Free College Basketball Picks Today for Thursday, January 13th, 2022

Free College Basketball Picks Today for Thursday, January 13th, 2022
Thu 13th January 2022

Our free College Basketball picks are out for Thursday, January 13th, 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! 

#16 Ohio State @ #13 Wisconsin – 7pm ET

This Big Ten matchup is the best game of the Thursday evening slate. As the 16th ranked Ohio State Buckeyes travel to Madison to play the 13th ranked Wisconsin Badgers. Ohio State comes into this one with a record of 10-3 and 4-1 in the Big 10, while Wisconsin is 13-2 and a favorable record in conference play as well. In the first meeting of the year between these two schools, Ohio State won in huge fashion at home by a score of 73-55.

Denis Kirilov

The Ohio State Buckeyes have made up for the loss against Indiana with a victory over Northwestern in their last meeting in the NCAA. E.J. Liddell has been struggling recently, but with his 34 points against the Wildcats, the Buckeyes avoided going into further trouble. Their 10-3 record might not be impressive, but two specific performances catch the eye. The victory over Duke, snapping their winning streak, and the demolition over Wisconsin in December, 73-55. In both matches, E.J. Liddell came up huge covering the court on both ends as he led his team with 28 points the Badgers, while he grabbed 14 rebounds against the Blue Devils.

Wisconsin is coming into this match with the idea to take revenge. Their 18-point loss came as a huge surprise as this was their second and last defeat of the season for now. The Badgers were outplayed by Providence in one of the early games for the campaign which was also considered an upset. They found the right recipe against Houston and Purdue which is impressive as Johnny Davis dropped 30+ points on both occasions. He leads the team in almost every single aspect besides “most blocks per game”. The battle between Davis and Liddell will be really exciting, but I think Wisconsin will take this one home. 

Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Wisconsin (-178)

Tony Battalio

The Ohio State Buckeyes come into this game with a record of 10-3 on the season. They are currently ranked 16th in the nation. While they have put together a great season, they are vulnerable to upsets, as they have lost to Xavier, Florida, and Indiana, they were also nearly upset by Seton Hall as well. In their last game, they bounced back from the Hoosiers loss to beat Northwestern at home. The Buckeyes currently have a favorable conference record as they enter this game at 4-1, and tied for third with their opponents in this one. The first time Ohio State played Wisconsin earlier this year, the Buckeyes dominated the game and cruised to a 73-55 home victory back on December 11th, so they will be looking for more of the same in this one. 

The Wisconsin Badgers come into this game with a record of 13-2. They are currently ranked 13th in the nation. They have put together a great season thus far as both of their losses have come to top teams in the country. One of those losses was to this very Ohio State team and it was certainly not something you would stick on their resume. As previously mentioned the Buckeyes absolutely overwhelmed the Badgers on the way to an 18 point loss for Wisconsin. So now they will be looking to return the favor at home this time around. Wisconsin has been lights out since that loss as they have gone on to win their last 5 games, one of which was a top 3 upset over Purdue. As for the result of this game, while I expect it to be closer, I think the tables will turn as I have the Wisconsin Badgers picking up the win in this one. 

Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Wisconsin (-178)

Noah Dunlap

Can Ohio State pull off the season sweep over a really good Wisconsin team? The Buckeyes come into this one at 10-3, with wins over Duke and this same Wisconsin team as the high points, but they do also have losses to Xavier, Florida, and Indiana. While none of those are necessarily bad losses, I do think the inability to get over the hump except for two games against quality competition is at least moderately concerning. 

Wisconsin comes into this one at 13-2, and apart from a loss to this OSU team, and an early season loss to Providence (who is also still ranked) they’ve been flawless all year long. Now they get the chance, at home, to avenge one of their two losses on the year so far, and I think that’s exactly what they do. I like the Badgers to come out and win a more traditional Big Ten style game, low scoring, physical, and ugly to watch.

Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Wisconsin (-178)

Oklahoma State @ #19 Texas Tech – 7pm ET

This Big 12 game has the potential to be a huge upset as the Oklahoma State Cowboys will take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock in this one. Oklahoma State comes into this one, with not much to play for as they are on probation and cannot make the NCAA tournament this year. Texas Tech however is coming off a huge win over Baylor and will look to keep the momentum rolling with a win.

