Our free College Basketball picks are out for Sunday, January 9th, 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!
Northwestern @ #13 Ohio State – 5:30pm ET
This Big 10 matchup between the Northwestern Wildcats is the first of two ranked games and two Big 10 Conference games that are featured today. As this 8–4 Northwestern team travels to Columbus, Ohio to play the 9-3 Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday afternoon.
Denis Kirilov
Northwestern will have a tough encounter on Sunday in the NCAA as they will face Ohio State. The Wildcats are 8-4 this season as they are far better than last year when they finished off with 9 wins out of 24 games. The team from Illinois, however, is coming into this match following two tough defeats against Michigan State and Penn State. Pete Nance and Boo Buie are their driving force, but in these two games, they didn’t get much help from their teammates. Nance averages 15.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game on a 50.3% from the field. He is also quite efficient from the 3-point line with 42.9% successful attempts.
Ohio State, on the other hand, is swapping emotions from time to time as one day they beat Duke and on the very next day they get outplayed by Indiana. Apart from their victory over the Blue Devils, the Buckeyes have been merciless against Seton Hall and Wisconsin from the seeded teams. On the contrary, they have suffered losses to Xavier and Florida in November. In their last game against Indiana, the team couldn’t find its rhythm and they just dropped 51 points, scoring just 6 points in the last 10 minutes. The team relies much on E.J. Liddell has been underperforming since Christmas, but he still averages 18.9 points this season. I think that with the help of Malaki Branham and Zed Key, the Buckeyes will take the better of Northwestern, and in the end, Ohio State will cover the spread.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Ohio State -8 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
Northwestern is much improved from where they were a year ago, but I still don’t see them being ready for this test. They come in on a two-game losing streak, having lost to Penn State and Michigan State, and now they get stuck traveling to Columbus to take on a pretty decent Ohio State team.
Back home on Sunday pic.twitter.com/HksYRWJU1o
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) January 7, 2022
The Buckeyes come into this one at 9-3, with a huge win over Duke earlier in the year, as well as wins over Seton Hall and Wisconsin to improve their resume. They are coming into this one off of a loss to Indiana, however, which could potentially make one question how the momentum could affect this OSU steam. Even coming off the loss, I’m taking the Buckeyes at home over a Wildcats team that I think is still being slightly overvalued.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Ohio State -8 (-110)
Tony Battalio
The Northwestern Wildcats are coming into this conference matchup with a record of 8-4. They are currently on a two-game losing streak after back to back losses to Michigan State and Penn State. Those two losses have put them at 1-2 in Big Ten thus far as they do have a win over the Maryland Terrapins from early on in December. They will be looking to even out their conference record with a huge top 25 win in this one on the road. However, they need to play a near-perfect 40 minutes of basketball to get that upset win against the Buckeyes of Ohio State.
The previously mentioned Ohio State Buckeyes are coming into this game with a record of 9-3 on the season. They have been a good team thus far, however they are easy targets for an upset as their losses have come to Xavier, Florida, and Indiana. Although they do own one of the biggest wins over the season over the then #1 ranked Duke Blue Devils. As for the result of this game, I have them picking up the victory at home and adding another conference win as well.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Ohio State -8 (-110)
#23 Wisconsin @ Maryland – 7:30pm ET
This Big 10 matchup between the Wisconsin Badgers and Maryland Terrapins is the second of two ranked games and two Big 10 Conference games that are featured today. As the 10-2 Badgers travel to the DMV to play the 8-6 Maryland Terrapins on Sunday afternoon.
Denis Kirilov
The match between Wisconsin and Maryland promises to be very intriguing in the not-so-busy Sunday in the NCAA. The two teams from the Big Ten Conference had a long-lasting rivalry in recent years as both of them have had their up and down periods. Wisconsin and Maryland took one away win each in the previous season that hasn’t been successful for either of them as they were eliminated in the 1/16 finals. Now, Wisconsin is looking fantastic coming into this game on a 12-2 record. They outplayed the strong teams of Houston and Purdue which really helps them contest the top spot in the Conference.
On the other hand, Maryland is 11th with just 8 wins out of 14 matches. They lost three in a row against the likes of Louisville, Virginia Tech, and Northwestern which was kind of disappointing. Then, right around Christmas, the Terrapins took three straight wins over Florida, Lehigh, and Brown. However, they didn’t manage to keep their momentum as they are coming into this fixture following two losses to Iowa and Illinois. Eric Ayala, Fatts Russell, and Donta Scott will have to find something extraordinary if they want to surprise the Badgers. I think that Wisconsin is by far the better team this season and they will be able to get the victory in the end.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Wisconsin -1 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
Maryland hasn’t looked all that impressive so far, apart from a good win over Florida earlier in the year. They have losses to Northwestern, Louisville, and Virginia Tech, and apart from that their schedule has been weak, which is why I’m not all that optimistic about their chances to be able to compete with this Wisconsin team that has looked impressive for virtually the entire year.
The Badgers come in at 12-2, with wins over Purdue, Houston, and St. Mary’s already this year. They also have a win over Marquette to boost their resume as well, which in my opinion puts this Wisconsin resume as one of the best in the country. With them taking on an overmatched Terrapins team, even in College Park, I’m leaning on the Badgers and the points.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Wisconsin -1 (-110)
Tony Battalio
The Wisconsin Badgers are coming into this game nationally ranked at 23rd in the country. They have put together a great season thus far as they are heading into full-time conference play. They come into the game with a record of 12-2 on the season. Their first loss of the season came to the Providence Friars in the Dave Gavitt Tip Off Games by a score of 63-58. However, their second loss was much worse as they were blown out by the Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 73-55. They are currently 3-1 in Big Ten play and have one the best wins of the season over the 3rd ranked Purdue Boilermakers.
The Maryland Terrapins will have their hands full in this one. They come into this game with a record of 8-6 on the season. Maryland is not only currently on a two-game losing streak, but they are also 0-3 in the Big Ten Conference so this game is feeling more and more like a must-win with each passing minute. However, as for the result of this game I have the Wisconsin Badgers picking up the win on the road as I think Maryland just doesn’t have the talent to compete in the Big 10 this season.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Wisconsin -1 (-110)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
