Now that the Big 12/SEC Challenge has come and gone, the matchup between St. John’s and Duke on Saturday is the last non-conference game on the 2018-19 college basketball slate. There are five to six weeks left in the regular season, depending on each conference’s schedule, and some teams are rounding into form more nicely than others. Kentucky knocked off Kansas at home on Saturday, winning their sixth straight — and their third straight over as a ranked opponents. Ashton Hagans has dished out 22 assists in those three wins. Then there was Purdue, who knocked off Michigan State, the first loss for the Spartans since November. We have three NCAAB betting predictions for you to consider from college hoops for this coming week.
Top NCAAB Betting Picks of the Week – January 28th Edition
College basketball rankings: Michigan cracks top 5 in Coaches Poll while Tennessee holds on to No. 1 ahead of Dukehttps://t.co/zAzdTs3R6E
— CBS Sports CBB (@CBSSportsCBB) January 28, 2019
Monday, January 28
TCU at Texas Tech (9:00pm ET, ESPN)
TCU rebounded nicely from a loss at Kansas State with wins over Texas and Florida, the latter coming in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. That 55-50 win for the Horned Frogs over the Gators featured ugly shooting by both teams, and the 7-0 lead that Kouat Noi posted the Frogs too all by himself in the early going was enough to keep TCU ahead the rest of the way; Noi had 22 of the Frogs’ 55 points. The Frogs will need more than 55 points to beat the Red Raiders, though.
Texas Tech also won their SEC/Big 12 Challenge game, taking down Arkansas, 67-64. That ended a three-game skid that saw them lose to Iowa State, Baylor and Kansas State. In that win over Arkansas, David Moretti put up a career-best 21 points, and Jarrett Culver added 15, 12 of which came after halftime. Texas Tech’s offense went AWOL late once again, as they did not make a field goal over the last 7:41 of the game, as Arkansas started to trim a 60-48 deficit from that point. If Tech can’t find their offense, TCU will make it four straight Big 12 losses.
NCAAB Betting Prediction: Texas Tech 72, TCU 68
Tuesday, January 29
Wisconsin at Nebraska (8:00pm ET, Big Ten Network)
The Badgers look like they’ve found their stride in Big 12 play, knocking off then-#2 Michigan at home and then rolling over Illinois and Northwestern. In that 62-46 win over the Wildcats, Wisconsin got a triple-double from Ethan Happ, who had 13 points, 12 boards and 11 assists. D’Mitrik Trice and Brad Davison combined for seven three-pointers and 36 points overall. That sort of inside-out game centered on Happ is what will help the Badgers contend if they stay with it.
They head to Nebraska to take on a Cornhuskers team that has dropped three straight Big Ten games, losing to Michigan State, Rutgers and Ohio State. In that loss to the Buckeyes, Nebraska got 37 combined points from Glynn Watson Jr and James Palmer. The Cornhuskers had to play without Isaac Copeland for most of the second half after tearing an ACL. Nebraska struggled against the 2-3 zone that Ohio State was playing and needs to put together a solid 40 minutes to beat Wisconsin at home.
NCAAB Betting Prediction: Wisconsin 74, Nebraska 67
Wednesday, January 30
West Virginia at Iowa State (7:00pm ET, ESPNU)
West Virginia has dropped seven of eight — but that one win was as home victory over Kansas, 65-64. They played Tennessee in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday but fell, 83-66. Esa Ahmad had 16 points and Derek Culver added 15. The Mountaineers ran out to a 19-7 lead near the midpoint of the first half, but they would only score two more points before the intermission, missing 13 shots in a row at one point during the slump. West Virginia lost guard James Bolden (ankle sprain) and played without forward Sagaba Konate, who leads the team in scoring and is second in rebounding.
Now the Mountaineers head down out of the hills to take on Iowa State, who lost at Kansas last week but then rebounded to take on Ole Miss in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday, 87-73, on the road. In that win, the Cyclones overwhelmed the Rebels with ball movement and shooting, as they shot 69 percent for the game and almost 77 percent after the intermission. Talen Horton-Tucker went 11 for 18 and grabbed eight boards. Marial Shayok went 6 for 9, including 3 for 5 from downtown, to score 17 points. West Virginia sounds like they are still at ends — not the best time to expect to upset the Cyclones on the road.
NCAAB Betting Prediction: Iowa State 84, West Virginia 77
