Our free College Basketball picks are out for Monday, January 3rd, 2022! Make sure you check our expert 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!
#24 Wisconsin @ #3 Purdue – 7pm ET
This high-profile Big Ten Conference matchup should be a good one as two teams ranked inside the top 25 will meet on Monday evening in West Lafayette. The Wisconsin Badgers are nationally ranked at 24th in the country, while the Purdue Boilermakers are currently third but have spent time at #1 at times this season. Wisconsin has a record of 10-2 while Purdue is 12-1.
Denis Kirilov
The Wisconsin Badgers take on the strong Purdue Boilermakers in one of the most intriguing games on Monday in the NCAA. The 24th-seeded have lost twice this season as they were outlasted by Providence early in November and by Ohio State a month later. The team has been quite conservative as they have played a lot of close matches so far. They defeated a total of six teams by 6 points or less. Johnny Davis leads the way for the Badgers with his 20.8 points per game. His playing time also helped him grab the most rebounds, give the most assists, and get the most steals out of everyone from Wisconsin. Brad Davison is also doing a good job for the roster, but the whole team has been struggling from the field this season, scoring just 40.4% of the total shots attempted.
Purdue, on the other hand, clinched onto the top spot for the first time in their franchise history. They kept the first place for a little time as they were forced to give it away following a loss to Rutgers. In their next game, they were pushed into overtime against NC State, but fortunately, they won it. The team has been doing pretty well from the field, averaging 51.6%. Jaden Ivey and Sasha Stefanovic are leading the team, while Trevion Williams and Zach Edey are amazing with the little time they get on the court. I think that the Boilermakers will win this one, but I am not reluctant to trust them to cover their spread. It’s quite the opposite as I think the Badgers will be able to keep a close gap throughout the whole match. Hence, I will go with Wisconsin’s spread against Purdue.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Wisconsin +13 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
This is almost certain to be the best matchup of a weak Monday night of college hoops, as we get the third-ranked Purdue Boilermakers taking on a Wisconsin team that is ranked 24th. Purdue enters this one at 12-1, with their lone loss coming to Rutgers, a few days after taking over the number one ranking. Since that loss, they’ve continued to roll on with ease, and they look to keep that trend going as they now start to get deep into conference play.
Big Ten season. pic.twitter.com/l8q21bBKy6
— Purdue Mens Basketball (@BoilerBall) January 2, 2022
Wisconsin comes in at 10-2, and while they’ve looked good at times, as they have a few solid wins over Marquette, St. Mary’s, and Houston, they looked mediocre in losses (certainly not bad losses) to Providence and Ohio State. More important than the wins or losses though, is the fact that since the loss to OSU, they just don’t look like the same team, as they’ve squeaked by Nichols State and Illinois State, and had a game against George Mason canceled. The team that has shown up for the Badgers over the past two weeks won’t be beating the Boilermakers, especially not in West Lafayette, so give me Purdue and the points, even though the line sits at a relatively high 13.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Purdue -13 (-110)
Tony Battalio
The Wisconsin Badgers are currently 10-2 entering this game. They find themselves nationally ranked at #24 as well. The Badgers enter this one on a two-game winning streak as well, and with a record of 1-1 in the Big Ten after beating Indiana and losing to Ohio State. However, those last two victories were a lot closer than Badgers fans would’ve liked as they only beat Illinois State and Nicholls by a combined 7 points. They will have to improve and play better if they want to compete in one of the toughest conferences in college basketball over the next three months.
The Purdue Boilermakers are one of the best teams in college basketball this season. They are coming into this game with a record of 12-1 on the year as their lone loss was a conference loss to Rutgers that came on a buzzer-beating half-court heave. Since the loss to the Scarlet Knights, the Boilermakers have won their last four games, all by 10 or more points and they will be looking for their second Big Ten win in this one. As for the result of this game I expect exactly that as I have the Purdue Boilermakers winning this one at home, however, I have the Badgers covering the double-digit spread.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Wisconsin +13 (-110)
Washington @ #9 Arizona – 8pm ET
This PAC 12 matchup has the potential for an upset alert in this one. As the 5-5 Washington Huskies will travel to Arizona to play the formerly undefeated and 11-1 Wildcats on Monday evening. Arizona also comes in nationally ranked as ninth in the country. Washington has yet to play a conference game, while Arizona is 1-0.
Denis Kirilov
Arizona is coming off a loss from Tennessee that put an end to their 11-game winning streak. The Wildcats played well up until the game against the Volunteers that started quite badly for them. They even scored 52 points in the second half against Tennessee, but their opponents came up big as well and didn’t let them make the full comeback. Bennedict Mathurin has been playing on a very high level for the Wildcats, averaging 18.3 points. Christian Koloko has been clutch on defense as he leads the team in total rebounds, steals, and blocks per game. Averaging 3.3 blocks is a decent number for just over 20 minutes of playing time.
Washington is coming into this fixture on a 5-5 record. The Huskies dropped games against Utah Valley, Winthrop, and Nevada. The team relies much on Terrell Brown Jr. who averages 21.4 points per game. He has attempted nearly a third of the total shots for the Huskies and his 46.5% from the field have saved them on numerous occasions. Apart from him, Nate Roberts lead the way with 7.1 rebounds per game on under 20 minutes of average time played. The team’s problems come from their performance from the 3-point line. They have been terrible so far, averaging 28.5% from beyond the arc. I think that they won’t be able to withstand the power of Arizona as the hosts will be able to cover the spread in my opinion.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Arizona -22.5 (-118)
Noah Dunlap
Arizona takes on Washington Monday night in a game that was rescheduled from a few weeks back. This is set to be their first game in nearly two weeks, as they’ve had their past two games canceled due to Covid protocols. The last time out they struggled against a Tennessee team that ultimately handed the Wildcats their first loss of the year. With the layoff, expect this Arizona team, led by Christian Koloko and Bennedict Mathurin, to be rested and ready to start the conference run to get to March.
They get an average Washington team in this one. And that’s average at best. The Huskies come into this one at 5-5, with notable losses to Winthrop, Nevada, and Wyoming. Those aren’t losses that a team that wants to think they can compete with an Arizona team that may be one of the best in the country can afford to have. I like the Wildcats in a big way here, especially with this one being played in Tucson.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Arizona -22.5 (-118)
Tony Battalio
The Washington Huskies have been hit heavily by COVID-19 Pandemic cancellations and postponements. They only played two games in December as their other four games were postponed or canceled. This game against the Arizona Wildcats was originally supposed to be played at the beginning of December, and now it will finally take place at the beginning of January. The Huskies are currently on a one-game losing streak after being blown out by Utah Valley in their last contest of 2021. They will be looking to get PAC-12 Conference play off to a good start with a victory in this one.
The Arizona Wildcats are one of the top teams in the country after two months of the 2021-22 college basketball season. They just recently had their eleven-game winning streak broken in their last game by the Tennessee Volunteers. They were supposed to play their first game of 2022 against the powerful USC Trojans however that game ended up being postponed as well. Now they will look to go 2-0 in conference play, after beating Oregon State in early December. As for the result of this game, I expect Arizona to do exactly that as I have them picking up the victory in this one at home over the Washington Huskies.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Arizona -22.5 (-118)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
