Our free College Basketball picks are out for Thursday, January 6th, 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!
#13 Ohio State @ Indiana – 7pm ET
This Big Ten matchup should be a good one as two of the best teams in the conference are set to square off. The 13th ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will take their 9-2 record on the road to Bloomington to play the 10-3 Indiana Hoosiers in a huge Big Ten clash. Both teams will be looking to pick up a resume worthy win in this one.
Denis Kirilov
Ohio State will have a tough visit to Indiana on Thursday in the NCAA. The Buckeyes are off to a great 9-2 start this season, defeating the likes of Duke, Seton Hall, and Wisconsin. They have surely improved throughout the last year which is reflected in their overall performance. E.J. Liddell leads the way for his team with 19.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He also averages 3 blocks which makes him a tough player on both ends of the court. Zed Key and Kyle Young and the other two teammates have averages of more than 10 points per game. They also maintain a high FG% as both of them have surpassed the 60%-mark.
The Indiana Hoosiers are coming into this fixture on a 10-3 record. All of their losses have been in tight contests as their largest defeat came against Wisconsin on December 9th, 64-59. They were also outplayed by Syracuse and Penn State which surely came in as a small shock to them. Trayce Jackson-Davis matches the performance of E.J. Liddle as he averages 19.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game. He has been highly efficient from the field, maintaining near 60%. The team has surely improved from last season when they finished with 12 wins and 15 losses. However, I think that we will see a close battle with Ohio State taking the win in the dying minutes of the game.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Ohio State (+112)
Noah Dunlap
This Big Ten matchup, on paper, looks like a really good game, especially if you’re looking at records. Ohio State comes in at 9-2, with a huge win over Duke, as well as resume building wins over Seton Hall and Wisconsin. Their two losses are both quality losses to Xavier and Florida, which shouldn’t hurt their resume all that much come tournament time.
Up next ➡️ Bring on the Buckeyes.
🎟 https://t.co/1wKVf1wl0h
📝 https://t.co/iIRq9kMso1 pic.twitter.com/WUj2psV8LB— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) January 5, 2022
For Indiana, they come in at 10-3, but I think the record is misleading. Their schedule has been extremely weak to this point, with their best win being over a Notre Dame team that’s decent but certainly not great. Their losses are also worthy of scrutiny, as they have come to Syracuse, Penn State, and Wisconsin. The loss to Wisconsin is excusable, but if you want to believe you have the potential to compete for a Big Ten title, you simply can’t have losses to Syracuse, who isn’t the same Orange team from 5-6 years ago, or even more so a loss to Penn State. The weak schedule, along with the questionable results, is why I’m taking Ohio State to get a relatively easy win on the road.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Ohio State (+112)
Tony Battalio
The Ohio State Buckeyes are coming into this game with a record of 9-2 on the season, after losses to Xavier and Florida, earlier on in the year. They also come into this game nationally ranked inside the top 25 in the country at number 13. Ohio State perhaps has one of the best victories of the season, as they beat the Duke Blue Devils back at the end of November when Duke was the number one team in the country. Ohio State is also currently 3-0 inside the Big Ten Conference after huge wins over Penn State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. They will look to make it a 4-0 start with a victory in this game over the Indiana Hoosiers.
The previously mentioned Indiana Hoosiers are coming into this game with a record of 10-3 on the year, however, they are not ranked in the top 25 as of right now. A win in this game over a tough Ohio State squad would certainly change that when the new rankings are released on Monday however. Indiana is currently 1-2 in Big Ten Conference play after losing to Penn State and Wisconsin but defeating Nebraska. While it would be easier to say Ohio State has this won due to records vs common opposition we all know that is never the case in sports. As for the result of this game I have the Indiana Hoosiers picking up the victory at home over the Buckeyes.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Indiana (-134)
Long Beach State @ #5 UCLA – 7:30pm ET
Long Beach State is a replacement team for the Bruin’s original opponent. Unfortunately, they will likely receive the beating that was scheduled for this one by UCLA. As they come into this game with a record of 3-7 while the UCLA Bruins are 8-1 on the year after a loss to Gonzaga. This game is the lowlight of the evening.
Denis Kirilov
Long Beach State will face UCLA for the second time this year. The first game ended with a 21-point win for the Bruins, 100-79. The top scorer of the match was LSU’s main player this season, Joel Murray, who averages 16.1 points per game. Johnny Juzang added 25 points on the other end, thus helping UCLA take the victory in the end. Long Beach State has had some troubles in some particular games to drop buckets. For instance, in the match against San Diego State, the team from California managed to put up just 47 points, as Colin Slater became their leading scorer with just 8 points. However, the team found a way to upset Wright State, 85-76, but overall, they are performing badly, holding a 3-7 record.
