Happy Saturday, everyone! We have a loaded schedule today full of NFL Divisional games and college basketball. What more could you ask for? We’ll go through the best games from now until Friday of next week in college basketball, which is filled with great games all around. Anyways, enough chit chat. Let’s make some picks:
NCAA Basketball:
West Virginia (13-4) at #18 Texas Tech (14-4) (-8)
West Virginia leads the all-time series 16-6 against Texas Tech, with a 5-4 edge in Lubbock. However, Texas Tech boasts one of the best defenses so far, and they were hot before falling to Kansas State. The Red Raiders picked up where they left off when they beat Iowa State by 12. I’ll take the Red Raiders, but closer than being an 8-point favorite.
Tune into West Virginia at Texas Tech at 12 PM ET on ESPN2.
Seton Hall (11-5) (-2) at St. John’s (10-6)
St. John’s has arguably the best scorer in the Big East in Julian Champagnie, who will go up against the red-hot Bryce Aiken. These teams play back-to-back, and I’m confident it will be a split regular season series. With the game at Madison Square Garden, I’ll take St. John’s in the upset.
Tune into Seton Hall at St. John’s at 12 PM ET on FS1.
#12 Kentucky (15-3) at #2 Auburn (17-1) (-4)
The game of the day is located in Auburn, as the Tigers host the blue blood Wildcats. Auburn has the best resume in college basketball, with only one loss to UConn in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Expect this to be an absolute battle, because I know Kentucky won’t go down without a fight. Kentucky leads the overall series 96-22, but most of Auburn’s wins come inside Auburn Arena. Kentucky has a more efficient offense, but Auburn has the advantage being at home and red-hot. I’ll take Auburn by 2.
Tune into Kentucky at Auburn at 1 PM ET on CBS.
Florida State (12-5) at Miami (FL) (14-4) (-2.5)
This is a rematch of two ACC rivals. Florida State and Miami. And this one is more important now, as the winner will become first place in the conference. Miami lost on the road against the Seminoles just 11 days ago, looking for revenge as Florida State comes to Coral Gables. Florida Stata has won eight straight against the Hurricanes. Eight straight! The last Miami win was in 2018, in the same place they play today. Kameron McGusty leads the way for the Hurricanes, while it’s Houston transfer Caleb Mills doing the same for the Seminoles. Miami has an efficient offense, ranked #20 in KenPom’s offensive efficiency rankings. However, if Florida State can get stops, I see them winning. Miami doesn’t have a terrific defense, ranked #13 in the conference. The part to look at is when Miami has the ball. I think Miami breaks the eight-game skid today.
Tune into Florida State at Miami at 2 PM ET on ESPN.
#5 Baylor (16-2) (-3) at Oklahoma (12-6)
Baylor dropped two games at home to knock the Bears out of their #1 spot in the AP Poll. What’s good for Baylor is they handled West Virginia on the road, and face Oklahoma in Norman. Baylor has beaten Oklahoma the last seven games, and I have confidence it will turn into an eight-game win streak. With a top 15 offense and defense, Baylor wins.
Tune into Baylor at Oklahoma at 3 PM ET on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
#7 Kansas (15-2) (-6) at Kansas State (10-7)
Kansas has won five straight against their in-state rival. Bruce Weber is 3-19 against the Jayhawks, with all three wins coming in Manhattan. It would take a miracle for the Wildcats to win, as Kansas is phenomenal offensively this season. With Christian Braun and Ochai Agbaji leading the way, Kansas wins, without a fight breaking out this time.
Tune into Kansas at Kansas State at 4 PM ET on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
#13 LSU (15-3) at #24 Tennessee (12-5) (-5.5)
Tari Eason has been the guy for LSU, ranked #6 on KenPom’s National Player of the Year standings. For Tennessee, it’s the freshman guard Kennedy Chandler who has given the Volunteers success this season. LSU beat Tennessee 79-67 in Baton Rouge, so it’s obvious Tennessee will come into this game with a chip on their shoulder. Tennessee is 9-0 at home. For my prediction, that record becomes 10-0 at home.
Tune into LSU at Tennessee at 6 PM ET on ESPN.
