It is the last Saturday of the college basketball regular season, and just like every other Saturday before it, it's a busy one. For today's college basketball picks & predictions, I am going to target a few marquee matchups with upset potential. No need to wait until the tournament for a little madness, right?
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Saturday’s Best College Basketball Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
No. 24 Vanderbilt Commodores at No. 23 Tennessee Volunteers
These two teams just met in Nashville in a game that saw Vanderbilt take a 35-31 lead into the break, but Tennessee outscored them 38-30 in the second half, sealing a 69-65 upset win (the Commodores were favored by 2.5 points). Since then, the Volunteers went 1-2 and the Commodores 2-1. Tennessee's defense held a potent Vanderbilt offense in check in the previous matchup, but that won’t be easy to replicate with star freshman Nate Ament out with an injury.
For a game that went back and forth last time and was settled by just four points, that could be the difference. Ament had 13 points and nine rebounds in the first game and is the team's second leading scorer. Tennessee could still win, but they will not cover.
Pick: Vanderbilt +4.5 (-110)
Wisconsin Badgers at No. 15 Purdue Boilermakers
When these teams played in January, it wasn't much of a contest. Purdue led 45-38 at the break and outscored them 44-35 in the second half, leading to a final score of 89-73. For this game, Purdue opened as 6.5-point favorites, but the line has since shifted to 8.5 points. I don't have the same confidence in Purdue as the public. Yes, the Boilermakers have been a solid home team (12-4) and Wisconsin is a .500 road team (5-5).
However, Purdue has lost three of its last five and didn't look good in their win over a poor Northwestern team. Wisconsin has gone 5-2 in its last seven, with wins over No. 8-ranked Illinois and No. 13-ranked Michigan State. They are playing better basketball than the Boilermakers right now. If Purdue lets them linger, the Badgers are going to sneak up on them and steal the win.
At the very least, it will be a close game.
Pick: Wisconsin +8.5 (-108)
Auburn Tigers at No. 16 Alabama Crimson Tide
When we last saw these two teams meet, two high-powered offenses went toe-to-toe in a shootout. Auburn led 41-37 at the half, but Alabama erupted in the second half, scoring 59 points to the Tigers’ 51, en route to a 96-92 victory. The Crimson Tide went on a small run after that game, winning six in a row before falling to Georgia on Tuesday.
Auburn went down the other end of the rabbit hole and lost five of their last seven games.
I came into this one expecting to go with the over, but the total (176.5) is too high for me. However, it will undoubtedly be a high-scoring game, like the last one. If Alabama wins, they will not win by more than eight points.
Pick: Auburn +8.5 (-110)
