Picks for Best Games on Thursday, January 3rd
Tonight is going to be another decent night of College Basketball, as more teams will begin conference play. There aren’t any games that really stand out as being great, however, overall the slate of games is pretty good. Here are my picks for tonight’s best games.
Illinois at Indiana
7 PM ET on Fox Sports 1
Line: Indiana -12.5
Pick: Indiana
Against the Spread: Indiana
Final Score Prediction: Indiana 87 Illinois 71
Why this pick? Indiana is pretty clearly the better team in this one, I think they should roll to a double-digit victory.
NC State at Miami
7 PM ET on ESPNU
Line: NC State -3
Pick: NC State
Against the Spread: NC State
Final Score Prediction: NC State 78 Miami 63
Why this pick? Miami has been atrocious this year, NC State has been good, this seems like an easy pick to me.
Penn State at Michigan
7 PM ET on ESPN
Line: Michigan -11.5
Pick: Michigan
Against the Spread: Michigan
Final Score Prediction: Michigan 80 Penn State 55
Why this pick? John Beilein is pretty clearly the better coach, Michigan is pretty clear the better team, this should be a blowout.
Iowa at Purdue
7 PM ET on the Big Ten Network
Line: Purdue -8
Pick: Purdue
Against the Spread: No pick
Final Score Prediction: Purdue 71 Iowa 63
Why this pick? I don’t think Iowa is very good so I think they’ll lose but I don’t trust Purdue to win by more than 8.
Utah at Arizona State
8 PM ET on the PAC-12 Network
Line: Arizona State -11.5
Pick: Arizona State
Against the Spread: Arizona State
Final Score Prediction: Arizona State 78 Utah 55
Why this pick? Utah has been pretty terrible this year, Arizona State looks good, despite a loss to Princeton. I think Arizona State should roll in this one but it is the PAC-12, so expect the unexpected.
Minnesota at Wisconsin
9 PM ET on the Big Ten Network
Line: Wisconsin -10
Pick: Wisconsin
Against the Spread: Minnesota
Final Score Prediction: Wisconsin 78 Minnesota 74
Why this pick? Both teams have played well so far this season, I think it will be a close one with Wisconsin winning but Minnesota covering.
Colorado at Arizona
9 PM ET on Fox Sports 1
Line: Arizona -6
Pick: Arizona
Against the Spread: Arizona
Final Score Prediction: Arizona 71 Colorado 57
Why this pick? Arizona has the advantage in every facet of this game, I think they win handily and easily cover the spread.
Stanford at UCLA
11 PM ET on ESPN
Line: UCLA -8
Pick: Stanford
Against the Spread: Stanford
Final Score Prediction: Stanford 78 UCLA 56
Why this pick? If UCLA can’t even beat Liberty or Belmont at home, what makes you think they can beat a decent Stanford team. Not only should you take the points, pick Stanford to win outright.
Yesterday’s Picks: 5-4
Year to date: 157-118-11