This article is part of our College Basketball Picks series.
The Emerald Coast Classic from Niceville, Florida wraps up on Saturday, and I'm here to preview some of the action. Here are my best bets for the day.
Alabama vs. 
Oregon
Alabama was stunned by Ohio State on Friday 92-81, which handed the Crimson Tide their first loss of the season. Despite the outcome, they still boast the nation's highest adjusted offensive efficiency rating, highest effective field goal percentage and third-highest three-point percentage at 44. The Tide have enjoyed some explosive teams in recent years under head coach Nate Oats, and this season is no exception.
Oregon, meanwhile, suffered its second loss on Friday at the hands of Santa Clara. The Ducks came in as six-point favorites, but you'll know if you follow my picks I was all over the Broncos in the upset. Oregon carries a couple of major red flags, one being the team being one of the worst free-throw shooting teams by barely making 58 percent. This flaw showed up on Friday as they only made 12-of-21 attempts. The other issue for the Ducks is their lack of scoring in the paint as they've made just 50 percent on two-pointers, which is the average among all D1 teams.
Alabama offers higher efficiency ratings than Oregon on both offense and defense. And considering the Ducks have displayed more notable flaws so far, all signs point to the Crimson Tide bouncing back on Saturday. I'm laying the points with Alabama in this one.
College Basketball Best Bet: Alabama -8.5
Ohio State vs. 
Santa Clara
Ohio State looked impressive in running past Alabama on Friday, though it's going to be tough to repeat the same shooting performance on back-to-back days. They made 10-of-18 shots from behind the arc and went 28-of-30 on free throws, with the former number tied for the third-most threes they've made while equaling the most free-throw attempts in a game since the start of last season. Either way, the Buckeyes are winning mostly thanks to their offense that ranks 27th in efficiency compared to 55th on defense. They'll once again need to make a large number of outside shots on Saturday if they want to take down their opponent.
With a perfect 6-0 record, Santa Clara boasts the third-longest win streak in the country. The Broncos have already collected two quality wins at Stanford and versus Oregon, so we don't have many reasons to doubt their potential of doing well. Santa Clara ranks 98th in overall efficiency per KenPom, yet a closer look reveals this squad is much better than it appears. They're proving to be one of the toughest teams in the paint sitting top-15 in both two-point field goal percentage and two-point percentage allowed and top-65 in both offensive and defensive rebounding averages. Given these elite numbers near the basket, it's hardly surprising to see the Broncos carrying the nation's third-tallest team in average height per KenPom.
Based on the various specific categories, Santa Clara appears much closer to Ohio State than the overall efficiency numbers suggest. The Broncos played their style of game against Oregon and won in a similar manner they've applied to the rest of their contests. Ohio State, on the other hand, seems unlikely to replicate its incredible Friday shooting effort. The Buckeyes will still probably come out on top, but I'm betting the Broncos will make them work extremely hard on every possession. I'm going with Santa Clara and taking the points.
I'm also taking the under in this game as both sides are coming off high-intensity games on Friday. And it's still early in the season, so I don't think they'll be able to match the same energy.
College Basketball Best Bet: Under and Santa Clara +7.5
Saturday College Basketball Best Bets:
Here's a recap of my best college basketball bets for Saturday:
- Alabama -8.5
- Ohio State vs. Santa Clara - Under 148.5
- Santa Clara +7.5
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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