Our free College Basketball picks are out for Sunday, January 23rd, 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!
Butler @ #21 Providence – 12pm ET
This Big East clash has all the potential to be a huge top 25 upset. As the Butler Bulldogs meet the 21st ranked Providence Friars on Sunday afternoon. Butler comes into this game with a record of 9-9 on the season, while Providence comes into this game with a record of 15-2 on the season.
Denis Kirilov
The Butler Bulldogs have been struggling this year as they hold a 9-9 record ahead of their match with Providence. On top of that, they have lost five out of their last six games in the NCAA, all of which came against seeded opponents around the Friars. The top scorer of the Bulldogs has struggled to keep a high percentage from the field as he averages 34% on 55-162 shooting so far. Jair Bolden has been at 35% which further makes things worse for Butler. The Bulldogs will have a couple of tough upcoming matches as they will be looking to snap their 3-game losing streak started off with a 40-point loss to Villanova.
Providence, on the other hand, enjoys a fantastic season so far. Their most recent games have been postponed due to Covid-19, but this didn’t really affect them as they currently hold a 15-2 record. The team from the Big East will try to make yet another statement with a dominant victory on Sunday against the Bulldogs. Al Durham and Nate Watson have been playing on a very high level from the beginning of the season as they are the driving force of the Friars. Despite the short bench, I think that Providence will be able to cover the spread against Butler.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Providence -9 (-110)
Tony Battalio
The Butler Bulldogs enter this game with a record of 9-9 through their first 18 games of the season. They will be looking to pick up a big top 25 upset victory in this one on the road. Butler will be looking to break a three game losing streak in this one after losing to Villanova and dropping back to back games to UConn. While Butler put together a half decent non conference record it has been Big East conference play that has been their downfall as 5 of their 9 losses have come inside the conference. They are currently in 9th place in the Big East with a 2-5 record.
No. 21 Men’s Basketball Game Notes Vs. Butler https://t.co/8ACLNqw5Cd
— Providence MBB (@PCFriarsmbb) January 21, 2022
The Providence Friars come into this game ranked at 21st in the nation. They are currently 15-2 coming into this one as they are putting together a great season so far. Providence is currently 5-1 inside of the Big East Conference as well. The Friars will be looking to pick up their third straight victory after wins over St. John’s and Georgetown in between three postponed games. As for the result of this game I have the Providence Friars picking up the victory over Butler at home to extend their winning streak to three games.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Providence -9 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
Butler had a few people fooled through non-conference play this season. They had a 7-4 record through a reasonable slate, but that’s when they reached Big East play and things simply fell apart. They’re currently sitting at 2-5 in conference play, and have lost three straight, including a 40-point demolishing at the hands of Villanova.
As for Providence, they come in as one of the bigger surprises in the country so far this season, sitting at 15-2 and ranked 21st in the latest polls. On top of that, the Friars are 5-1 in a tough Big East conference, which is impressive in and of itself. The one concern I do have against this Providence team currently is that they’re yet to play many of the best teams in the conference, which could end up changing the course of their season if things go badly. But as for this one, I like the Friars to take care of business at home over a collapsing Butler squad.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Providence (-430)
Northwestern @ #4 Purdue – 1pm ET
This Big Ten matchup features the Northwestern Wildcats hitting the road to West Lafayette to play the 4th ranked Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday afternoon. Northwestern has had a rough year as they come into this game with a record of 9-7, while Purdue is 15-3 on the year.
Denis Kirilov
The Northwestern Wildcats started off quite well this season with 8 wins and 2 losses, but their most recent performance brought them back to reality. After 5 losses in 6 matches, the Wildcats are now with a 9-7 record, but are keeping their heads up following some great performances against the likes of Michigan State, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. Moreover, Northwestern managed to surprise Michigan State on the road, 64-62, during the previous weekend in the NCAA. Pete Nance has been the most valuable player for the Wildcats leading the team with 16.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game.
