Our free College Basketball picks are out for Saturday, February 12th, 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!
Texas A&M @ #1 Auburn – 12pm ET
Texas A&M hit the road for one game when they take on Auburn on Saturday afternoon. The Aggies are currently on a seven game losing streak, and last time out they lost to LSU, 68-76. The Tigers experienced only their second loss all season last time out, which came at the hands of Arkansas, 76-80, in overtime.
Marko Nadin
The Auburn Tigers are the best team in the league and the Aggies will feel that. The Tigers are on top of the SEC with a 22-2 record. They are coming off their second loss in the season, 76-80 in overtime against Arkansas. Auburn was on a 19-game winning run and was undefeated for more than 2 months before failing in Arkansas. They are still unbeaten at home with a 12-0 record. The Tigers have covered the spread in the last seven home games against a team with a winning record.
The Texas A&M Aggies are 19th in the SEC with a 15-9 record. They started the season with a 15-2 record but have lost the last seven games. The Aggies are coming off a 68-78 loss to LSU. The Aggies score 73.5 points per game while allowing 66.2. They shoot 44.6% from the field and 34% from the three-point line. The Aggies are not among the top 100 teams in any significant statistical category. The Aggies have played over the total point margin in 6 of their last 7 road games. They have won 4 of the last 5 games against the Auburn Tigers.
Marko’s College Basketball Pick: Auburn
✌️ on the Midseason Team for 2022 @NaismithTrophy Player of the Year!@jabarismithll 🤝 @WalkerKessler13 #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/J013tl2kK0
— Auburn Basketball 🦚 (@AuburnMBB) February 11, 2022
Noah Dunlap
Expect Auburn to be annoyed coming into this one, which could prove to be problematic for a Texas A&M team that has hit absolute free fall mode over the past month or so. After losing to Arkansas on the road in Fayetteville for only their second loss of the season, I think the Tigers, who have been the best team in the country for much of the last month and a half or so, are going to look to take out a lot of frustration and anger on an Aggie squad that simply doesn’t have anything to stop it.
Texas A&M actually started the year extremely hot, through non-conference play, but after four games into SEC play they hit a wall and the wheels came off. Sitting at 15-9 overall, and 4-7 in conference, I think they still have an outside shot at the NCAA tournament, but they are going to need a big win or two to get them there. The problem is that it won’t be coming in this one, as they have to travel east to Auburn to take on the Tigers. Give me Auburn in easy fashion.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Auburn
#20 Texas @ #10 Baylor – 12pm ET
After two games at home, Texas hits the road for two games, and in their first game they will face off against Baylor. The Longhorns have won five of their last six games, with their only defeat during this time coming against Texas Tech, 64-77. The Bears have an overall season record of 20-4, and last time out they beat Kansas State, 75-60.
Marko Nadin
The defending champions Baylor Bears are second in the Big 12 with a 20-4 record including 11-2 at home. They started the season with 15 consecutive wins and have lost 4 of the next 9 games. They are coming off a 75-60 win over Kansas State after failing 59-83 to Kansas in the previous round. The Bears score 77.8 points per game while allowing 62.2. Baylor is 1-5 against the spread in their last 6 home games. They are 12-3-1 against the spread following a win in which they have covered the spread. Baylor has won the last 4 games against Texas.
The Texas Longhorns are third in the Big 12 with a 18-6 record including 2-5 on the road. They have won 5 of the last 6 games and are coming off a 79-76 win over Kansas. That was their highest scoring performance in more than two months. The Longhorns are the best defensive team in the country allowing only 55.8 points per game while they score 68.7 which ranks them 244th. Texas has played over the total point margin in 4 of the last 5 road games but has played under in 4 of the last 5 games played on Saturday.
