Our free College Basketball Picks are out for Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021! Make sure you check our College Basketball Picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free College Basketball Picks for the only game on today’s schedule!
#12 Houston v Wisconsin – 5pm ET
The Houston Cougars and Wisconsin Badgers have made it through to the second round of the Maui Invitational, which will be held this evening. Houston easily took care of Butler while Wisconsin beat Texas A&M on the back of 21 points and 9 rebounds from Johnny Davis.
Denis Kirilov
Houston are off to a great start this season as they won all their 4 games so far. Marcus Sasser is their main contributor as he averages 23.3 points and 4 assists. Kyler Edwards is the other guy they hugely depend on when it comes to shooting, but his percentage should definitely be increased if the team wants to be as competitive as last season. The Houston Cougars only found difficulties in overcoming Hofstra in their opening match, while the rest were taken with ease.
Their opponent tomorrow, Wisconsin, holds a 3-1 record as they lost to the Providence Friars a couple of days ago. The Badgers dominated in the rest of their matches defeating the likes of St. Francis (BKN), Green Bay, and Texas A&M. For now, they rely mostly on their senior, Brad Davison, who leads the team in points, assists, and steals. He is definitely a versatile player who can display skills on both ends of the court. However, Wisconsin’s total FG% needs to be improved as they stand at just 38% from the field. I think both teams’ are underperforming and this will result in a low-scoring game on Tuesday. For me, the best option would be the one for “under points”.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Under 122.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
After starting the season with a single-digit victory over Hofstra, the Houston Cougars have gone on a tear, as they beat their next three opponents all by double-digits. This competition was no walk in the park: they handed defeats to quality programs including University of Virginia and Butler. Now Houston looks to make it 5-0 on the season as they face off against the always solid Wisconsin Badgers.
Wisconsin comes into this game at 3-1. They had a tough loss to Providence on Monday the 15th, but bounced back nicely with an 11-point victory over Texas A&M last night. The Badgers will be looking to bring that momentum into Tuesday’s game against a ranked Houston team. I’m not sure they’ll pull off the victory, but I at least like them to cover.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Wisconsin +7.5 (-110)
Tony Battalio
This game has the potential to go down to the very end as both of these teams are capable of winning this one. The Wisconsin Badgers come into this game with a record of 3-1 on the year. Their only loss on the season came to the Providence Friars in the Gavitt tip off games. They picked up a double digit win over Texas A&M in the opening round of the Maui Invitational tournament to set up this game with Houston on Tuesday night.
The Houston Cougars come into this second round matchup of The Maui Invitational with an undefeated record of 4-0 on the year. This game with Wisconsin was set up by virtue of Houston’s first round win in the Maui Invitational over Butler by a score of 70-52. Houston has picked up the majority of their victories in blowout fashion including a 20 point demolition of former National Champions the Virginia Cavaliers.
As for the results of this game as previously said I expect us to be a back-and-forth Comcast but in the end I’m up for the Houston cougars to come out on top.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Houston (-320)
Kansas State v #14 Illinois – 7pm ET
After both suffering losses yesterday, the Illinois Fighting Illini and Kansas State Wildcats will play off in the Hall Of Fame Classic consolation final. Kansas State suffered their first losses of the season in their 8-point loss while Illinois dropped their second straight and were no match for the undefeated Bearcats last night.
Denis Kirilov
Kansas State will have a tough encounter on Tuesday night as they face 14th-seeded Illinois. The Wildcats are 2-1 so far after they suffered an expected loss to Arkansas yesterday. They came close to pulling off an incredible comeback, but in the end they came up short losing the game by 8 points. The team is one fire from the 3-point line as they are 18-41 so far, while Nijel Pack and Mark Smith are off to a great start to this campaign. Kansas State’s roster is quite balanced as they also have Selton Miguel and Davion Bradford who were among their key players last season.
