the moneyline, spread, total, player and team props, and, of course, parlays. While we normally suggest taking our picks on their own, we also really love parlays! With that said, check out the fat payout you can get by throwing all of our best bets together tonight. 

🔥 Pittsburgh +8.5 (-110)
🔥 Arizona State -4 (-120) 
🔥 Texas -2 (-110) 

*All odds and lines correct at time of publishing