This Week's Top NCAA Basketball Picks

There were a lot of great games and upsets in college basketball this weekend, Duke snapped a two game losing streak by defeating Louisville on the road on Saturday, Arizona upset Utah, Iowa State upset Kansas, Texas upset West Virginia, and Kansas State upset Baylor. But the biggest upset of the weekend had to be unranked Ole Miss going on the road, and defeating 19th ranked Arkansas. This week, there are bound to be more exciting games and upsets, and we will take a look at some of the top games to watch this week, and make our college basketball picks.

#17 Texas Longhorns (13-4, 2-2 Big 12) vs. TCU Horned Frogs (14-3, 1-3), Monday, January 19, 7 PM. ET. ESPNU.

The Longhorns snapped a two game winning streak, when they upset West Virginia on Saturday, and will be looking for their 10 straight win against TCU, and improve their position in the Big 12 standings at the same time. They got solid production from Jonathan Holmes and Cameron Ridley, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and 19 points respectively, after two straight disappointing outings. 

The Horned Frogs finally snapped their 23 game losing streak in the Big 12, when they defeated Texas Tech on Saturday, and also ended a three game losing streak in the process. Kyan Anderson, who leads the Horned frogs in scoring, with a 13.9 ppg average this season, came up big against Texas Tech, and finished with 19 points. He will be expected to lead the charge in this game, and help TCU end their nine game losing streak to Texas.

Game Odds: Texas is favored on the point spread by 2.5 points, the money line is set in favor of Texas at -140, and TCU at +120, the Over/Under on the total points scored is at 120.5.

My Pick: Texas has struggled offensively lately, but they are a better rebounding and defensive team, and will use that to their advantage, and defeat TCU for the 10th straight time.

#19 Oklahoma Sooners (12-5, 3-2 Big 12) vs. #11 Kansas Jayhawks (14-3, 3-1), Monday, January 19, 9 PM. ET. ESPN.

The Sooners are coming off a defeat of their interstate rivals, Oklahoma State, which ended a two game losing streak for them. The team was led by Buddy Hield, who finished the game with 27 points, and a perfect field goal percentage, shooting 10-10, including 4-4 from 3 point range. The team hopes his hot shooting will continue against Kansas, and help them get the win.

Kansas lost their last game on the road at Iowa State, and will be happy to be at home, where they haven't lost this season, in this game. In their last game, their defense let them down, and allowed Iowa State to shoot 50.8% from the field, they will need to do a better job defensively against Oklahoma, and the hot shooting Buddy Hield.

Game Odds: Kansas is favored on the point spread by 5 points, the money line is set heavily in favor of Kansas at -225, and Oklahoma at +185, the Over/Under on the total points scored is at 139.

My Picks: Despite losing their last game, Kansas has been playing well this season, and will win their 14th straight home game against Oklahoma.

#4. Villanova Wildcats (17-1, 4-1 Big East) vs. Georgetown Hoyas (12-5, 4-2) Monday, January 19, 9 PM. ET.

The Wildcats have won four straight games, after losing their first game of the season to Seton Hall. They defeated Pennsylvania by double digits in their last game, thanks to Daniel Ochefu, who scored a career high 21 points, and grabbed 10 rebounds. They will be trying to extend their conference lead with a win against the second placed Hoyas.

The Hoyas have lost three straight games against Villanova, and are coming off a last second victory against Butler, in which Isaac Copeland bailed the team out with a winning three point shot, with 5.8 seconds left. They are 1-2 this season, against ranked opponents, and will have a tough time keeping up with the Wildcats, who have five players that score in double digits.

Game Odds: Villanova is favored on the point spread by 4 points, the money line is set in favor of Villanova, at -180, and Georgetown at +160, the Over/Under on the total points scored is at 132.

My Pick: Villanova is the more complete team, offensively and defensively, and will win this game.

Iowa Hawkeyes (13-5, 4-1 Big Ten) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (16-2, 4-1) Tuesday, January 20, 9 PM. ET.

The Hawkeyes have won five of their last six games, and have defeated a couple of ranked teams along the way. In their last game, they defeated Ohio State, completing the season sweep, and will now turn their focus on Wisconsin. Leading scorer Aaron Whits, who was on the bench for most of the first half, came up big for the Hawkeyes in the second half, scoring 18 points, and will be expected to lead them against Wisconsin.

The Badgers are trying to keep up with Maryland in their conference, in their last game against Nebraska, Frank Kaminsky came up with 22 points in his return from injury, and Bronson Koenig, played well in place of Traevon Jackson, who is out for an extended period. 

Game Odds: The odds for this game are not yet available.

My Pick: Iowa has been tested by good teams, which is something Wisconsin hasn't been, and will pull off the upset in Madison.

LSU Tigers (13-4, 2-2 SEC) vs. Florida Gators (10-7, 3-1 SEC), Tuesday, January 20, 7 PM. ET.