North Carolina (12-5) at Wake Forest (15-4) (-1.5)
Wake Forest has had a surprisingly good season so far in Steve Forbes’s second season in Winston-Salem. The last time these two teams met in the Lawrence Joel Coliseum, Wake won. It’s a battle between two rivals, with two players that are some of the top in the ACC. For Wake Forest, that’s Alondes Williams, while the Tar Heels have Armando Bacot leading the way. North Carolina normally dominates in this series, so I’ll take a road win for Hubert Davis.
Tune into North Carolina at Wake Forest at 8 PM ET on ACC Network.
#18 Texas Tech (14-4) at #7 Kansas (15-2)
Kansas is 38-7 against Texas Tech, and it helps that they are at home, where they have one of the best home-court advantages in the country. The battle comes with Kansas’s offense against Texas Tech’s defense, both of which are top-5 on KenPom. With a home-court advantage and a strong offense, I’ll give this win to the Jayhawks.
Tune into Texas Tech at Kansas on Monday at 9 PM ET on ESPN.
St. John’s (10-6) at Seton Hall (11-5)
Look at the first matchup predictions which I mentioned earlier. I said this would be a split regular season series. Bryce Aiken and Jared Rhoden are going to get hot on Monday, as they are in front of a home crowd.
Tune into St. John’s at Seton Hall on Monday at 9 PM ET on FS1.
#14 Michigan State (15-3) at #17 Illinois (13-5)
I watched Michigan State dominate Wisconsin in Madison to earn first place in the Big Ten. I think this is the start of a big winning streak for the Spartans. Michigan State has won three straight against the Illini, make it four straight. I love what Tom Izzo is doing with his team. Without Kofi Cockburn, Illinois can’t thrive.
Tune into Michigan State at Illinois on Tuesday at 7 PM ET on ESPN.
#23 Texas (13-5) at TCU (12-3)
TCU is lost five straight to Texas, and I’m not buying into Texas at all right now. Even though I did actually pick Texas to win the National Championship before the season. They’re good, not great. TCU doesn’t have an offense to compete with Texas, however. I like the Longhorns on the road here.
Tune into Texas at TCU on Tuesday at 9 PM ET on ESPNU.
#3 Arizona (15-1) at #9 UCLA (12-2)
I love both teams this season, Arizona a little more, however. Even though I think Arizona is a team with a higher ceiling, this will be a matchup where they split the season series. UCLA has won five straight against the Wildcats. They will make it six before they head to Tucson in February. Let’s just hope there’s a crowd in Pauley Pavilion.
Tune into Arizona at UCLA on Tuesday at 11 PM ET on ESPN.
#21 Providence (15-2) at #20 Xavier (14-3)
No one’s buying into Providence because they are the #1 luckiest team according to KenPom. I disagree. Providence is a good team with lots of talent, especially in Nate Watson and AJ Reeves. People will call Providence overrated after this game, but I disagree. Xavier will win, but Providence will prove many wrong down the stretch.
Tune into Providence at Xavier on Wednesday at 6:30 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.
#4 Purdue (15-3) at Iowa (13-5)
I know, it would be a big upset, but it is more likely than you think. Iowa is led by Keegan Murray, one of the best players in college basketball. The analysts on College Gameday said today that they don’t like Purdue right now. They just lost to Indiana, but it doesn’t make them going in the wrong direction. I just think with the home-court advantage of Iowa and the experience from the last game, which Iowa had a late 14-2 run in, will help them get a huge upset win over Purdue.
Tune into Purdue at Iowa on Thursday at 9 PM ET on FS1.
NFL:
Cincinnati Bengals (10-7) at Tennessee Titans (12-5) (-4)
Derrick Henry is back. That is huge for the Titans, who have been without him for some time. However, I’m not a fan of Ryan Tannehill this season. He seemed to regress, and I’m loving Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offense more and more. Even though the Raiders made the Wild Card game close, I think Cincinnati heads to the AFC Championship.
Tune into Bengals at Titans at 4:30 PM ET on CBS and Paramount+.
San Francisco 49ers (10-7) at Green Bay Packers (13-4) (-5.5)
The Packers are 8-0 at home this season when the host their rival 49ers in the ninth playoff meeting between the two. Nick Bosa is going to play, which is huge after he got injured in the win over the Cowboys. Fred Warner is back as well after an injury last weekend. Even though their two best defensive players are back, along with Deebo Samuel leading the offense, Jimmy Garoppolo makes too many mistakes for me to put them over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, especially in Green Bay.
Tune into 49ers at Packers at 8:15 PM ET on FOX.
Calhoun's Corner 