College Basketball Picks

The Princeton Tigers and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will face off on Saturday in Newark for a non-conference game. This game will be a part of the Never Forget Tribute Classic and will be played inside the Prudential Center. Rutgers has lost the past two meetings and four of the last five between these two teams. Princeton won 68-61 last year on a neutral site in Trenton and will look to get another upset win here. Rutgers is currently a 5.5-point favorite, but our best bet of the game is the over. The total is 152 points, and we believe it will go over.

We like the over in this game because Rutgers plays at a fast pace and Princeton should be able to have success offensively. According to KenPom, Rutgers is ranked #70 in adjusted tempo and #47 in average offensive possession length. The Scarlet Knights also have two projected lottery picks in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey that make their offense dangerous on any given night. Princeton is ranked in the top half nationally in average offensive possession length and are a good three-point shooting team. The Tigers are ranked #23 nationally in three pointers made, which should help this total go over. Take the over in this one.

*Over 152 available at time of publishing. Playable at 153*

The Memphis Tigers will look to rattle Mississippi State with their full-court pressure as these two teams get ready to face off Saturday afternoon.  The Tigers just barely escaped with a victory over Virginia, defeating them by a final score of 64-62.  As for Mississippi St, they had no issues handling Central Michigan in their last start, defeating them by a final score of 83-59. As these two teams get ready to take the court, I think Memphis has a slight edge in Saturday’s matchup and here’s why. 

Memphis has had some big wins so far this season.  They’ve defeated teams like UConn, Michigan State, and Clemson.  As for Mississippi State, they defeated a solid Pittsburgh team, and squeaked out a win against SMU, but they’ve also got lucky and barely beat McNeese last week.  Memphis has plenty of talent on this team with PJ Haggerty averaging 22.4 points per game, which leads this Tigers team in scoring so far this season.  Haggerty isn’t the only reason this team has been successful this season, they also have players like Tyrese Hunter who’s averaging 15.6 points per game and Colby Rogers who’s averaging 12.5 points per game.  This Memphis team shoots the ball very well from deep, shooting 41.9% from 3-point range. Mississippi State will need to limit the number of deep-range shots this Tigers team makes if they want to keep it close.  Mississippi State has Josh Hubbard who is averaging 18 points per game, and Claudell Harris Jr. who’s averaging 10.7 points per game, but they don’t have the depth like this Memphis Team does.  I think Mississippi State will hang around for a little, but at the end, look for Haggerty and this Memphis team to run away, picking up a victory on Saturday afternoon. 

Mississippi State vs Memphis prediction: Memphis -1 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The Florida Atlantic Owls (7-5) and Michigan State Spartans (9-2) face off in a game where both teams enter with momentum. FAU rides a three-game win streak and MSU has won four straight, including a marquee victory over North Carolina. FAU has been red-hot offensively, scoring 85+ points in each of their last three wins. Ranked 18th nationally in points per game, the Owls thrive on their fast tempo and elite three-point shooting. However, their weaknesses are glaring: a porous defense ranked 163rd and struggles on the glass. Against a bigger, stronger Michigan State squad, FAU’s inability to secure rebounds could be their downfall.

Michigan State, on the other hand, is built to punish teams like FAU. Ranked 21st nationally in rebounding, the Spartans excel at creating second-chance opportunities and limiting opponents’ extra possessions. While MSU struggles from the perimeter, their offensive consistency inside and relentless effort on the boards make them a formidable challenge. Averaging 87.5 points during their win streak, the Spartans’ physicality and discipline have proven effective, even against high-scoring teams. FAU will look to push the pace, but Michigan State’s size and toughness should prevail. Expect MSU to control the glass, limit FAU’s transition chances, and grind out a dominant performance.

Florida Atlantic vs Michigan State Prediction: Michigan State -13.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to that number.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Clemson Tigers will meet inside Littlejohn Coliseum for an ACC matchup. This game will be game two of ACC play for both Clemson and Wake Forest. Clemson defeated Miami away from home in their first game and Wake Forest defended home court to beat Boston College. The Tigers are ranked number 25 in the updated AP Top Poll and are favored in this one, but our best bet of the game is the under.

We like the under because both teams like to play at a slow pace and we do not see points being easy. According to Bartorvik, in quad one and two games Clemson is ranked #322 nationally in adjusted tempo and Wake Forest is ranked #331. The total has gone under in 75 percent of the Demon Deacons games this year because they play slow, and their offense has not been good. Wake Forest’s offense has struggled this season as they are ranked just #273 in the country in points per game. According to KenPom, their offense is ranked #350 in three-point percentage and #267 in effective field goal percentage. We do not think the offense will be good enough in this slow-paced game for the total to go over. Take the under.

*Under 133 available at time of publishing. Playable at 132*

The last time a downtrodden Creighton team returned home to welcome in a red-hot opponent, the Blue Jays dispatched then-top ranked Kansas back on December 4 in what was the best performance of the season for Greg McDermott’s squad. Saturday’s game against Villanova marks a very similar situation for Creighton, as the Blue Jays continue to be in the midst of a disappointing season, having just dropped consecutive games against Alabama and Georgetown (the latter of which wasn’t even remotely close). Add in the fact that Creighton is dealing with a couple of key injuries, most notably losing Pop Issacs for the season with a hip injury, and it seems like things can’t get any tougher for the Blue Jays. That’s exactly why I’ll be taking McDermott’s team to bounce back in a massive way at home against a familiar conference foe.

For the second consecutive season, Villanova got off to a terrible start and it appeared as those Kyle Neptune’s team was headed for another disastrous campaign. However, the Wildcats were able to bounce back in a major way, having won 5 straight entering this contest. With that in mind, this feels like a good spot to sell high on Villanova away from home, especially in one of the toughest places to play in the country. With Ryan Kalkbrenner patrolling the paint, Creighton should be able to slow contain Eric Dixon from putting up another 25-point, 10-rebound performance. Dixon is the focal point for the Wildcats on offense, and he’s a big reason why they are 10th in adjusted offensive efficiency this season while sitting at 335th in adjusted tempo per KenPom. The Blue Jays are also shooting much better from beyond the 3-point arc at home compared to on the road, so I’m expecting a big of positive shooting regression for Creighton following a couple of poor performances away from home. At the end of the day, the strength of schedule disparity between these teams is massive and certainly warrants consideration in the handicap as well. Let’s take the Blue Jays to win and cover at home.

Villanova vs Creighton prediction: Creighton -4 available at time of publishing. Playable to -4.5

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