The Tigers have gone 2-2 in their last four games, and lost a close game to Texas A&M at home on Saturday. Jordan Mickey had a big game for the Tigers, finishing with 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 blocks, in a losing effort. The Tigers will be hoping for a similar performance from him against the Gators, who have defeated them six straight times.

Florida had big expectations this season, after making it to the Final Four last year, but they have disappointed so far. They have won three of their last four games, and are coming off a loss to Georgia on Saturday, which ended their 24 game SEC winning streak. Leading scorer Dorian Finney-Smith, scored 11 points, which was below his season average of 13.9, and the team shot 50% from the floor, but they couldn't overcome their 19 turnovers. 

Game Odds

The odds for this game are not yet available.

My Pick: Florida will get back on track, and win their seventh straight game against LSU.

Michigan Wolverines (11-7, 4-2 Big Ten) vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-9, 2-4), Tuesday, January 20, 6:30 PM. ET.

The Wolverines have won three of their last four games, including their game against Northwestern on Saturday, which was won on a last second 3-point shot by freshman guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, who found himself wide open, because the Wildcats were focused on preventing leading scorers Caris LeVert, and Zak Irvin, from scoring. LeVert and Irvin will be expected to lead the Wolverines offense against Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights have lost two straight games, and three of their last four, but their lone win came against 4th tanked Wisconsin, so they are capable of pulling the upset. In their last game against Minnesota, Myles Mack, came up big for the team, and finished the game with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals, in a losing effort. The team will need him and Kadeem Jack, who has also been playing well, to step up and lead them to victory.

My Pick: Michigan will win a close game.

Tennessee Volunteers (11-5, 3-1 SEC) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (10-6, 1-3 SEC), Tuesday, January 20, 9 PM. ET.

The Volunteers have won four of their last five games, and are coming off a victory over Missouri. Armani Moore was the hero of the game for Tennessee, finishing the game with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Leading scorer Josh Richardson finished with 8 points on 22% shooting, and will need a better performance than that, against South Carolina.

South Carolina has lost three of four games, and is coming off a road loss to Auburn. Their defense is one of the best in the country, but their offense has stalled lately. Laimonas Chatkevicius came up big for the Gamecocks in a losing effort, with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and leading scorer Duane Notice, added 16 points, for his first double digit scoring game in their last four games. South Carolina will need a more consistent performance from Notice, to get back to their winning ways.

Game Odds

My Pick: Tennessee also struggles offensively, which will work to South Carolina's advantage, and help them win the game.

Missouri Tigers (7-10, 1-3 SEC) vs. Texas A&M Aggies (11-5, 2-2 SEC), Wednesday, January 21, 7 PM. ET.

The Tigers have lost three straight games, and will be trying to end their losing streak when they play the Aggies. They played with a lot of effort against Tennessee on Saturday, but it wasn't enough to get the win. Namon Wright was the only player to score in double digits, and the rest of the team needs to step up, if they are going to defeat A&M.

The Aggies have won two straight games, and have a good opportunity to make it three, when they play Missouri on Wednesday. In their last game, they gave LSU their first home loss of the season, thanks to the heroics of Jalen Jones, who finished with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. He will be counted upon again, to lead the Aggies to victory against Missouri.

Game Odds

The Odds for this game is not yet available.

My Pick: The Aggies should be able to win this game in a convincing manner.

Alabama Crimson Tide (12-5, 2-2 SEC) vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (13-4, 2-2 SEC), Thursday, January 22, 7 PM. ET.

After a hot start to the season, the Crimson Tide has lost two straight games, and will be trying to rebound against the Razorbacks. In their last game against top ranked Kentucky, Alabama was unable to get their offense going, and leading scorer Levi Randolph could only manage 13 points. They will be expecting him to be more assertive against Arkansas.

The Razorbacks also had a hot start to the season, and have also lost two straight games. In their loss to Ole Miss, their defense let them down, but leading scorer Bobby Portis, played very well, and finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocks in a losing effort.

Game Odds

The Odds for this game are not yet available.

My Pick: Arkansas has played well at home this season, and will get the win.

#7 Arizona Wildcats (16-2, 4-1 Pac 12) vs. Stanford Cardinal (13-4, 4-1 Pac 12) Thursday, January 22, 9 PM. ET.

The Wildcats have played very well this season, and made up for their losses to unranked UNLV and Oregon State, with a dominant win against 8th ranked Utah on Saturday. In that game, they were led by senior guard T.J. McConnell, who finished the game with 16 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal. 

Stanford has won three straight games, and is 2-1 against ranked opponents, so they will provide a tough test for Arizona. In their last game against the defending champions Connecticut, Chasson Randle was too much for the Connecticut defense to handle, and finished the game with 23 points 1 rebound, 5 assists, and four steals. He will be the focal point of their offense once again, when they play Arizona.

Game Odds

The betting odds for this game are not yet available.

My Pick: The Cardinal will pull off the upset, and defeat Arizona.

These are our expert picks for some of the biggest games this week, but keep in mind that this is college basketball, where the top teams can get upset on any given day.