BEST LINES: Pinnacle +10½ -106 Bet365 +10½ -110 SportsInteraction +10½ -110 5DIMES +10½ -110

Posted at 12:30 PM EST.

8:00 PM EST. The best time to bet on college basketball is now or in the first 5-10 games of the season because that is when we’re going to get the best lines on undervalued teams or against overvalued teams. There are 351 Division I schools and it is therefore unreasonable to believe that the lines are going to be a as tight now as they will be in a month from now. We trust we have found one such opportunity here.

South Carolina went on a headline grabbing, historic run in last year’s main event. The Gamecocks made it all the way to the Final Four and sent an entire region into a frenzy in the process. It was a great story but you’ll now pay a little extra to get behind this team that likely won’t even sniff the NCAA’s this year. Tonight, the Gamecocks will raise their Final Four banner prior to tip-off, reminding everyone of last year’s historic achievement but also of what little is left from that team. The 2017-18 version of USC is a collection of new faces. The new guys scored 26 of Carolina’s 33 first-half points en route to a 72-53 win over Wofford. South Carolina was a 6-point favorite in that game so the final score looks very pretty indeed but the Terriers hit a measly 37% from the field while the Gamecocks hit 11 out of 23 shots (48%) from beyond the arc.

Western Michigan was picked by the league’s coaches to win the Mid-American Conference. The Broncos have won eight MAC West Division titles under Steve Hawkins in his 15-year tenure. Guard Thomas Wilder, a preseason All-MAC selection, tested the NBA waters last summer before returning to the Broncos for his senior year. He averaged over 19 points a game last season and NBA scouts love his leadership, talent and his commitment to being the best that he can be. Western Michigan has won 20 or more games three consecutive seasons. WMU finished last year tied atop the balanced MAC West with an 11-7 record. Their 16-16 overall record kept them out of any postseason tournament but this should be the year the Broncos were looking forward to. With all but one of their regular contributors returning, WMU has a great shot at reaching their first NCAA Tournament since 2014 while the Gamecocks will be hard-pressed to finish 10th or higher in the SEC. So, not only will one pay very early in the year to back South Carolina for its success last year but one will also pay for an SEC team playing a MAC team. These are inflated points and we’re on it. 

Open an account today at Pinnacle Sports and take advantage of their -104 style pricing on sides and totals, which is 60% better than other sportsbooks.