Purdue enjoyed an incredible start to the current season. They found themselves in the top spot after just a couple of weeks, but failed to keep up the good pace. After a surprising loss to Rutgers, the team was demoted to third place in the overall rankings and ever since then, the Boilermakers haven’t made it to the top 2. They are coming into this game following a loss to Indiana on Friday, 68-65, as they suffered quite a lot of turnovers off the bench. I think that the Boilermakers will further struggle against Northwestern and they won’t be able to cover the spread in the end.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Northwestern +13 (-110)
Tony Battalio
The Northwestern Wildcats aren’t having the best season, however they still manage to pull off huge upsets over top teams. The Wildcats come into this game with a record of 9-7 through their first 16 games of the season. While they did put together a respectable 7-2 record during non conference play, Big Ten play has been their downfall as they’ve only been able to win two of their seven conference games. They are currently on a one game losing streak after falling to Wisconsin on the road, after upsetting Michigan State at home. They will be looking to pick up a huge top 25 win on the road in this game as they prepare to play the Purdue Boilermakers.
The Purdue Boilermakers come into this game ranked 4th in the nation for the time being. However, they will likely drop down the rankings after losing to Indiana earlier on this week. Now Purdue comes into this game with a record of 15-3 on the season, looking to get straight back into the winners column. Purdue is currently 4-3 inside of the Big Ten Conference so they will be looking to stack wins together to regain the top spot. As for the result of this game I have Purdue picking up the victory over an upset minded Northwestern team at home.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Purdue -13 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
Northwestern just isn’t very good. They had a decent non-conference record, although it was against an extremely weak schedule, and now as they’ve reached Big Ten play things have taken a downward spiral for the Wildcats. The one bright spot for them has been a huge upset over Michigan State, but with the talent on this roster, I don’t think that’s the type of upset they’ll be able to pull off consistently.
Purdue, on the other hand, has looked like one of the best teams in the country for much of the year. They’ve struggled a bit in conference play, as all three of their losses have come against conference competition, but they’re to much better competition than they’ll see in this one against Northwestern. Give me the Boilermakers to get a big, much needed win to get them back to the winning colum following a loss to Indiana earlier this week.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Purdue -13 (-110)
#20 Xavier @ Marquette – 2pm ET
The second featured Big East matchup on the Sunday slate is likely to be the best game on Sunday. As the 20th ranked Xavier Musketeers hit the road to Wisconsin to play the Golden Eagles of Marquette. Xavier comes into this game with a record of 14-3 on the year, while Marquette is 13-6 and will be looking to add another top 25 win to their resume.
Denis Kirilov
The Xavier Musketeers will be looking to take yet another win this season over Marquette. After defeating them 80-71 before Christmas, the Musketeers suffered two losses to Villanova. Apart from that they played good games resulting in an improvement to 14-3 in the end. In their most recent matches, Xavier defeated Creighton and DePaul as Jack Nunge and Paul Scruggs came up clutch in the most decisive moments in the games. Exactly these two are the driving forces of the Musketeers this season who cannot rely on a long bench at the moment.
Marquette, on the other hand, managed to pick up five straight wins in 2022. The Golden Eagles took the better of Providence, Seton Hall, and Villanova throughout this period which is an incredible achievement for an unseeded team. The consistency within Marquette was on a whole new level in the recent weeks as each one of their players could have come up huge and lifted them up. Justin Lewis is their most valuable asset so far, but Darryl Morsell and Greg Elliott are getting closer and closer. I think that Marquette will be able to take revenge for the 9-point loss earlier this season and they will be victorious on Sunday.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Marquette (+104)
Tony Battalio
The Xavier Musketeers are building a great resume this season, which should get them a spot in the NCAA Tournament if they fail to win the Big East Conference. They come into this game with a record of 14-3 on the season. Xavier is currently ranked 20th in the nation at the moment as well. They already have a few resume-worthy wins over the Ohio State Buckeyes, Virginia Tech Hokies, and Cincinnati Bearcats. Now they will be looking to pick up a third straight victory and complete a sweep of Marquette this season after beating them earlier in the year, with a victory in this one.
