This article is part of our College Basketball Picks series.
Riding a hot start to the season by going 7-2 in his last three days, Steve Peralta returns to share his best bets for Saturday's college hoops slate.
Long Beach State at 
DePaul
Long Beach State dropped its season opener to Portland, but the loss isn't as bad as it might look. After all, Portland is the same program that defeated Villanova a season ago.
Overall, the Beach has been trending upward for the past two years and have gone 23-12 against conference opponents in that span. This recent success carries a bit more weight considering Long Beach State ranks 11th among all D1 teams in roster continuity and 36th in experience.
DePaul, on the other hand, sits 286th in roster continuity, so it's reasonable to wonder how quickly this new group of players can mesh and develop with each other. And it's an even greater question given DePaul already lost its first game of the season 82-74 when hosting Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday. The Mastodons rank 263rd on KenPom's efficiency standings and haven't finished higher than 237 since before 2020, making this loss much harder to sugarcoat compared to LBSU's defeat. We never want to overreact to a single outcome, though these results can be illuminating early in the season.
Looking at the bottom line, Long Beach State is simply the more trustworthy team. DePaul lost 13 of 14 games to end last season, and its only win was by one point. I'm taking the Beach in this matchup.
College Basketball Best Bet: Long Beach State +1
New Mexico State at 
UC Irvine
Up until last year, New Mexico State had continually finished at the top or near the top of the Western Athletic Conference for seemingly a decade. Unfortunately for the Aggies, it all fell apart last year. Former head coach Chris Jans left to join Mississippi State after the 2021-22 season, causing New Mexico State to hire Greg Heiar for the following campaign. The season was an utter disaster as a hazing incident eventually led to Heiar's firing and the program was suspended in February for the remainder of the season.
In light of this very recent turmoil, it's not shocking to discover New Mexico State has zero returning minutes from last season. KenPom currently has them slotted at No. 200 on his efficiency standings, but that seems optimistic based on the fact the team is effectively starting from scratch.
UC Irvine, in sharp contrast, finds themselves at the other end of the roster continuity rankings boasting the 38th-highest percentage of returning minutes. The Anteaters were a feisty group last year and won 15 of 20 conference games before falling to CS-Fullerton in the Big West tournament. With most of the team returning, we should expect a similarly competitive squad on the court throughout the season.
UC Irvine lost its first game to San Jose State, yet we can't overlook the quality of the opponent. San Jose State was no pushover last season having finished 97th in overall efficiency, so there's no shame in dropping a road matchup on Opening Night. Now, UC Irvine returns home to face a rebuilding New Mexico State team.
All in all, UC Irvine is the far superior team and are at home. I'm laying the points with the Anteaters in this one. I'm also jumping on the under. The number isn't too low, and this is mostly the same UC Irvine squad that held Oregon to 56 points in Eugene a year ago on this exact date. I'm betting the Anteaters' defense will get the job done and help us hit the under.
College Basketball Best Bet: UC Irvine -8.5 & Under 138.5
Saturday College Basketball Best Bets:
Here's a recap of my best college basketball bets for Saturday:
- Long Beach State +1
- UC Irvine -8.5
- NMSU at UC Irvine - Under 138.5
For up-to-date information on the latest college basketball betting odds and props from multiple sportsbooks, check out the college basketball odds page on RotoWire.
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