Our free College Basketball Picks are out for Friday, November 12th, 2021! Make sure you check our College Basketball Picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free College Basketball Picks for the best games on today’s schedule!
Army @ #9 Duke – 7pm ET
Following their eight point win over Kentucky, Duke will play in front of their fans yet again, this time hosting Army. While Duke got the win to start their season, Army’s win over New Paltz was massive, winning by 31 points.
Denis Kirilov
Duke started off their season with an important 78:71 win over Kentucky. Their freshman, Paolo Banchero, came up clutch with his 22 points and 7 rebounds. Trevor Keels also has huge potential as a basketball player and can make the difference for Duke this year. Mark Williams and A.J. Griffin further complete their title-contending team. They have set their eyes on the trophy once again as they would like to repeat their 2015 NCAA season. Duke had a disappointing last season finishing with 13 wins and 11 losses which put them in 10th place in the Atlantic Coast Division. This will be Mike Krzyzewski’s last season as a head coach of the Blue Devils and he will do whatever he can to lift the trophy once again and leave the club at the top.
Army West Point, on the other hand, smashed New Paltz by 31 points in their opener. They have been a tough contender to encounter last year finishing with 12 wins and 9 losses in the Patriot Conference. Their guard, Josh Caldwell, was the best defensive player of their conference last year and he will try to impress even more in his last year for West Point. Charlie Peterson made a good performance on Wednesday as he managed to drop 17 points and added 8 rebounds to his statistics. However, I think that Duke will be uplifted from the fact that Mike Krzyzewski will leave them after the end of the season and they will keep their momentum with another dominant win.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Duke -24.5 (-110)
The #DukeMBBTop5 is back with the best of the best from a huge dub over Kentucky! #ChampionsClassic pic.twitter.com/c0yhthrzb8
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) November 10, 2021
Michael Lantz
As Mike Krzyzewski’s farewell tour continues, his second game of the year comes against Army, his alma-mater and the school that gave him his head coaching start. It’ll be a great matchup for sentimental value; unfortunately not much else.
Duke look ready to avenge missing last year’s tournament, as they beat #10 Kentucky 79-71, for their first game of the season. Prized recruit Paolo Banchero lived up to the hype as he scored 22 points and pulled down 7 rebounds, as he instantly shot to the top of premature NBA mock drafts across the web. Banchero wasn’t the only prized recruit whose talents were on display, as freshman Trevor Keels also put up 25 points giving Duke quite the arsenal of young talent. They’ll expect to continue that play when they face Army on Friday Night. In recent years, you can usually count on Army to hover around .500 for their season record. In the weak Patriot League, that’s not gonna cut it when they have to face national powerhouses. In Coach K’s first home game in his final season, against his alma-mater, I expect Duka to be untamed.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Duke -24.5 (-110)
Tony Battalio
Duke opened up the 2021-22 college basketball season with a huge win on Tuesday night against Kentucky. Leading the way for the Blue Devils in that one was two superstar freshmen with a pair of 20+ point performances. Paolo Banchero scored 22, while Trevor Keels added 25 to lead Duke to a 79-71 victory in Madison Square Garden. If this early season high profile matchup gave us a glimpse of what is coming this season, Duke may be gearing up a national title run in Coach K’s farewell tour.
As for the Army Black Knights this game against the Blue Devils on the road will be their second game of the year as well. Army opened the season up with a huge 83-52 win against SUNY-New Paltz on Tuesday night. This will be the first game of a back to back for both schools as part of the Duke Veterans Day Weekend Showcase, Saturday night Duke will take on Campbell and Army will play Hartford. As for the result of this game, it should be all Blue Devils on Friday night at home. While Army is a decent team in their own right, they do not have anywhere near the talent the Duke Blue Devils do.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Duke -24.5 (-110)
UIW @ #8 Baylor – 8:30pm ET
The #8 ranked Baylor Bears start their season at home against the Cardinals. While this is Baylor’s first game, UIW have already had a game and lost by 18, meaning the Bears could start their season off with a bang!
Denis Kirilov
The #8-seed Baylor and the defending national champions, Baylor, will try to start off the season in the best way possible against the team of University Incarnate Word. Their opponents have already lost a match this season. On Tuesday night they played Texas State at home and the game finished 57:75 in favor of the guests. Incarnate Word are in a 7-game losing streak (including the games from the 2020/21 season) and this number would most likely grow even more.