Denis Kirilov

Texas Tech enjoyed a fantastic last couple of days as they surprised two of the top contenders for the title. First, they defeated Kansas, 75-67, in a game where Bryson Williams dropped 22 points. Then, they did the unthinkable overcoming the hardest challenge in the NCAA. The Red Raiders put all their hearts in a close 65-62 win as a guest to Baylor. Adonis Arms has been simply amazing in this match as he was the main reason for this incredible achievement. However, Bryson Williams remains Texas Tech’s top performer for the season.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys had to go through a really tough schedule so far. They played teams like Texas, Kansas, Houston, Xavier, and Wichita State. The Cowboys will now have to face Texas Tech just to pay a visit to Waco, Texas, two days later to go head-to-head with Baylor. So, this 8-6 record shouldn’t be misleading as on top of that, they managed to defeat the Texas Longhorns by 13 points just a week ago. Oklahoma State has had some defensive troubles which is reflected in their overall performance. The players with most shots taken average around 40% from the field as this is far from enough to be competitive with a team like Texas Tech. I reckon that the Red Raiders will assert their dominance yet once again and they will be able to cover the spread in the end. 

Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Texas Tech -7.5 (-106)

Tony Battalio

Oklahoma State enters this game with a record of 8-6 on the season. In their last game, they lost to West Virginia by a score of 70-60 on Tuesday evening. The loss to the Mountaineers was their third loss in their last four contests, as they also lost to Kansas and Houston as well. They will be looking to bounce back in this one and earn a victory over a top 25 team, after failing to earn one in their last handful of games. They could really use it as well, as Oklahoma State is currently 1-2 in the Big 12 and will need every win they can get with how competitive the conference is this season. 


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The Texas Tech Red Raiders are coming into this game with a record of 12-3 on the year. They picked up perhaps the biggest win of the season in their last game as they knocked off the previously undefeated and number one ranked Baylor Bears on the road in Waco. It was the second straight big upset victory for Texas Tech after beating Kansas in the prior game. If they can win out the rest of the week they will likely catapult up the top 25 rankings into at least the top 15. As for the result of this game, I have them picking up the win in this one as well at home over Oklahoma State. 

Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Texas Tech (-315)

Noah Dunlap

What a week it’s been for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. First, they knocked off Kansas in a tight one this weekend. Then they came out two days later and gave Baylor its first loss of the season as well. Now they get a decent, but not great, Oklahoma State team who comes into this one looking to get a resume-boosting win, but also to play spoiler to the Red Raiders fantastic stretch. For TTU, the question is the offense. The defense still shows remnants of what they were under former coach Chris Beard, and the offense tends to shoot the ball well, but oftentimes the games are shortened and they don’t get the number of possessions you would potentially be used to. 

Oklahoma State comes into this one at 8-6, which is certainly disappointing for this Cowboys squad, but if there’s one optimistic point it’s that the schedule they’ve played has been tough, which explains some of the losses. However, they’ve lost three of their last four, including a loss to West Virginia, which doesn’t allow me much optimism about them knocking off this Texas Tech with how they’ve been playing of late. Give me the Red Raiders to get another big conference win and continue their climb up the polls.

Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Texas Tech (-315)

Oregon @ #3 UCLA  – 9:30pm ET

This PAC-12 matchup was highly anticipated in the preseason. However, the Oregon Ducks haven’t exactly lived up to the preseason hype. As they come into this game unranked with a record of 9-6 on the year. Meanwhile, UCLA is a top 5 team with a record of 10-1.

Denis Kirilov

Oregon has been in a lot of disarray from the beginning of the season. The Ducks have lost 6 out of 15 matches as most of these defeats came against teams that they should be able to overcome. Brigham Young, Arizona State, and St. Marys (CA) found a way to go past Oregon, thus further contributing to their downfall. The Ducks have also suffered a tough 29-point loss to Houston in a match where they scored just 49 points. Despite defeating the strong team of Utah in their first game for 2022, Oregon seems far away from what people expected from them at the beginning of the season. They are currently on a 3-game winning streak that might stop on Thursday as they face yet another top-tier team, UCLA.

The UCLA Bruins have been quite merciless so far, since they defeated the strong opposition of Villanova, Colorado, and Marquette. They, however, also had their tough moment against Gonzaga in an 83-63 loss. The 3rd-seeded team comes into this match on a 10-1 record as they have only played 11 games due to the harsh COVID-19 outbreak from December. Johnny Juzang has been a lot quiet recently as I suspect he is giving more opportunities for the others including Jaime Jaquez Jr., Jules Bernard, and Tyger Campbell. I think that the Bruins are favorites to win this one, but in my opinion, they will once again be conservative in their approach and this will allow Oregon to cover their spread. 

Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Oregon +10 (+110)

Tony Battalio

The Oregon Ducks are coming into this game unranked outside of the top 25 with a record of 9-6 through their first 15 games on the season. This is an Oregon team that started out the season ranked in the top 15 in the country. So it is fair to say they have been very underwhelming this year so far. It started out with a terrible showing in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational and the slide has continued since. However, they do come into this game on a four game winning streak so only time will tell if it’s a fluke or a turnaround. This game will be the perfect chance to evaluate that as they take on one of the best teams in the nation, the UCLA Bruins. 

The previously mentioned UCLA Bruins have been one of the most affected teams by the COVID-19 postponements. They have hardly played a game over the last month and a half. In fact, dating back to the last day of November, the Bruins have only played four total games. However, rust hasn’t seemed to be an issue as they have won all four of those games. Now they will come into this one with a record of 10-1 on the season. As for the result of this one, I have UCLA picking up a victory again, this time against the Oregon Ducks to go 11-1 and remain undefeated inside of the PAC-12. 

Tony’s College Basketball Pick: UCLA (-550)

Noah Dunlap

Well, there were high hopes for the Oregon Ducks coming into the year. Now there isn’t. They enter this one at 9-6, and just haven’t looked anything like the team that many people expected they would be, as they started the year in the top-15. The other problem is that it’s not like they’re losing to just quality competition. They’re losing to good and bad teams, which is what’s so concerning about all of this if you’re a Ducks fan. 

In this one, they take on the top-5 UCLA Bruins. This is the same Bruins team that managed to make a run to the Final Four last year, and being led by Johnny Juzang once again, they look as if they have a very real chance to make that run again. They come into this one with a single loss on the year, and it’s to a Gonzaga team that was ranked number one at the time, so it’s certainly an excusable loss. They’ve been dominating virtually everyone else on their schedule, and I don’t think that stops in this one. Give me UCLA at home in Westwood to take care of the Oregon Ducks with relative ease.

Noah’s College Basketball Pick: UCLA (-550)

BYU @ #2 Gonzaga – 11pm ET

The Cougars have been both in and out of the Associated Press top 25 this season. While Gonzaga has firmly stayed inside the top ten and the National championship conversation. BYU heads into this one with a record of 14-3 and the chance to get a huge upset, while Gonzaga comes in at 12-2.

Denis Kirilov

The BYU Cougars will face their toughest challenge so far this season on Thursday night. Gonzaga has been considered a huge favorite to win the title this year, but their ambitions came up short against Duke and Alabama. The Cougars opened the campaign with 6 straight wins before losing two games in 10 days to Utah Valley and Creighton. In the upcoming weeks, they lost another match as Vanderbilt took the better of them, 69-67. They ended up having a 14-3 record before the match against the Zags which can be taken as a decent performance. The team relies much on Alex Barcello who averages 16.6 points per game on 46.8% shooting. Fousseyni Traore is a 6’6’’ forward, weighing 254lbs, who provides a lot of help in defense, leading the Cougars in rebounds and blocks.

Gonzaga, on the other hand, has had a lot tougher schedule as they have already faced five seeded teams. They managed to beat Texas, UCLA, and Texas Tech but were outplayed in the other two meetings against Duke and Alabama. Chet Holmgren has been helping his team a lot, but he regularly goes missing in the most important games. On the contrary, Drew Timme came up on several occasions to save the day for the Bulldogs. He leads the way for the Zags with 16.8 points per game. Timme and Holmgren are actually quite efficient from the field, averaging slightly over 60% which is nothing short of impressive. I think that Gonzaga will outsmart the Cougars and they will prolong their 5-game winning streak with a dominant victory on Thursday. 

Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Gonzaga Covers -15 (-110)

Tony Battalio

The BYU Cougars are coming into this game with a record of 14-3. They have won their last four games, and have picked up victories in six of their last seven games. They have a good shot to pick up a huge top 25 victory in this one over a top ranked Gonzaga team. They are currently 2-0 in conference play after wins over Saint Mary’s and Portland. They have already compiled a good resume so far this season. But this one would be a cherry on top if they can pick up a huge win over Gonzaga on the road. 


