College Hoops Begins

Buzzer-beaters, mid-major upsets, star one-and-dones, and of course, Rothstein-isms. College basketball season is officially here folks, and there's a good chance your favorite team has already hit the floor 🏀

• Each Top-25 team hosted a game on Monday as part of a jam-packed opening night, and they all emerged victorious. #14 TCU suffered the biggest scare of the bunch, needing a late three to hold off little-known Arkansas-Pine Bluff 😳

• The night wasn't without its upsets, however, as tournament regulars Oklahoma and FSU started their seasons with losses to mid-majors Sam Houston State and Stetson. Trust me, you're gonna wanna check out the wild ending in Norman 👇

If that sequence doesn't already have you pumped for March, we can't be friends. There's four months full of unpredictable action until that Madness begins, but with that being said, here are this year's preseason favorites to cut down the nets in Houston 👇

Odds To Win 2023 NCAA Tournament (subject to change)

• Gonzaga: +850 (bet $100, win $850)

• Houston: +850

• North Carolina: +1000

• Kentucky: +1200

• Baylor: +1200

• Kansas: +1500

• Duke: +1500

As you'd expect, most of these contenders are kicking their seasons off with a slate of "tune-up" games. But the title favorite, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, are testing themselves early against Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans on Friday in the first marquee matchup of the college basketball season. You won't want to miss it 😎

Draft Stock Watch

The NBA Draft landscape has shifted pretty dramatically over the past few years, with the continued growth of overseas scouting in addition to the emergence of alternative paths for players to reach the league (Overtime Elite) 😉

• As a result, more and more top prospects — like French prodigy Victor Wembanyama, G-League Ignite's Scoot Henderson, and OTE's own Thompson twins — can be now be found outside the NCAA ranks

But while the consensus top pick in next year's draft won't suit up for any college team this year, there's still plenty of future NBA stars playing all across the nation. Here are some the biggest names you'll want to keep an eye on this season 👇

📍 Brandon Miller (Freshman, F, Alabama)

Crimson Tide fans may have had their College Football Playoff hopes crushed last weekend against LSU, but star freshman Brandon Miller should give them plenty of reasons to turn their attention to the hardwood instead

• Miller is my pick to be the first college player off the board in next year's draft, and as a 6'9 versatile forward with a smooth stroke, it's easy to see how he'd be a coveted asset. With several key contributors gone from last year's tournament team, expect Alabama to feature the freshman heavily

📍 Nick Smith (Freshman, G, Arkansas)

Another stud freshman in the SEC, and surprisingly this one isn't from Kentucky either. Don't let the overly generic name fool you, Nick Smith can ball

• The combo-guard can score at all three levels, and he looks like a surefire bet to be a Top-10 pick. He missed the opener for precautionary reasons, but when he returns he'll join two other five-star freshman as part of a dangerous Razorbacks' team I like as a dark-horse title contender (+2000)

📍 Dariq Whitehead & Dereck Lively (Freshmen, F & C, Duke)

Duke landing two of the top prospects in the nation? Shocker! Jon Scheyer has the impossible task of filling Coach K's shoes this season, but college basketball's best recruiting class should certainly help

• 7'1 center Lively was the top-ranked recruit in the class and is a safe bet to go early in next year's draft, but Whitehead, a 6'6 forward and the second-ranked recruit, is even more coveted by NBA teams. Neither made their college debut on Monday, but expect both to start making waves soon

📍 Caleb Love (Junior, G, UNC)

Alright enough with the freshman, but let's stay in the ACC and head a few miles down the road from Duke to UNC, where junior point guard Caleb Love and the Tar Heels will look to live up to sky-high preseason expectations

• Love's teammate, Armando Bacot, might the preseason ACC Player of the Year, but Love joins him on the All-ACC First Team and is the Tar Heel with the most NBA potential. Improvement across the board his sophomore season put him firmly in the first round discussion, and another leap coupled with a deep UNC run could have him moving up draft lists even more

For My Parlay Gurus

As mentioned, there's not a ton of high-profile college basketball action going down until Gonzaga and MSU clash on Friday, but that doesn't mean we're missing some big storylines. Shaheen Holloway will make his coaching debut at Seton Hall after leaving Saint Peter's, and Davidson almost knocked off MSU last year in the Big Dance. Take a look 👇

• Davidson -3.5 @ Wright State: -104

• Seton Hall -18.5 vs. Monmouth: -114

$100 on this bet would win you $268 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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