It’s going to be really interesting to see the new look of Baylor this year. They parted ways with some of their best players in the winning season like Jared Butler and Davion Mitchell who were drafted in the NBA. MaCio Teague is another player who graduated and went on to play in the NBA G League. However, this season promises to be another positive one for Baylor’s fans as they have Matthew Mayer, Adam Flagler, and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua. The team consists of great depth and it can surely compete with the best during March Madness. I believe that the difference between both teams is obvious and it shouldn’t be a problem for Baylor to beat them by a huge margin. I can’t say for sure whether they will cover the spread, but that’s what I will suggest picking in this match.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Baylor -33.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
The defending national champion Baylor Bears start their title defense Friday night against the University Incarnate Word. Baylor lost a few of last season’s stars to the NBA Draft/graduation including Davion Mitchell, Jared Butler, and MaCio Teague. Luckily, they still have plenty of last season’s championship DNA on their roster. Adam Flagler and Matthew Mayer (and his wonderful mullet) return after being fourth and fifth on the team in scoring last season. They also have a great freshman class, which includes five-star recruit Kendall Brown. Baylor might have lost some key talent, but they have experienced players ready to step up and young guys ready to showcase their talent. They should instantly be seen as top-seed contenders. Incarnate Word has the unfortunate task of being their first opponent on the season. UIW already lost their first contest against Texas State, losing by nearly 20. If that was the result there, expect the Baylor result to be even more gruesome.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Baylor -33.5 (-110)
Tony Battalio
Incarnate Word comes into this one at 0-1 after opening their season with a loss to Texas State on Tuesday by a score of 75-57. Leading the way for them in defeat was Sophomore Guard Josh Morgan with 16 Points, Morgan shot an efficient 6/8 from the field with two three balls and added 2 Free Throws in 29 minutes off of the bench. They will be looking to bounceback in this game against the number 8 team in the country the Baylor Bears. Last season Incarnate Word went 8-14 in a rather disappointing campaign in only their seventh year in Division 1.
As for the previously mentioned Baylor Bears this will be their season opener as they come into the year ranked eighth after last season’s impressive run that saw them capture a national championship with a 28-2 overall record. They will look to build on last year’s run by making a return trip to the Final Four and National Title game. As for the result of this game it will likely be all Baylor in this one. As they physically outmatch Incarnate Word in every spot on the floor and are way more talented as well. Baylor will be looking to become the first team to win back to back national championships in over 12 years, it has not been done since the Florida Gators accomplished the feat in the mid 2000s.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Baylor -33.5 (-110)
Indiana State @ #7 Purdue – 8:30pm ET
Both Indiana State and Purdue will put their perfect 1-0 records on the line in West Lafayette tonight. Their opponents may not have been anything to write home about, but they won confidently and comprehensively. Does that mean that Indiana State has a chance at knocking off a top-10 team?
Denis Kirilov
Indiana State will have a difficult time in their next game against Purdue as the hosts are an ambitious team with big traditions and a lot of experience. Last March, Purdue blew a great opportunity by surprisingly losing to North Texas after overtime in the 1/32 finals. They started off this season with a 29-point victory over Bellarmine. Sasha Stefanovic led the way for Purdue with his 23 points on 75% field goal attempts. Their center, Zach Edey, contributed with 16 points and 9 rebounds as he quite adroitly used his height of 7’4’’.
Indiana State is also 1-0 as they defeated Green Bay with 81:77. Cooper Neese, Kailex Stephens, and Xavier Bledson were most valuable for Indiana State in this game, but all of them had low FG% compared to the one of Purdue’s players. I think that many easy points will come off Zach Edey as he won’t have big problems in cutting apart the Indiana State’s defense. Having in mind that Indiana State is not afraid of taking risky shots and it doesn’t seem that they have been running the clock in their offensive plays, I believe we can go past 142.5 points.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Over 142.5 (-110)
Feels like we’ve seen this before. Dude is special!
