This is an angle that's only available the first few weeks of the CBB season. I've watched/followed half a dozen lower tier teams out west that have 4 or 5 returning starters playing one of the bigger program schools that rebuild every year. In every game it was obvious how much built-in chemistry these smaller teams brought to the court. I watched S. Utah (ranked 350th or near it) play Kansas State the other night. For most of the first half they looked and played better than the Wildcats. Ultimately, a deeper bench and more talent prevailed, but this offers a great 1st half opportunity.
Even UC Irvine looked good for awhile against Arizona the other night until the #2 Wildcats took charge.
I bring this point up as many of you are very well versed about your local or particular conferences and you might see the opportunity too.
I'm not making a play here, but tonight out west, Fresno State goes to Flagstaff to play N. Arizona. Both schools have 4 retuning starters, but FSU's best shooter is suspended for 9 games and the #2 is out with a concussion. They also have a few more guys with injuries, so in essence, the Bulldogs will be looking for cohesion. NAU has no injuries and although they got beat badly at Xavier 93-60 and then at Toledo 71-58, they field a healthy squad for their home opener.
Right now the line is Fresno State -3 and -1.5 first half.
It might be worth a first-half pizza bet to see how this one plays out. I have no doubt that a healthy Fresno team would bring the big hurt on NAU's opener, but this one might have a few twists and turns before it's all over. Ultimately FSU's depth will prevail, but they might not pull away until late.
Or I could be completely wrong. It's happened before! But we'll see this situation play out a dozen times over the weekend and it's worth looking at… at least first half bets.
As always, these are just my opinions so do your own work before betting on my or anyone's advice.
BOL