07.11.2022

Mid Major Money Vol. 1

College basketball season is finally here and with that comes the first edition of Mid Major Money. This series will entail the best bets on certain days that come from schools in mid-major conferences. A lot of money is on the board on any given day when a lot of college basketball games are being played but it’s hard to know which games have value when they don’t feature a school from a big conference.

This series is here to provide knowledge and picks on the games that are played in these mid-major conferences and provide opportunities to spread money all across the board to create the best chance at positive returns. In this opening day edition, I have three games I will be targeting and wagering on that we will preview and hopefully start this series with a bang.

Game One: Dartmouth @ Fordham

The Fordham Rams under new head coach Keith Urgo are currently favored by (-6.5) against last year’s fifth-place finishers in the Ivy League the Dartmouth Big Green. My first bet of the day will be rolling with Fordham to cover (-6.5) at home and Urgo getting his first win as head coach.

Fordham brought in one of their best-recruiting classes in recent history along with Georgia Tech transfer Khalid Moore this offseason and last year's leading scorer Darius Quisenberry is also back for the Rams. This is one of the most promising rosters Fordham has had in quite some time and they will be looking to make another big jump this season like the one they were able to make after the 2020 season. The Rams finished dead last in the Atlantic 10 in 2020 but last season they finished (16-16) and jumped up to eighth.

Dartmouth enters this season picked to finish seventh in the Ivy League in preseason polls as they lost numerous key players for them from last season. Dame Adelekun returns for his senior year and is expected to be the primary scorer for this Big Green offense. Ryan Cornish and Cam Krystkowiak also return and will be key contributors to the rotation.

Fordham possesses too much offensive firepower for the Big Green to keep pace with as they still try to figure out what they look like this season. I’m expecting a big game from Khalid Moore to lead the Rams to a victory.

Game Two: Manhattan @ VCU

Going back to the A10 conference for my second play of the day as VCU opens up against a depleted Manhattan program. The Rams are favored by (-19.5) and that’s who I’ll be rolling with for my second play.

The Manhattan Jaspers program is currently in shambles as the school decided to fire head coach Steve Masiello two weeks before the season started. This prompted backlash from players within the program and led star player Jose Perez to enter the transfer portal. All of this happening so close to the season does not set up a lot of promise for the Jaspers this year who were picked to finish second in the MAAC conference.

VCU has been atop the A10 conference consistently for years now and plays a tough brand of defense behind head coach Mike Rhoades. The offense was the question last season but I’m expecting the offense to be really strong this year behind Adrian “Ace” Baldwin Jr. and Jayden Nunn. The Rams also brought in an interesting recruiting class who could contribute as well. The bottom line is VCU is not the team you want to see when your offense is now trying to find a new identity and quickly like Manhattan is.

Game Three: Farleigh Dickinson @ Loyola Chicago

It’s an A10-heavy first addition of Mid Major Money but for our last bet of the day, I’ll be betting against the A10 team. The Farleigh Dickinson Knights are (+26.5) point underdogs on the road and will be our last play. It’s a game of firsts as this will be FDU’s first game under new head coach Tobin Anderson and it will be Loyola Chicago’s first game as a member of the A10 Conference.

Loyola Chicago lost four seniors in the offseason and replaced them with two transfers Phil Alston and Jalen Quinn who will be asked to do a majority of the scoring. FDU also has two transfers as well as head coach Tobin Anderson brought his two playmakers from his previous school at the Divison 2 level. Quite frankly I just think this number is too high for Loyola Chicago to cover in the first game of the season and it will take them some time to get rolling on the offensive end of the floor.