NCAAM Best Bets: Full Monday Slate Preview and Predictions

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00:00Live right here on the early line on sports grid and all

00:06across the Spiz Grizz Network.

00:08We round out this Monday show.

00:10We've got Monday night football to end out week 11 tonight

00:13in Dallas between the Texans and the Cowboys. Eight games

00:17in the association and some college hoops here now on the

00:21official two-week anniversary of the start of the 2024-25

00:26college basketball season. Again, as we get closer and closer

00:29to Thanksgiving, exactly a week from Thursday, 10 days away,

00:33we will get some better non-conference matchups. Tuesdays,

00:37we've got some good games as well. Last Friday, a ton of

00:41great non-conference action. On this Monday, a couple of

00:45gems in there for sure, like the one late night tonight

00:49in San Diego as SDSU, the Aztecs, play host to number

00:54four, Gonzaga. San Diego State, 11 and a half point home

00:59underdog against the Zags team. Of course, the Aztecs in

01:02the last few years have been an NCAA tournament contender,

01:05a Final Four team two seasons ago with Brian Dutcher as

01:09the head coach. Still expected a factor into the Mountain

01:12West championship conversation throughout this season, but

01:16Gonzaga, top five team in a country for a reason. The Zags

01:20an 11 and a half point road favorite. Auburn into the top

01:24five as well. We'll get that updated AP poll later this

01:27afternoon as well. 27 and a half in favor of the Tigers

01:32against North Alabama. Now, the Tigers, a really strong team

01:37to start this year for Bruce Pearl. They're on the

01:40plains, a team to pay attention to. Iowa State, off to a

01:43great start, 35 and a half point favorite. Arkansas, laying

01:4724 and a half at home in Bud Walton against Pacific.

01:51Michigan, first year with Dusty May, trying to figure

01:53some things out in the rotation. 22 and a half point

01:57favorite against Mack Competition, Miami of Ohio tonight.

02:00That game, of course, inside the Chrysler Center. And then

02:03a really good matchup between two mid-major teams. McNeese,

02:08the favorites out of the Southland. Of course, we've

02:10mentioned them a few times. They have played in a strong

02:13non-conference schedule to begin this year. Season opener

02:16against South Dakota State, one of the favorites in the

02:19Summit League. Then last week on a Monday, taking on Alabama.

02:24Now, the Crimson Tide did lose on Friday night inside

02:28Mackey Arena against Purdue, but we know Alabama is going

02:32to be a strong team this year. That game against the Tide

02:35for Will Wade and his Stangs stayed under. I expect this

02:40game to stay under tonight as well. When you look at the

02:44Mean Green, who already has a power conference victory

02:48on the docket against Minnesota. Now, the Golden Gophers

02:51and Ben Johnson expected to be one of the worst teams

02:54in the Big Ten. That's okay. North Texas still won that

02:57game, 54-51. Very slow pace for UNT and really solid on

03:04the defensive end of the floor. 130 and a half is that

03:08total tonight for North Texas taking on McNeese State.

03:14So as we look elsewhere around the country, just to present

03:17some of what we are seeing early on this year. Let's go

03:21around the country where the National Championship odds

03:25are very early on this season in college basketball. Of

03:28course, we're just a week removed from the Champions

03:31Classic last Tuesday in Atlanta when Kentucky made a

03:35statement knocking off the talented freshman of Duke and

03:39yet the Blue Devils still remain with the second-best price

03:41to win a National Crown at 11-1. Alongside Gonzaga in

03:46action tonight. Great early non-conference test against

03:49San Diego State. Auburn, that top-five team, fourth-best

03:52price at 12-1. If Duke has moved back from that favorite

03:56number where they were to begin this season and entering

03:59last Tuesday in the Champions Classic, first loss this

04:02year for the Dukies, who now is that favorite? It would

04:06be the two-time reigning national champs in Connecticut,

04:10UConn, 10-1 right now to win its third consecutive

04:14national title. It will be a narrative and a storyline

04:17that filters through this college basketball season.

04:20Can UConn go back to back to back? Unlike we have seen

04:25in the history of college basketball since the late 60s

04:29into the early 70s when John Wooden's UCLA program won

04:33seven consecutive national championships from 1967 until

04:381973. A strong start this year for UConn. They continue

04:44to roll in non-conference play. But as we approach Thanksgiving,

04:49that's when some of these non-conference matchups get

04:51even better. Into early December, our first sprinkling

04:55of conference games through the new year, of course, as

04:59well. Updated AP Top 25 out in college basketball later

05:04this afternoon. College football playoff rankings for the

05:07third straight week tomorrow on a Tuesday. It's a good

05:11time of year in college sports. That does it for this

05:14Monday on The Early Line. The show returns tomorrow on

05:18a Tuesday starting at 8 a.m. Eastern time. Talk to you then.

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