Vote For These College Hoops Plays On Election Day

College Hoops on Election Day

Buried underneath Monday Night Football, the World Series wrapping up a week or so ago and offseason moves starting, the NBA madness over the past few weeks, college football playoffs approaching, the NHL schedule, and of course, today's Presidential election was the fact that college hoops started yesterday. It was a packed slate with virtually every team playing. Most of the games were cupcake matchups for the great teams, but we did get a win in the one and only play we had which was between two ranked teams. Today, I'm going to take a few different shots on games listed on the short schedule.

FIU vs. Rice, 7:00 ET

FIU didn't have a very impressive year last year, but they were at least competitive in most games. They ended the season with an 11-22 record. They did a decent job at forcing turnovers last year, but if they didn't get turnovers, they allowed virtually everyone to score on them. The team has lost a few players from last year and will look to find some improvements both defensively, but will need to find some scoring options on the roster. For Rice, they didn't have much better of luck last season, also posting a losing record. They added a bit of talent through the transfer portal, but the talent isn't exactly top-tier. Rice had to get players from lower levels but most of them were talented scorers at their previous colleges. Defense is typically about effort, and I do think FIU could increase their effort, but I also think the Rice players are looking to make a name for themselves immediately. If FIU had a few more players staying from last year, I'd probably feel differently, but I'll take Rice to cover the -6 here as I think they should be more offensively sound than FIU. 

Oct 23, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley talks to media during the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Media Day at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Idaho State vs. Arizona State, 9:00 ET

If you've never heard about Idaho State or anyone on their team, I wouldn't be surprised. They haven't been a very good program, but were successful last year with the most wins they've had under their current head coach. The biggest concern for the team has to be that they've lost their four top scorers. How are they going to replace all of that production? This will obviously provide a lot of opportunity for players to step up, and Arizona State's defense has never been great. Last season, the Sun Devils were not very good. They went out and added a bunch of players from the transfer portal, and have one of their top scorers coming back. One of the biggest additions is Jayden Quaintance, who has been speculated as a potential NBA Draft pick. He was viewed as a 5-star recruit and could potentially be a leader on this team. I think there isn't much of a question that Arizona State is the better team, but I am not sure they are 18 points better. I lean towards taking the point with Idaho State. I will play the over in the game though as I think both teams should be able to get to 70 points. 

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