UCLA, on the other hand, hasn’t played since December 12th, when they defeated Marquette. They have won 8 games from the beginning of the season and suffered one loss to Gonzaga, 83-63. The Bruins had to play against Villanova in the second game of the campaign as both teams put on a great show for the people watching them. The match ended 86-77 OT in favor of UCLA as Johnny Juzang led the team with 25 points. The lack of a single game for nearly a month will surely affect the Bruins, but I don’t think it will be enough to stop them from covering their spread against LBSU.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: UCLA -26.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
Yikes.
I give credit to Long Beach State being willing to step up to take on UCLA in this one, but that’s about all I can give them credit for here. This is an LBSU team that quite honestly doesn’t belong on the same floor as this Bruins squad, and it doesn’t help that this is set to be UCLA’s first game in nearly a month, due to Covid cancellations. Even with the very real possibility of the Bruins needing to shake off a bit of rust early on, I don’t think it matters in this one, as they’re taking on an overmatched team in this first place, and one that’s going to be playing their second game in two days, as they took on Westcliff Wednesday night in an exhibition. I expect UCLA star Johnny Juzang to have a big night, with him leading the way to a massive Bruins win.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: UCLA (-20000)
Tony Battalio
Long Beach State is the fill-in for what is likely going to feel like a funeral for them to put it in the nicest way possible. After weeks of games being postponed, moved, or canceled the UCLA Bruins needed a game and Long Beach State is ripe for the slaughtering. They come into this game with a record of 3-7 on the season. By the time they hit the court to play the mighty Bruins, it will be their second game in two days as according to ESPN they are scheduled to play Westcliff on Wednesday evening. Long Beach State lost their last game to a Division 1 opponent, the USC Trojans, by a score of 73-62 and it will only get worse for them in this one.
The previously mentioned UCLA Bruins are coming into this game nationally ranked inside the top 10 of the country at number 5. However it has been a long time since the Bruins have taken the floor for a competitive basketball game, so rust will be an important factor to pay attention to. The Bruins’ last game took place on December 11th so it has nearly been a full month, in that game, they defeated the Marquette Golden Eagles by eleven points. As for the result of this game I have the UCLA Bruins picking up the victory easily.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: UCLA (-20000)
Iowa @ #23 Wisconsin – 9pm ET
The second featured Big Ten Conference matchup of the night pits two of the westernmost teams in the conference against each other. As the 11-3, Iowa Hawkeyes will travel to Madison, Wisconsin for this one. Waiting for them will be the 11-2 Badgers who are coming off of a huge upset over the Purdue Boilermakers.
Denis Kirilov
This game promises to be an interesting clash between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Wisconsin Badgers. Both teams are coming into this fixture on similar records. The Hawkeyes started the season on a positive note, winning their first seven games. However, they went on to lose three in a row, including defeats to Illinois, Purdue, and Iowa State. In their last couple of matches, they found the right path to grab the victory against teams like Maryland and Utah State. Iowa will surely try to climb even further in the Big 10 rankings as they are now 6th with 11 wins and 3 losses. Keegan Murray is their most valuable player by far with 24.5 points, 8.2 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game. He can play well on both ends of the court and will need to be stopped early in the game, before getting into the zone.
Wisconsin, on the other hand, is coming into this game a bit tired after getting a demanding 74-69 win over Purdue on Monday. Johnny Davis led the way for his team with 37 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 assists. The guard averages 22.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and also leads in assists and steals for his team. He doesn’t have many turnovers which makes him a fantastic player on the ball. Brad Davison, however, will need to improve his shooting as he averages just 37.6% from the field, although most of these shots came from the 3-point line. I think that Wisconsin will have a hard time against Iowa and might even lose in the end. Hence, I will go with a surprise win for the Hawkeyes.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Iowa (+116)
Noah Dunlap
The Iowa Hawkeyes have been a bit of a surprise so far this season, as they come in with an 11-3 record. The important thing to note is that the three losses came in a rough stretch where they lost three in a row. Before the week and a half long stretch of struggles, and since, they’ve played great basketball, and I think that continues on the road in Madison.
