Free College Basketball Picks Today for Saturday, December 16th, 2023

Our free College Basketball picks are out for Saturday, December 16th, 2023! Make sure you check our College Basketball picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free College Basketball picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!

LSU @ #19 Texas – 12PM ET

Tony Battalio

LSU comes into this game looking to continue their solid start to the regular season and pick up an upset win on the road against Texas here on Saturday afternoon. Next year this will be an SEC conference matchup however this year it is still a huge nonconference matchup for both teams, and a résumé building opportunity for both teams. LSU will be looking to take advantage of that and pick up the win here in this game, as they look to establish themselves as one of the top 25 teams in the country throughout the early part of the regular season. LSU comes into this game with six victories through their first 10 games of the regular season and they will look for their seventh one of the year here in Houston on Saturday afternoon. They come into this game with a little bit of momentum after picking up a blowout victory in their previous game and they will look for their second consecutive victory here in Houston on Saturday afternoon.

It has been a solid start to the regular season for the Texas Longhorns and they will look to keep them a minimum rolling throughout this game on Saturday afternoon against LSU. Texas comes into this game as winners of seven out of their first nine games on the season and they will look to grab their eighth victory of the year here on Saturday afternoon in Houston. They are currently ranked in the top 25 of the country as they come into this game ranked 19th and they will be looking to improve their ranking with a string of quality performances throughout the week. They have been incredible on the offensive end of the court as they are averaging 79 points per game throughout their first nine games of the season. They are coming off of a blowout victory in their previous game and they will look for a second consecutive win here in this one on Saturday afternoon. That is exactly what I expect as I look for Texas to grab the win over LSU here on Saturday in Houston.

#2 Kansas @ Indiana – 12:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

Kansas is off to an incredible start to the regular season and they come into this game ranked second in the country after opening up the year as the number one team. They will look to regain that number one ranking and it starts with grabbing a quality victory in this game on Saturday afternoon against Indiana as they look to take down another one of their fellow bluebloods of the sport. They arguably look like the most dangerous team in the country right now, and they will look to keep them a minimum rolling throughout this game on Saturday against the Hoosiers as they look to rack up another early season résumé building win. Kansas comes into this game as winners of nine out of their first 10 games on the season and they will look for their 10th victory of the year here on Saturday afternoon against Indiana. The Jayhawks are on a roll right now and they will look to keep the momentum rolling throughout this game on Saturday as well. 

The Indiana Hoosiers have an opportunity to pull off a massive upset in this game on Saturday afternoon at home against the number two team in the country. They come to this game as winners of seven out of their first nine games on the season, and a victory in this game would almost surely put them in the top 25 rankings next week. They will be looking to bounce back from their blowout loss and their previous game to Auburn as it was an unusual performance for a team like Indiana, who has been successful throughout the early part of the year. The game got away from them early and they gave up over 100 points to Auburn and that is something you will likely not see the rest of the season. They will get back on track in this game against Kansas at home as they have their home crowd behind them and one of the toughest venues in the nation. However, unfortunately for Indiana I don’t think they can overcome Kansas. I look for them to fall in a close and competitive game here on Saturday.

#13 Clemson @ Memphis – 3PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Clemson Tigers come into this game undefeated through their first nine games of the regular season, and they will look to further establish themselves as a contender with a 10th consecutive victory. Clemson is currently ranked 13th in the country and they will look to establish themselves as a top 10 team with another quality performance in this game as well. PJ Hall has been incredible for the Clemson Tigers throughout the early part of the season and his play has helped lead them to the undefeated start to the regular season and nine consecutive victories to open up the year as well. They are averaging nearly 80 points per game on the offensive end of the court and giving up less than 70 points per game on defense which is a recipe for long-term success this season. They will look to slow down a solid Memphis offense that is also averaging around 80 points per game here in this one on Saturday on the road in Memphis. 

The Memphis Tigers are off to a quality start to the regular season, and they will look for a résumé building victory here on Saturday afternoon at home against Clemson. Memphis comes into this game as winners of seven out of their first nine games on the season and a victory in this game would likely put them in the top 25 rankings next week. It would also give them a huge résumé building victory early on in the year in a massive momentum boost heading to the last couple weeks of 2023. As successful as they’ve been on the offensive end of the court, scoring nearly 80 points per game they are giving up around 75 points per game and that has been the downfall in their two losses throughout the early part of the year. That is something they will be looking to avoid this game against a Clemson team that is also averaging around 80 points per game on the offensive end of the court. However, I don’t look for them to be able to stop Clemson or PJ Hall in this game as I look for the Tigers to come in on the road and pick up the victory over the Tigers at home.

#1 Arizona @ #3 Purdue – 4:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Arizona Wildcats come into this game as the number one team in the country and they will look to further establish themselves as the number one team in the country with a victory here on Saturday afternoon. This would be a massive résumé building victory for Arizona throughout the early part of the season if they could take down the number three team in the country here in this one before heading into PAC 12 conference play in a couple weeks. They come into this game with eight consecutive victories to open up the regular season and they will look for a ninth consecutive win here on Saturday afternoon on the road in Indianapolis, in one of their toughest challenges of the year.  They have easily looked like the best team in the country throughout the early part of the season, as they are absolutely loaded on both ends of the floor with superstars at all five positions. As long as they remain healthy and consistent, they will likely be the favorites to win the title into the tournament.

The Purdue Boilermakers have an opportunity to put themselves back into the number one spot in the country if they can grab the victory here on Saturday afternoon over Arizona. This is a Purdue team that arguably has the best player in the country on their roster in the form of Zach Edey, and he will likely win national player of the year award honors if he remains consistent throughout the rest of the season. Purdue comes into this game as winners of nine out of their first 10 games on the regular season, and they are still looking to shake off their blemish on the road at Northwestern, where they blew a hefty lead in their Big Ten opener. Despite this game taking place in Indianapolis, this is still arguably a home game for Purdue and they will look to use that to their advantage and upset the Arizona Wildcats here in this one. This is one of those games that is very hard to pick a winner so I’m going with the safe bet of taking over on the total points here in this one. As I look for this to be a high scoring fair on Saturday.

#9 North Carolina @ #14 Kentucky – 5:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

The North Carolina Tar Heels are off to an incredible start to the regular season, and they will look to keep the momentum rolling throughout this game against Kentucky on Saturday night. This is the ultimate matchup in a weekend full of crazy matchups throughout college basketball as the two biggest teams in the sport of college basketball face off here on Saturday. When it comes to Blue Bloods, these are the two you think of immediately as you always think of North Carolina, and the teams led by Roy Williams and Dean Smith, and Kentucky, and their legendary coaches. North Carolina will look to write another successful chapter in this historic rivalry here on Saturday afternoon as they look to pick up a top 15 victory in the process and keep the momentum rolling throughout the year. They come into this game with seven victories, through their first nine games of the regular season, and they will look for their eighth one of the year in their toughest challenge of the year so far here against Kentucky.

The Kentucky Wildcats come into this game with an identical record as they have won seven out of their first night on the season and they will look for victory number eight here on Saturday night. Kentucky comes into this game ranked 14th and the country and they will look to grab a massive victory to vault themselves into the top 10 here on Saturday night against the North Carolina Tar Heels. A win in this game would surely establish Kentucky as a potential contender to win the national championship this season after so many people wrote them off with their low preseason ranking before the year began. They have been nearly unstoppable on the offensive end of the floor as they are one of the few teams in the country averaging over 90 points per game throughout the early part of the regular season. I expect them to continue that in this game against North Carolina as I look for this to be an offensive slugfest and for both of these teams to go over the total points line here in this one.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.