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The previously mentioned Gonzaga Bulldogs come into this game with a record of 12-2 on the season. Despite a couple of setbacks they are still one of the top teams in the nation and are still a favorite to win this year‘s national championship. They had a couple of respectable losses to the University of Alabama and Duke. As for the result of this game I have them picking up the victory over a scrappy BYU team that won’t go away without a fight. I think a combination of Gonzaga’s talent and HomeCourt advantage will make the difference in this one.

Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Gonzaga (-1600)

Noah Dunlap

BYU has looked much better this year after an early season slip up to Utah Valley. They enter this one at 14-3, including coming in on a four-game winning streak. The schedule has been mediocre to this point, and the problem is that after this matchup it won’t get better due to the conference they’re in. Given their schedule, the record isn’t bad by any means, but the loss to Utah Valley sticks out as one they wish they could have back. 

Now they travel north to Spokane to take on the preseason number one Gonzaga Bulldogs. This Gonzaga squad has been great all year, only slipping up twice, once to Duke and once to Alabama, in a game that was played before the Crimson Tide hit a tough stretch. Outside of those two, this Bulldog squad has been nearly perfect, and I don’t think that changes here. Give me the talented duo of Chet Holmgren and Drew Timme to take care of this Cougar team, with relative ease.

Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Gonzaga (-1600)

Colorado @ #6 Arizona – 11pm ET

This Pac-12 matchup pits the Colorado Buffaloes traveling to Arizona to play the Wildcats in this one on Thursday evening. The Buffaloes are currently 11-3 and entering this one on a five-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Arizona Wildcats come into this one as a top ten team in the nation and with a record of 12-1 on the year.

Denis Kirilov

Colorado enjoys an undefeated 5-0 run started on December 9th with a tight 60-57 victory over Eastern Washington. They went on to defeat Milwaukee, CSU Bakersfield, Washington State, and Washington to improve their record to 11-3. The Buffaloes, however, have found it really difficult to be competitive against the seeded teams they had faced. In their two meetings against UCLA and Tennessee, Colorado barely reached the 50-point mark as they got swept by around 15 points. The team plays a conservative basketball, relying much on Jabari Walker who averages 13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds for 14 matches. Evan Battey and Keeshawn Barthelemy are also key players for the Buffaloes, but they have been slightly off rhythm so far.

Arizona is looking to make a further statement, despite entering the match with a 12-1 record. They have surprised everybody with a victory over Michigan in the Final of the Roman Main Event in November. They went on to defeat Illinois in December, but had to call it a day against Tennessee after suffering their only loss for the season, 77-73. They managed to make up for that with a victory over Washington in their first game for 2022 as Bennedict Mathurin and Dalen Terry have been the most valuable players for the team. Christian Koloko has been named the best player of the Roman Main Event as he was a monster in the paint. On top of that, the Wildcats have the highly efficient Azuolas Tubelis and Kerr Kriisa in their roster. I think they will be able to close out the match against Colorado, but it will be a close encounter. Hence, I will go with Colorado’s spread in this one. 

Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Colorado +15 (-105)

Tony Battalio

The Colorado Buffaloes come into this game with a record of 11-3 through their first 14 games on the season. They are currently on a five game winning streak coming into this high profile matchup. They will be looking for their 4th conference victory as they are currently 3-1 after wins over Stanford, Washington, and Washington State, and a loss to UCLA. They will get another chance to knock of a highly ranked top 25 opponent in this one but they need to play mistake free basketball for 40 or more minutes to get the job done against Arizona. 

The previously mentioned Arizona Wildcats come into this game with a record of 12-1 on the season. Arizona won the Roman Legends Classic by beating Wichita State and Michigan in back to back in November. They are currently ranked inside the top ten at sixth in the country according to the Associated Press. They will be looking for their second straight win after winning their last one following their first loss to Tennessee. As for the result of this one I have them picking up the victory over Colorado at home in this conference matchup.

Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Arizona (-1800)

Noah Dunlap

From a record standpoint, and based on recent performances, one would think this Colorado team is a good team that is playing lights out as of late and has the potential to compete in the Pac-12 this season. They’ve won five straight, and enter in at 11-3, which is certainly impressive enough. The problem is that they beat up on below-average teams, and when they plan quality opponents, especially ranked teams, they have a tendency to disappear, which is what we saw from them against both UCLA and Tennessee.

Arizona comes in at 12-1, and have been one of the best teams in the country for virtually the entire year. There one loss came to Tennessee in a game that remained tight until the very end. With Christian Koloko still playing like a menace in the paint, I like this Wildcat team to continue their trend of downing everyone without really allowing many teams to keep it close. 

Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Arizona (-1800)

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

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