⚔️ | Musketeers vs. Golden Eagles 2️⃣. #GamedayGuide#LetsGoX
— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) January 23, 2022
The Marquette Golden Eagles come into this game with a record of 13-6 through their first 19 games on the season. The Golden Eagles come into this one unranked, but they have been racking up top 25 victories all season long. They have victories over Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova, and Illinois. Now they will be looking for another big win in this one against the Musketeers of Xavier. As for the result of this game I have Marquette picking up another top 25 victory with a win over Xavier at home in this one.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Marquette (+104)
Noah Dunlap
Xavier has been a decently surprising team so far this year, as they come ranked 20th, with a 14-3 record, and look like the type of team that has a real chance to compete for a Big East title. They’ve put together a decent resume so far, with decent wins, but they don’t have what many would consider to be a real elite win yet, which is the only concern for them at this point in the season.
Marquette, on the sideline, comes in at 13-6, and while they do have too many losses to be what people would consider to be a threat, they seem to play to the level of their competition, as they have too many losses, but massive, resume-building wins over teams like Villanova, Illinois, and Providence, to name a few. In this one, with the fact that the Golden Eagles seem to base their own play on their opponents, I’m taking Marquette to get another top-25 win, just to boost their resume a bit more as we enter late January.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Marquette (+104)
#3 Arizona @ California – 3pm ET
The lone west coast game on this featured slate is going to be the least competitive game of the day. As the 3rd ranked Arizona Wildcats hit the road to the Sunshine State to play the California Golden Bears. Arizona comes into this game with a record of 15-1, while California comes into this one with a record of 9-9.
Denis Kirilov
The Arizona Wildcats have been nothing short of fantastic during this campaign. The team has only lost to Tennessee on December 23rd, 77-73. Apart from that, they managed to cruise past the likes of Michigan, Colorado, Utah. Their matches against UCLA and USC have been postponed due to Covid-19 as it is still quite uncertain their ability to go up against top-seeded opponents. California should be yet another easy pick for the Wildcats who will then enter a tough schedule towards the end of January. Bennedict Mathurin and Azuolas Tubelis have been averaging more than 15 points for Arizona, while Christian Koloko has been clinical in defense so far.
The California Golden Bears are looking at a 9-9 record as they are coming into this fixture on a 4-game losing streak. They took a serious hit against Washington and Washington State in their most recent matches as they didn’t manage to go beyond the 60-point mark on both occasions. The Golden Bears have been relying much on Andre Kelly who averages 14.2 points per game on 60.2% shooting. Jordan Shepherd might be their top scorer, but he has also been their biggest liability this season having in mind his efficiency. I think that Arizona has plenty of big players who can dominate in such a match and that’s why I am willing to trust them to cover the spread.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Arizona -13.5 (-110)
Tony Battalio
The Arizona Wildcats are the favorites in the Pac-12 in my opinion. They come into this game ranked 4th in the nation. They currently possess a record of 15-1 on the season. They were the champions of the Roman Main Event Classic back in late November. They have had trouble getting on the court as games have been postponed for them several times, much like the rest of the Pac-12 conference. Despite that they come into this game on a four game winning streak and will be looking to extend it to five with a huge victory in this one on the road.
The California Golden Bears are having a rough year as they come into this game with a record of 9-9 through their first 18 games of the season. They will need to play a perfect game if they want an opportunity to beat the Wildcats in this game. They will be looking to break a four game losing streak in this agne as well. However as for the result of this one I don’t see that happening. As I have the Arizona Wildcats picking up the victory over California in this one on the road. I don’t expect it to be close either as I have Arizona covering the spread as well.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Arizona -13.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
Despite coming into this one ranked third in the country, I feel like there are a lot of people not giving the Arizona Wildcats the credit they deserve. This is one of the best teams in the country, and if I were picking a National Title game right now, they’d probably make my final two, as the likes of Christian Koloko and Bennedict Mathurin have been one of the best duos all year long. They have one slip up so far this year, a tight loss to a good Tennessee team, but apart from that they’ve been perfect.
Now they take on a Cal team that enters at .500, and I’m not sure they’re even that good. They have a few wins in non-conference against atrocious teams that allowed them to build up a decent record, but since they’ve started Pac-12 play they’ve struggled immensely, as they have a few bad losses to the likes of Washington and Washington State, which are completely inexcusable for teams that want to be considered decent. Against one of the best teams in the nation, this isn’t going to end well for a below average Golden Bears team. Give me Arizona and the points as the play here.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Arizona -13.5 (-110)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
