Arkansas vs North Dakota State 11/7/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The North Dakota State Bison and the Arkansas Razorbacks meet in college basketball action from Bud Walton Arena on Monday.

The North Dakota State Bison come into the 2021-22 season looking to build on one of the better seasons in recent memory, finishing the year at 23-10 including a 13-5 mark in Summit League conference play, earning the #2 spot in the conference tournament. The Bison would take out Denver and Oral Roberts in the quarters and semis before falling 75-69 to South Dakota State in the conference tournament championship game. The challenge for North Dakota State this year, will be replacing four starters, including two of the Bison’s best from last year in Rocky Kreuser and Sam Griesel, with Kreuser the Bison’s leading scorer and rebounder while Griesel was 2^nd in each category. Grant Nelson does return as a double-digit scorer for NDSU’s squad last year, averaging 11.6 PPG and 4.9 RPG, but the rest of the lineup is relatively unproven, but JUCO transfer Jacari White will have his shot to make some noise as will Luke Yoder, who scored 11.6 PPG for Illinois Wesleyan last year, Dezmond McKinney will also have a key role after logging 9.9 PPG last season.

The Arkansas Razorbacks will be looking to build on another solid year under Eric Musselman, finishing the year at 28-9, including 13-5 in SEC conference play. The Razorbacks would beat LSU in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals before falling to Texas A&M in the semis. As a 4-seed in the NCAA tournament, the Razorbacks would upend Vermont, New Mexico State and top-seeded Gonzaga before falling to Duke in the Elite Eight. This is one of the more anticipated seasons in recent memory for the Hogs, but it’s also coming with a ton of turnover. The lineup will be completely different, losing guys like JD Notae, Stanley Umude, Jaylin Williams, Au’Diese Toney, Chris Lykes, Connor Vanover and Trey Wade all from last year’s group. But Musselman hit the transfer portal hard and also has the #2 recruiting class in the country, led by #3 overall prospect Eric Smith Jr. who looks to be the most NBA ready prospect in the NCAA this season. Anthony Black is also a do-it-all freshman at 6’7” who can run point but also bang in the post. Jordan Walsh is also another freshman that you’ll hear a lot about mainly because of his play on the defensive end of the floor. The transfers are really good though with Ricky Council IV bringing 12 PPG over from Wichita State while Makhel and Mekhi Mitchell bring the Twin Towers from Rhode Island as both averaged 10+ PPG last season. Jalen Graham and Trevon BRazile are also quality transfers from Arizona State and Missouri respectively.

North Dakota State is 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 games overall and 6-0-1 ATS in their last 7 road games while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 Monday games. Arkansas is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 home games while the over is 7-3 in their last 10 games overall.

I get the reasoning for backing the Bison here with the points, as it’s a lot for a season opener However, Arkansas reloaded in a big way, and this looks like another Eric Musselman team that’s primed and ready for a run to the elite eight at the very least. I am high on this Arkansas team and I think it starts with a rout of a rebuilding North Dakota State team here. Give me Arkansas laying the big number.