Marko’s College Basketball Pick: Baylor (-245)
Noah Dunlap
This is a Big 12 matchup that has the potential to be a really good game, as we get an improving Texas team taking on the defending champions, and still one of the best teams in the country in Baylor. After winning the title last year, Baylor showed no signs of slowing down early this season, as they were the best team in the country for the first half of the season. They have slowed down just a touch over the past three weeks, but I still think the talent they have is going to give them the nod over just about anyone they play.
Texas has been one of those teams that hangs around the middle of the top-25 all year long, but you’re never really sure how good they are. They ran through the early parts of their schedule by taking care of lower quality opponents, but they’ve since improved on that, as they’ve won five of their last six, and now that conference play is well under way, they’ve actually picked up quite a few wins that should be resume boosters for the committee. As for this one, I’m going to take Baylor by just a nose, as I think there’s more talent for the Bears, and with this one taking place in Waco, I think they get a boost off of that as well.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Baylor (-245)
#4 Arizona @ Washington – 6pm ET
Arizona wrap up their three game road trip on Saturday night when they take on Washington. The Wildcats have only lost two games all season, and they are currently on a five game winning streak. The Huskies have won four of their last five games, which includes a win over Arizona State last time out, 87-64.
Marko Nadin
The Washington Huskies are 5th in the Pac 12 with a 15-9 record including 8-4 at home. They have won 4 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 87-74 win over Arizona State. The Huskies are a bad shooting team ranked 285th in the nation with 68% shooting from the free-throw line and 31.8% from deep while they are even worse from the field shooting 40.8% which ranks them 328th. The Huskies have covered the spread in their last 5 games. Guard Daejon Davis, who is averaging 7.9 points and 2.8 assists per game, will not play against Arizona.
The Arizona Wildcats are on top of the Pac 12 with a 21-2 record and 6-2 on the road. They have lost only once in 2022 and have won the last 5 games. The Wildcats are coming off a 72-60 win over Washington State in the last round. Arizona is the third best team in the country when it comes to points per game with 84.6 and are the best rebounding team with 41.1 rebounds per game. They allow the second-lowest field goal percentage with 36.9%. The Wildcats have played under the total point margin in 5 of the last 6 games. The Wildcats have won 5 of the last 6 games against Washington.
Marko’s College Basketball Pick: Arizona (-1450)
On To The Next One #BearDown #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/4XheljJoQK
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) February 11, 2022
Noah Dunlap
This is a Pac-12 matchup that a lot of people will try to say is a good game, and while that could end up being the case, I’m not all that optimistic. Washington has won four of five, and they’re playing a little better, but they still sit at 13-9, and they don’t have a single win that would make you think they’re a legitimate contender. They’ve also lost to this Arizona team by double-digits once, and I think there’s a pretty good chance it may happen again.
Arizona, on the other hand, is a very real title contender, as they’ve only dropped two games all year, and have multiple big wins, including a great win recently over UCLA. They feature one of the best duos in basketball in Christian Koloko and Benedict Mathurin, and with a good defence to go along with it, they’re one of the most balanced teams in the country. They’ve won five straight, following a loss to UCLA in the first of two against the Bruins, and I think they push that to six in this one, as I like the Wildcats to take care of business here, even going on the road to Washington.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Arizona (-1450)
#12 UCLA @ #21 USC – 10pm ET
UCLA wrap up their four game road trip with a game against USC late on Saturday night. The Bruins managed to get the win last time out, after dropping their previous two, and this takes their overall season record to 17-4. The Trojans have won three of their last four games, with their only defeat coming at the hands of the seventh seed, Arizona, 63-72.
Marko Nadin
The battle for Los Angeles is the most interesting game of the night. The USC Trojans are 4th in the Pac 12 with a 20-4 record. They went on a historic start winning the first 13 games of the season and have been 7-4 since then. The Trojans are coming off a 74-68 win over University of Pacific. The Trojans are 8th in the nation with 38 rebounds per game but stand 346th in free-throw shooting with only 64.4%. They are 11th in the nation allowing 38.1% from the field. USC has covered the spread only once in their last 9 home games. USC has won the last 4 games against UCLA.
