College Basketball Best Bets & Player Props Today: Black Friday (Nov. 28)

Feast Week is far from over as my college basketball best bets and player props today break down my top picks for a loaded Black Friday slate.

My college basketball expert picks have cashed at a 69% rate over the last four days. Today, I am fading a Big East squad that is normally tough to beat at home, and calling for an upset of a .500 team to hand an undefeated team its first loss.

🏀 College basketball best bets & player props: Nov. 28

See all of our experts' college basketball picks based on the latest college basketball odds.

💰 College basketball expert picks today

🏴‍☠️ Wright State vs. Butler prediction: Wright State +16.5 (-110) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hinkle Fieldhouse is typically one of the most electric environments in college basketball, but Wright State will be playing in front of a much more tame crowd with most students still away on Thanksgiving break.

Butler won back-to-back high-major games against South Carolina and Virginia and the Greenbrier Tip-Off, two games in which it trailed for a combined 23 seconds. But I am selling high on the Bulldogs and their 23rd-best 3-point shooting percentage after they were picked to finish 10th in the Big East preseason poll.

FanDuel is the only of our best March Madness betting sites charging less than -115 juice to back the underdog at +16.5, as several others are at +16. I am laying down a $10 wager with that extra half-point in value in the hopes of netting $9.09 in profits.

🐶 SMU vs. Mississippi State prediction: Mississippi State ML (-102) ⭐⭐⭐

Throw records out the window when SMU (7-0) plays at Mississippi State (3-3) tonight, as the Mustangs have beaten just one team ranked inside KenPom’s top 170.

Mississippi State ranks in the top 60 in the country in D-I experience and bench minutes, and brought back 28.2% of the minutes from a team that secured its third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid for the third time in school history. 

The Bulldogs are no strangers to stepping up in competition, as their 10 wins over AP top 25 teams in head coach Chris Jans’ first three seasons mark the program’s best three-year total. They are also 11-4 in the regular season against major conference squads under Jans, and Jans’ .706 career winning percentage is the seventh-best among active D-I coaches.

DraftKings’ -102 odds carry a 50.50% implied probability, and would return $9.80 in profits on a winning $10 wager if Mississippi State pulls the home upset.

⛹️ College basketball player props today

⬆️ Lazar Djokovic, C, VCU: Over 12.5 points (-110) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Much has been made of the seemingly rock-hard rims at the Battle 4 Atlantis, which have favored teams that play out of the post rather than relying on jump shots.

That was especially true for Lazar Djokovic in his 20-point effort against South Florida in the tournament’s opener, when he bullied his way for 18 free throw attempts.

Djokovic was limited to 12 points in yesterday’s loss to Vanderbilt, but that came in just 27 minutes, his second-lowest in the last five games, as the score got away from the Rams and the team likely wanted to save his legs more for today. 

I expect Djokovic to surpass this projected total for the fourth time this season against a Virginia Tech defense that allowed Saint Mary’s to score 38 of its 77 points yesterday in the paint.

If Djokovic scores 13-plus points, my $10 winning wager through bet365’s -110 odds would net $9.09 in profits.

⬆️ Chase Ross, F, Marquette: Over 4.5 rebounds (+110) ⭐⭐⭐

Chase Ross has recorded five rebounds in just one of his last four games, and has surpassed this total in three of seven games this year. But in two of those games where he recorded four or fewer rebounds, he played no more than 26 minutes in comfortable wins over Albany and Little Rock. Much more should be expected of him today in a battle against Oklahoma.

The Golden Eagles are susceptible to physical teams, as they allowed 70 rim points through their first two games against Albany and Southern. I expect Oklahoma to deploy a similar strategy, especially since it is ranked in the top 45 in 2-point shooting percentage. That should open up more avenues for rebounds per Ross instead of defending on the perimeter mostly.

bet365 is the only top sports betting site offering plus-money odds to back this Over. A $10 winning wager would net $11 in profits.

Our Shane Thurston targets Ross' points total instead in his Oklahoma vs. Marquette prediction.