Illinois, on the other hand, are quite disappointing so far. They started off with two convincing victories over Jackson State and Arkansas State, but were later on forced to reconcile with losses against the high-flying teams of Marquette and Cincinnati. The latter even defeated them by a huge 20-point margin which literally came out of the blue for any NCAA analyst. Illinois will look to bounce off from the last place they occupy as of now in the Big Ten Conference. However, I think they might eventually win this game, but a safer pick for me would be to pick Kansas State to cover their spread.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Kansas State +11 (-110)
Michael Lantz
Kansas State started off with a nice 2-0 record before facing a well-rounded Arkansas team on Monday night. Kansas State depends heavily on their two guards Nijel Pack and Mark Smith. While Pack had a decent game, Smith underwhelmed with only 4 points. He’ll have a chance to have a bounce back game against the team he spent his freshman year with: the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Despite getting All-American candidate Kofi Cockburn back from suspension, Illinois got a beating from the Cincinnati Bearcats, losing 71-51. Cockburn had a good game, but many other Illinois players have seemed to drop off since the first two games. Now, with consecutive losses, Illinois is trying not to get into panic mode. They’ll focus their attention on a Kansas State team that they cannot overlook. I think they’ll prevail, as the Illini cannot afford to start 2-3 with all of this talent on their roster and a BIg 10 title as their goal.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Illinois (-650)
Tony Battalio
Kansas State comes into this game with a record of 2-1 on the year. This Game against Illinois is a consolation game for the Hall of Fame classic after Kansas State fell to Arkansas yesterday by 8 points and a score of 72-64. The Wildcats victories on the year have come against lesser opponents in Omaha and Florida A&M by 10+ points so this game on Tuesday along with yesterday‘s game against the Razorbacks has been their first real test of the season.
The Illinois Fighting Illini came into the season highly ranked knowing they were without superstar Kofi Cockburn for the first three games. Everything seemed to go according to plan for the first two games and since they started out with two wins they have now lost two in a row. Those two losses have come to Marquette in the Gavitt tipoff games by one point and yesterday to Cincinnati in a game that wasn’t even close as the Bearcats just blew the door off of Illinois.
Now Illinois will need to find a way to rebound quickly if they want to still prove they are a potential threat for a national championship this season. As for the result of the scam I expect Illinois to bounce back with a victory over the Wildcats.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Illinois (-650)
🗣 5-0 BEARCATS MOOD pic.twitter.com/ROJrJUGdOW
— Cincinnati Men’s Hoops (@GoBearcatsMBB) November 23, 2021
Cincinnati v #13 Arkansas – 9:30pm ET
While Illinois and Kansas State will play for third place, the Arkansas Razorbacks and Cincinnati Bearcats will play for the trophy tonight. Both sides are yet to lose a game so far this season and will be wanting to add the Hall Of Fame Classic to their resume for the end of the season with a win in tonight’s clash.
Denis Kirilov
Cincinnati enjoyed remarkable early games this season as they are 5-0. They reached the finals of this tournament by defeating the Illinois FIghting Illini by a 20-point margin. The Bearcats would look to take advantage of their perfect form at the moment as they face 13th-seeded Arkansas in the deciding game for 1st place. The team is quite balanced and can rely on great depth in their roster. Jeremiah Davenport and David DeJulius lead the Bearcats in points, while Ody Oguama and Abdul Ado display incredible defensive skills.
On the other hand, Arkansas are also looking fantastic right now as they took an early advantage against Kansas State in the semifinals game to secure their spot in the battle for the trophy. After parting ways with Moses Moody and Justin Smith, JD Notae remained as the Razorbacks’ top player. He averages 21.7 points and also contributes with 3.7 steals per game. Chris Lykes and Jaylin Williams further help him and complete their team. In my opinion, the Arkansas Razorbacks are the more developed team and the one with greater experience. This will surely play a significant role in this final and I will have them cover their spread.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Arkansas -5.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
In the Hall of Fame Classic final, the 5-0 Cincinnati Bearcats will face the 4-0 Arkansas Razorbacks. The Bearcats have played great team ball across their first five games, but they’ve been led by Jeremiah Davenport, their home-grown junior guard. Davenport scored 19 against Illinois on Monday, and appears to be getting more and more comfortable from three. He’ll need a big game if they have any chance of taking down a well-rounded Arkansas offense.
Arkansas has a number of guys that can step up and have big scoring games. In the starting five they’ve been led by guard JD Notae, but they’ve also had a major spark off the bench from senior guard Chris Lykes who is scoring nearly 16 points per game. Arkansas will continue to overwhelm opponents as the year goes on, but Cincinnati is coming in with confidence after beating a versatile Illinois team. I think this one will be good, and the safest bet will be to pick the Bearcats to cover.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Cincinnati +5.5 (-110)
Tony Battalio
This game between Cincinnati and Arkansas will be for the Hall of Fame classic regular season tournament championship after both teams won their semifinal games on Monday night. Arkansas dispatched to the scrappy Kansas state team of Cincinnati wiped the floor with what looked to be a very competitive Illinois team at the beginning of the season. Both the Bearcats and Razorbacks will now come into this game undefeated as Cincinnati has won their first five games of the season and Arkansas has won their first four.
