It’s already been a wild and crazy college basketball season, and the NCAAB schedule is only going to get better from here on out. We have now reached the point of the year where teams are playing conference games, and it makes college basketball bets even more exciting.
The NCAAB odds are going to start to tighten up now that teams are playing conference opponents, and you will continue to see upsets along the way. Be sure to do your research before making college basketball bets, and just looking at the overall records is not enough.
Here are the three best college basketball picks and parlays to make for games taking place during the week of January 2.
Purdue Boilermakers -8.0 vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
When you start to look at your college basketball bets to make for the first week of the New Year, you might as well start at the top. The Purdue Boilermakers are the number one ranked team in the country, and they host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Monday night.
Purdue is led by Zach Edey and his 21.9 points per game, and he is nearly unstoppable around the rim. The Boilermakers don’t have a ton of NBA talent on the perimeter, but they don’t need it, as they are dominating in the paint.
Rutgers comes to Purdue, allowing just 55 points per game, and they will try to stay in this game with their defense. That strategy will keep the Scarlet Knights in the game for the first half, but they are a team that struggles to shoot the basketball.
It can be a bit risky taking an eight-point favorite when making picks for the ncaa basketball games today, but Purdue has passed all of their tests to begin the year. Home teams tend to dominate games in the Big Ten Conference, and this game won’t be an exception to that.
You should expect Rutgers to make this game interesting for a half, but it will be all Purdue late. Take the Boilermakers -8.0 as they move to 14-0 on the year in dominant fashion.
Kentucky Wildcats vs. LSU Tigers
The college basketball standings in the SEC are going to be interesting to follow this season, as there are a ton of great teams. With barely any college basketball injury report, Kentucky and LSU are two teams that should be in the mix as the season goes along, and they are set to meet up on Tuesday night.
LSU is coming into this game with a ton of momentum, as they have rattled off seven straight wins. The Tigers are scoring 72 points per game this season, and forward K.J. Williams is averaging nearly 19 points per contest.
Kentucky blew out rival Louisville in their most recent game, but they also suffered a blowout loss to Missouri to begin conference play. The Wildcats are allowing over 66 points per game this season, and head coach John Calipari is trying to get that fixed.
Oscar Tshwiebe, one of the great college basketball players is going to be the difference in this game for Kentucky, as he is scoring 16.5 points and grabbing 13.6 rebounds per game. LSU just won’t have an answer in the paint, and Kentucky will pick up an important SEC win at home.
Baylor Bears vs. TCU Horned Frogs
A pair of ranked Big 12 Conference ncaa basketball teams will meet up on Wednesday night when the Baylor Bears host the TCU Horned Frogs. TCU comes into this game having won 10 straight, and Baylor is trying to bounce back after a loss to Iowa State.
The TCU defensive effort is hard to ignore, as they are holding opponents to just 61 points per game. TCU beat Texas Tech to start their Big 12 Conference journey, but life on the road at Baylor won’t be as kind to the Horned Frogs.
Adam Flagler leads the Baylor attack with 16.5 points per game, but this team relies on three-point shooting in order to win games. Baylor is going to have to find a way to get clean looks against TCU, and that’s not usually easy to do.
The spread for this game should be pretty tight, and that’s how the game will play out as well. In the end, taking the Baylor Bears over the TCU Horned Frogs is the way to go.
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