The UCLA Bruins are second in the Pac 12 with a 17-4 record including 6-2 on the road. They snapped a two-game losing streak with a 79-70 win over Stanford in the last round. The Bruins score 77.8 points per game, 12 more than they allow. They don’t rank among the top 100 in any shooting category. The Bruins have played under the total point margin in 6 of the last 7 road games against a team with a winning home record. Guard Jaylen Clark who is averaging 6 points and 4 rebounds per game will not suit up for this game.
Marko’s College Basketball Pick: USC (+105)
Noah Dunlap
This has the chance to be a great matchup out west, but it’s all dependent on how good you actually think USC is. The Trojans are currently ranked 21st, with a 20-4 record, but the problem is that they don’t have any wins that make you look at them and think that they’re actually one of the best teams in the country. The record is great, but so far this season, they’re the very definition of a team you look at and then realize that sometimes the record doesn’t always tell the whole story.
As for UCLA, after struggling for a two-game stretch which saw them drop contests to Arizona and Arizona State, they finally managed to get back on the right side of things in their last outing, in a win over Stanford. Even with the struggles, they’re a Final Four team from last year that brought back much of their roster, including Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr., so I do think that they have the ability to turn things back on pretty quickly. In this matchup of bitter crosstown rivals, I’m going to take the Bruins, and I think it’s going to be by a wider margin than many may expect.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: UCLA (-126)
#22 Saint Mary’s @ #2 Gonzaga – 10pm ET
Saint Mary’s hit the road on Saturday night when they take on the second seed, Gonzaga. The Gaels followed up their loss to Santa Clara with a nice win against San Diego, 86-57. The Bulldogs are on a 13 game winning streak, and have only dropped two games so far this season.
Marko Nadin
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are on top of WCC with a 20-2 record and perfect 14-0 at home. It’s been more than two months since their last loss to Alabama and the Zags have won 13 straight games. They are coming off a 89-51 win over the University of Pacific. Gonzaga ranks first in points per game with 90.8 and in field goal percentage with 53.5%. The Zags are the second-best rebounding team in the nation with 39.7 boards per game. They are 20th in the nation with 38% from the three-point line. Gonzaga has won the last 6 games against Saint Mary’s.
The Saint Mary’s Gaels are second in the WCC with a 20-5 record. They have won 8 of the last 9 games losing only to Santa Clara in that span. The Gaels are coming off a 86-57 win over San Diego. The Gaels are ranked 11th in the nation with 59.1 points allowed per game and they score 11 more than that. They are ranked 5th with 26.4 rebounds allowed per game. The Gaels have played over the total point margin in 7 of their last 9 games. They have covered the spread in 5 of the last 6 games against teams with winning records.
Marko’s College Basketball Pick: Gonzaga (-1800)
𝙕𝙖𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 ❤️🔥@jalensuggs pic.twitter.com/6wGR6v0Ufo
— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) February 11, 2022
Noah Dunlap
I think this is one that gets ugly pretty quickly, despite it being two ranked teams. Gonzaga is one of the most talented teams in the country, sitting at number two in the latest polls with a 20-2 record. They have two probable lottery picks in Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren, and playing in a reasonably weak conference, I think they get a benefit in the sense that they don’t necessarily have to exert all that much energy through much of their conference slate. That allows them to be fresh and ready for games like this where they may actually need more effort from everyone involved.
Saint Mary’s comes into this one as a team that is virtually always the second best team in the WCC, but never quite able to overcome the Gonzaga hurdle, and I don’t expect that to change this year. They’re a decent team, but never great, and I think they’re a team that falls squarely into the category of “teams that benefit from being in a really weak conference.” They play at a great level against the majority of the other teams, and are more than likely to end up in second in conference, but they simply don’t have the athletes or talent to top this Bulldog squad, especially this year. Give me Gonzaga in a big way at home in “The Kennel.”
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Gonzaga (1800)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