There is no doubt in my mind that both of these teams will be ranked when the new ranking comes out next Sunday. They have both gotten off to a fantastic start however for the result of this game obviously one of these teams has to take their first loss. I believe that team will be Arkansas as I look for the Cincinnati Bearcats to pick up another huge victory on Tuesday night and win the Hall of Fame classic
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Cincinnati (+175)
#1 Gonzaga v #2 UCLA – 10pm ET
This game will have fireworks. Not only is this just the 43rd time the #1 team and #2 team have squared off since the AP Rankings were brought in, but this is a rematch of last season’s Final Four matchup that saw Gonzaga win by three points thanks to a near-half court heave from Jalen Suggs. Can the UCLA Bruins get their revenge or will the Bulldogs continue their regular season dominance?
Denis Kirilov
This matchup will certainly be a treat to watch. The 1st-seeded, Gonzaga, will host the 2nd-seeded, UCLA, in a match that promises to be quite narrow and it will probably go all the way down to the wire. Gonzaga were huge favorites to defeat UCLA in the semifinals last season, but things almost went south for them as the Bruins forced an overtime. However, Jalen Suggs sunk a buzzer beater from way downtown to send his team to the final. All of the starting lineup for Gonzaga finished off with double-figures with Drew Timme leading the team with 25 points. UCLA was definitely the surprise of the tournament last year, but their miracle run had to come to an end.
Both teams started off this campaign in high fashion as both of them already had to play against some tough opponents. UCLA came up clutch against Villanova after overtime, while Gonzaga demolished Texas by 12 points. Drew Timme continues dominating the NCAA as he averages 20.8 points this season. On the other side, Johnny Juzang, Jules Bernard, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. split their contributions for UCLA. I think that Gonzaga is a more balanced team with better individuals in the likes of Timme, Holmgren, Strawther, and Bolton. Hence, I will recommend picking the Bulldogs’ spread in this one.
Denis’ College Basketball Pick: Gonzaga -5.5 (-110)
Let’s run back the highlights of a successful first night in Vegas 🏀🎥#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/rvTH3zUTNz
— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) November 23, 2021
Michael Lantz
On Tuesday night, college basketball fans will get a little pre-thanksgiving treat, as #1 Gonzaga faces off against #2 UCLA in Las Vegas. This game is a rematch of last year’s National Semifinal, where Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs broke UCLA’s hearts with a near half-court shot to send the Bulldogs to the National Championship. Suggs has gone off to the NBA, but UCLA hasn’t forgotten. Their “three J’s” (Johnny Juzang, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Jules Bernard) were all on the team last year and will be ready to bring their offensive firepower to Vegas on Tuesday night. Only thing is…will that even matter?
The Gonzaga Bulldogs continue to show dominance across the NCAA as they’ve gotten out to a 5-0 start, including a 12-point victory over now #8 ranked Texas (they were #5 when they faced Gonzaga). The Bulldogs have failed to score under 84 points on the year and spent Monday night beating Central Michigan by 53. The Bulldogs’ weapons are endless as junior Drew Timme is scoring nearly 21 points per game, sophomore guard Julian Sawther is scoring nearly 15, and prized freshman Chet Holmgrem is averaging 11.3 points and 3.5 blocks per game. As gifted as UCLA’s scoring trio is, I’m just not sure I can go against a Gonzaga team that can attack at every position.
Michael’s College Basketball Pick: Gonzaga (-220)
Tony Battalio
Add yet another one to the list of early season high profile college basketball matchups. As the number one ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs take on the number two ranked UCLA Bruins and what is sure to be a hard-hitting competitive game that comes down to the very end. Both teams coming to this one already have top-five wins under their belt, as Gonzaga dismantled Texas and UCLA beat Villanova at home. Gonzaga is currently 4-0 prior to their game on Monday evening against Central Michigan and following this high profile matchup is another one against the Duke Blue Devils so we will see if they can weather the storm of 3 games in 5 days.
The UCLA Bruins come into this game with a record of 5-0 on the year and already have the previously mentioned win against Villanova on their resume. Outside of the win versus Villanova UCLA has pretty much dominated everyone that they have come across winning by double digits in each game. As for the result of this game I look for the Gonzaga Bulldogs to pick up another huge victory and further cement their place as the top team in college basketball as they chase that elusive national championship this season.
Tony’s College Basketball Pick: Gonzaga (-220)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
