The small Friday night college basketball slate gives us a chance to watch teams that are typically not on our radar.
Wyoming and Colorado State are two teams that fit into that category. The Cowboys and Rams are at the top of a crowded Mountain West standings.
Both teams face weaker foes on Friday night and are in good spots to cover. The other marquee Mountain West game between Boise State and Fresno State tips off at 11 p.m. As much as I'd love to watch that game, we have a full Saturday of basketball ahead and I need some rest.
The MAC and Patriot League also appear on the Friday slate and I have one pick from each conference.
Friday CBB Picks
Overall Record: 129-162-1 (4-4 Thursday)
Lehigh (-4.5) at Holy Cross (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Holy Cross is one of the worst teams in Division 1.
The Crusaders rank 341st in two-point offense and they are 343rd in offensive adjusted efficiency on KenPom.
Lehigh beat Holy Cross by eight points in their first meeting and the Mountain Hawks are 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 games.
Holy Cross lost nine of its last 10 games and it failed to eclipse the 65-point mark in seven of those nine defeats.
Lehigh does not have a great offense, but it does shoot three percent better from the field and it has been much better over the last 10 games than Holy Cross.
Wyoming (-7.5) at Air Force (6 p.m. ET)
Wyoming averages 18 more points per game than Air Force.
The Cowboys have the fifth-best two-point offense and they rank inside the Top 25 in four offensive metrics on KenPom.
Wyoming faces a steep contrast in styles against Air Force, who ranks 346th in adjusted tempo. The Falcons do not like to play high-scoring games. They have not hit the 70-point mark since December 4.
As long as Wyoming can play its offensive style, it will come away from Colorado Springs with a double-digit win.
Ohio at Buffalo (Over 149.5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Ohiovers?
Buffalovers?
Not sure which pun to use more here.
Ohio is 4-0-1 to the over in its last five games.
Buffalo plays at the 19th-best tempo and it hit three overs in the last six games. All of those totals were set above 150 points.
On top of that, who does not love betting a MAC over on a Friday night?
UNLV at Colorado State (-13.5) (9 p.m. ET, FS1)
Colorado State has one of the most efficient offenses in the country.
The Rams rank fourth in effective field-goal percentage, eighth in two-point percentage and 17th in three-point percentage.
UNLV struggled in its last road game in Mountain West play. The Rebels fell by 25 points to San Diego State and it could meet a similar fate in Fort Collins.
Colorado State earned three of its last four wins by double digits and it is capable of producing the same type of dominance against a bottom-tier Mountain West squad in UNLV.