GAME NOTES | #Hawkeyes Travel To Madison For Only Regular Season Meeting Against Wisconsin: https://t.co/5Oz46aThRS pic.twitter.com/7sKnDlVniR
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) January 5, 2022
Wisconsin is also a solid team so far on the year, with an 11-2 record, including wins over Houston, Marquette, and Purdue. The two questions I have with this Badgers team is that I think they’re slightly too one-dimensional, as Johnny Davis is a major key to the team’s success, and I’m not sure they have enough outside of him. The other problem is that they just had a huge game against Purdue Monday night, where they managed to get a huge, emotional win. To me, the quick turnaround ends up being problematic in this one, so give me Iowa to get a tight win here on the road.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: Iowa (+116)
Tony Battalio
The Iowa Hawkeyes are nothing like their teams of the last few years, this season after losing a ton of talent to the NBA. However, they have still managed to put together a great season so far as they are 11-3 coming into this game. They are currently 1-2 in the Big 10 as well after losses to Purdue and Illinois. They will need a win in this one against a tough Wisconsin team if they want to remain a credible threat in the conference this season. While they are very capable of picking up the win, they will have to deal with a tough road crowd as well.
The previously mentioned Wisconsin Badgers are coming into this game nationally ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 at number 23 in the country. They are currently sitting with a record of 11-2 on the season as well. As they look to be one of the favorites in a Big Ten Conference that is among the best conferences in the sport of college basketball, if not the very best. The Badgers picked up a huge win over the Purdue Boilermakers in their last game, which makes that Ohio State blowout loss they suffered a bit easier to swallow. As for the result of this game I have them picking up their fourth straight victory and another Big Ten win.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Wisconsin (-140)
#7 USC @ California – 11pm ET
This PAC-12 Conference matchup could go one of two ways. USC could steamroll the California Golden Bears. Or California is going to give the mighty Trojans of Southern California all they can handle. USC is undefeated and 12-0, while Cal is 9-5 coming into this one. Both of these teams will be looking for a big PAC-12 win as well.
Denis Kirilov
The USC Trojans remain one of the last undefeated teams in the NCAA. They went 12-0 to start the season as they are yet to face a seeded opponent. Their biggest achievement so far is defeating the Utah Utes, Washington State, and San Diego State. The team hasn’t played since December 17th which might come in crucial for the outcome against California. Led by Evan Mobley’s older brother, Isaiah Mobley, the Trojans will look to beat their performance from last year when they exited the bracket after reaching the Elite Eight.
California seems more like a mediocre team. The Golden Bears hold onto a 9-5 record as they got outlasted by both Florida and Seton Hall in back-to-back games against seeded opponents. California is looking quite better compared to last season when they ended up having 9 wins out of 29 games. They will need to do something extraordinary to get 15 losses in a row to tie their performance from the last campaign. I think that their team has grown up and they can make use of players like Jordan Shepherd and Grant Anticevich to lead them in such challenges. I think that the California Golden Bears will be able to put on a decent fight against USC which will result in a low-scoring match.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Under 125.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
I’m not sure what to make of this USC to this point. They’re still undefeated, which is impressive regardless of anything else, but the problem is that they still haven’t taken on a single ranked team all year. I know they’re a team that made the Elite Eight last year, and they’ve certainly looked pretty dominant for much of this year, but the weak schedule does make me somewhat hesitant to think they’re one of the best teams in the country.
That trend continues in this one, as they take on an extremely average Cal team. The Golden Bears come in at 9-5, which is respectable, but they’ve lost both games they’ve played against ranked teams, and they don’t have a single win so far that honestly looks even remotely respectable. Even with USC playing a weak schedule, and not having played since December 17, I think the Trojans have too much talent to slip up in this one, on the road in Berkeley. Take USC and the points here, and feel confident about it.
Noah’s College Basketball Pick: USC -5.5 (-110)
Tony Battalio
The USC Trojans are coming into this game as one of the few undefeated teams left in college basketball this season. They come into this game with a perfect record of 12-0 on the year. USC is currently nationally ranked in the top 25 of the country at number 7. They were the winners of the Paycom Wooden Legacy Classic, however, they haven’t quite been tested so far this season, as they have run through some pretty easy competition thus far. So only time will tell if this Trojans team is for real or just an early-season fluke.
The California Golden Bears have had a decent season as well as they come into this game with a record of 9-5 through their first 14 games of the year. They are currently on a five-game winning streak and hold a 2-1 record in PAC 12 Conference play heading into this game. However they will have their hands full in this one, if they can pull off the win it will look like a huge resume booster for the time being. Although I just don’t see that happening in this one as I have the USC Trojans picking up the victory in this game.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: USC (-230)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
