On the surface, most people will look at this bet and think “here goes SteadyPicks backing an awful team”. While we do love a bet that’s tough to stomach, this shouldn’t be viewed as one of those. Morehead State is 8-3 this season, with their 3 losses coming against Alabama, Purdue, and Penn State. Outside of those respectable losses, Morehead State has won 7 of their 8 games by double digits (most of them by blowout). This is an experienced group that starts 4 seniors and 1 junior. The Indiana Hoosiers have a solid 7-3 record, but they lost all 3 of their toughest games (UConn, Auburn, Kansas). Indiana was outscored by 54 points in those losses. The Hoosiers have not won a single game by more than 13 points this season. Morehead State plays at one of the slowest tempos in the nation on offense, averaging 19.5 seconds per possession. Indiana is a tough road environment, but we see a clear cut path for Morehead State to keep this game within 13. Our stake is a half unit.

South Carolina holds an impressive 9-1 record to begin the season. Gamecocks head coach Lamont Paris looks to have taken a step forward with his team in his second year with the program. It’s worth considering that South Carolina hasn’t played top notch competition to this point. They have a win over Virginia Tech. Outside of that win, there is nothing on South Carolina’s resume that jumps out. They lost to Clemson, who was their toughest opponent to date. Winthrop also has a road loss to Clemson on their resume. This Winthrop offense ranks inside the top 100 in adjusted offensive efficiency. They also do a great job of getting to the free throw line. Defensively Winthrop isn’t very good, but we still aren’t so confident that South Carolina should be a double digit favorite. Winthrop has an experienced group with primarily upperclassmen. Our wager is a half unit on Winthrop +11.

These two teams played each other 10 days ago. South Dakota won the game at home (78-73). They closed as 2 point favorites, and now sit at +5 underdogs on the road. South Dakota will have a travel disadvantage in this game. However, they’ve been in California for a little while now. Their last game was against UC Irvine, who was a significantly tougher opponent than South Dakota will face tonight. Cal State Bakersfield isn’t very good on either side of the floor. They rank right around the 300 tier in both offensive and defensive efficiency. South Dakota isn’t particularly good on offense or defense either, but this team does have a unique strength. South Dakota is shooting nearly 40% from three point range as a team. They rank 17th in the nation in three point percentage. Cal State Bakersfield does not defend the perimeter well. Their opponents are shooting over 35% from the three point line. As long as South Dakota doesn’t have a dreadful shooting performance, we see no reason why they can’t hang within 5 points, or win the game outright. South Dakota +5 is our wager.