See the conclusion on B1G+ pic.twitter.com/BODNg4xUsJ
— Purdue Mens Basketball (@BoilerBall) November 10, 2021
Michael Lantz
Friday night features an Indiana derby, as the Indiana State Sycamores travel to West Lafayette, Indiana to take on the #7 Purdue Boilermakers. Indiana State have come into their 2021-22 campaign looking to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011. They have a new coach in Josh Schertz who makes his Division I coaching debut after years at Division II’s Lincoln Memorial. They won a tight one against Green Bay, but unfortunately his second matchup is against a very good Purdue Boilermakers team. Purdue is anchored by Jaden Ivey, who was recently recognized as a preseason all-american. Purdue will look to challenge a very good Michigan Wolverines team for the Big 10 title. They got off to a good start against the Bellarmine Knights who they conquered by nearly 30 points. They look to continue that trend against Indiana State at home. Although the 23.5 spread is a bit big for this point in the season, I’ll go for it because it seems like the best bet for the money.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Purdue -23.5 (-110)
Tony Battalio
Both teams are coming into this interstate rivalry unbeaten at 1-0 after they both won their respective season openers. The Indiana State Sycamores picked up a close 81 to 77 victory over Green Bay. They were led in scoring by Junior Guard Cooper Neese with 18 Points. While the Purdue Boilermakers picked up a huge 96-67 win over the Bellarmine Knights. Purdue was led in scoring by Sasha Stefanovic with 23 Points. Last season Purdue posted a record of 18-10 and got upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by 13th seeded North Texas. As for Indiana State last year they went 15-10 and failed to make the NCAA Tournament again, they have not played in the tournament since 2011.As for the result of this one, Purdue should have little to no problem handling their business in this game. It is a contest that the Boilermakers should dominate from start to finish and they should easily walk away with a victory and a 2-0 start to the 2021-22 season. While the Sycamores have the ability to turn this season into their first NCAA March Madness berth in a decade they will be no match for Purdue in this one.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Purdue (-200000)
Arkansas State @ #11 Illinois – 9pm ET
Three nights after their big win over Jackson State, Illinois goes at it again, hosting Arkansas State. The Red Wolves also got off to a winning start, beating Harding, but the Fighting Illini are on a completely different level to that.
Denis Kirilov
The #11-seed Illinois started off their season in NCAA with a convincing victory over Jackson State with 71:47. They will try to make up for the upset they suffered against Loyola Chicago in 1/16 finals last March. They really had a great opportunity to go deeper into the tournament bracket, but they didn’t manage to seize it and broke under pressure. With just 23 minutes of play in the first game Jacob Grandison put up 20 points on 70% shooting and got 5 rebounds. The senior from Illinois is expected to have a huge impact on the team this year alongside Alfonso Plummer and Da’Monte Williams.
On the other hand, Arkansas State also started the season on a positive note after beating Harding by 26 points. Their ambitions are quite lower than Illinois’, but they have managed to keep their roster from the previous year. Marquis Eaton, Norchad Omier, Caleb Fields, Keyon Wesley, Christian Willis are all playing once again and I think this can be crucial for the outcome of the pick I will recommend. Here, I will choose to support the underdog and hope that they can withstand the sheer power of Illinois’ players and lose by anything less than 21 points.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Arkansas State +20.5 (-118)
Michael Lantz
The Illinois Fighting Illini, are coming off a season where they were the Big-10 Tournament champions, making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. Unfortunately, Illinois ran out of gas, losing in the second round to Sister Jean’s Loyola Illinois. They lost leading scorer Ayo Dosunmu to the draft, but are thrilled to have back double-double machine Kofi Cockburn who should be in the discussion for Big-10 Player of the Year when all is said and done.
The Fighting Illini had no problems in their season opener, beating Jackson State 71-47. While Arkansas State shouldn’t cause that many problems at home, you can never be sure when the season is so fresh. I would’ve liked to see the Illini beat Jackson State by more than 24—as crazy as that might sound. But, Arkansas State hasn’t made the tournament since 1999, and they haven’t had terribly impressive records over the past 10 years—most under .500. With the spread at 20.5, I’ll take the home team Illini to cover.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Illinois -20.5 (-104)
Tony Battalio
Both schools come into this game at 1-0 after picking up victories in their season openers on Tuesday night. The Arkansas State Red Wolves blew out Harding by a score of 81-55 and were led in scoring by Junior Guard Desi Sills who netted an impressive 21 Points to open up the season. Last year Arkansas State finished with a record of 11-13. Since joining the Division 1 ranks they have made only 1 NCAA Tournament appearance, all the way back in 1999.
As for the 11th ranked Illinois Fighting Illini they picked up an opening night win over Jackson State by a score of 71-47, Illinois was led by Jacob Grandison who scored a career high 20 Points in the blowout victory. Illinois comes off of last year’s impressive 24-7 year that saw a potential final four run cut short in the round of 32 by Loyola Chicago in what most would consider an upset. As for the result of this one I look for it to be all Fighting Illini as they have twice the talent that Arkansas State possesses. Illinois should have no issues coasting to victory in this early season match up.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Illinois (-7000)
#4 Villanova @ #2 UCLA – 11:30pm ET
The matchup of the evening and potentially of opening week sees UCLA host Villanova in an early top-5 battle. Both sides are coming off 35+ point wins in their opening games of the season, but how will they deal when the pressure is lifted?
Denis Kirilov
The main event for tomorrow in the NCAA is the match between Villanova and UCLA. Both teams have set their eyes on the trophy, but they both know this will be a long journey. After winning the tournament in 2018, the Villanova Wildcats found it difficult to get past the Elite Eight. Last season they were defeated by the future champions from Baylor in a close game in the 1/8 finals stage. Compared to last year, they have only lost Jeremiah Robinson-Earl who was drafted by the OKC Thunder. Justin Moore and Jermaine Samuels will be the players to watch this season in Villanova.
In UCLA things are also looking better than ever. The surprising semi-finalists from last year defeated CSU Bakersfield on Tuesday night as the team dropped 95 points and conceded just 58 points. The Bruins also kept most of their players for this season as well. Johnny Juzang will most certainly be the main player on the roster, but he will get help from Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell, and Jules Bernard. This matchup will be exciting to watch and I am expecting to go down the wire. However, I think that the home court advantage will give enough strength to UCLA players in order to close out the game.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: UCLA (-188)
Up next? …
No. 2⃣ UCLA (1-0) takes on No. 4⃣ Villanova (1-0) on Friday evening in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Game time is 8:30 p.m. (TV: ESPN2).
🗒️🏀: https://t.co/6GxV5PteBL pic.twitter.com/jeUKUCInko
— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) November 11, 2021
Michael Lantz
In Friday night’s marquee matchup, the #4 Villanova Wildcats take on the #2 UCLA Bruins, in what should be a thrill to watch. In UCLA’s first game of the season their offense lived up to the hype, as they put 95 points up against CSU Bakersfield. That was thanks to the three J’s: Jules Bernard, Johnny Juzang, and Jaime Jaquez Jr., who are going to be difficult for any team to contain. That being said, those three will definitely have their hands full against a potential one-seed Villanova squad.
Jay Wright’s team ran over Mount St. Marys on Tuesday night winning, 91-51. Guard Justin Moore went off for a career-high 27 points and an additional 7 assists. Forward tandem Jermaine Samuels and Brandon Slater added 17 each. This Villanova team has a lot of senior players who’ve built great chemistry together and can score on you in the backcourt and on the wings. This one should be a lot of fun, and there should be a good amount of offense. This one could really go either way and even though the Pac-12 can be an unpredictable conference both out of and within, I’ll give the Bruins the benefit of the doubt at home, even though I could see this one going as far as overtime.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: UCLA (-188)
Tony Battalio
This is easily the most anticipated matchup of the night and potentially the week after the opening champions classic on Tuesday as two top five teams square off in this early season marquee college basketball matchup. Both UCLA and Villanova come to this game at 1-0 on the year after picking up victory’s in their season openers. This will certainly be a back-and-forth game all the way down to the final whistle as both of these teams have national championship aspirations this season. Last season the Villanova Wildcats posted a record of 18 wins and 7 losses on their way to an NCAA sweet 16 appearance until they were knocked out of the tournament by the number three seed and eventual national champions Baylor Bears. As for the UCLA Bruins last year they posted a record of 22 Wins and 10 Losses on their way to a Final Four appearance before being knocked out of the tournament by runner up Gonzaga in Overtime.This is by far the most difficult game of the night to pick a winner in. However I believe the Villanova Wildcats will get the job done and this one and walk away with a huge early-season résumé builder and don’t be surprised if both of these teams meet up again later this year in the NCAA tournament at some point as they will both surely qualify for March Madness.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Villanova (+155)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
