Top NCAAB Betting Picks of the Week – January 16th

The Big 12 is not always associated with the best in quality college basketball — historically, Kansas has waltzed through its conference slate to a title, while the other blue bloods in the league have focused on football as their main sport. This year, though, the depth of the league is scary. The bottom team right now in the rankings is Iowa State, but they have routed Boise State and Baylor, both considered to be in the top 50. TCU and Baylor also sit at 1-4 in conference play, but things don’t get any easier for these teams. We’ve put together some NCAAB betting picks from college hoops for you for the week ahead.

Top NCAAB Betting Picks of the Week – January 16th

College Basketball Power Rankings: Purdue moves up to No. 2, top 10 sees changes. https://t.co/dr0RUPNTjV pic.twitter.com/vSY6vqjQV7

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 15, 2018

Tuesday, January 16

Clemson at North Carolina (7:00pm ET, ACCNE)

Clemson has opened ACC play in impressive fashion, opening 4-1 and knocking off #18 Miami on Saturday. Their only setback — a one-point loss at North Carolina State — isn’t all that harmful to their prospects as Duke went up there and lost as well. In their win over Miami, Donte Grantham led the way with 18 points and four daggers from downtown, and Mark Donnal chipped in a dozen points with two big three-balls of his own. Clemson doesn’t have as much size inside as some of the other ACC contenders, but they have speed and shotmakers on the perimeter who can get steals and get to the rim. The Tigers face a Tar Heel team that is 3-2 in conference play, with a one-point loss at Florida State and a twelve-point loss at Virginia. They escaped Notre Dame with a one-point victory, thanks to a pair of free throws from Joel Berry II with seven seconds left in the second half. However, North Carolina saw Notre Dame’s T.J. Gibbs drive the length of the floor and get a layup in the last seconds, get his own rebound and have the ball spin out at the buzzer. That lack of focus won’t get the job done against the Tigers. NCAAB Betting Prediction: Clemson 72, North Carolina 70

Wisconsin at Purdue (7:00pm ET, ESPN)

This is not one of the stronger Badger teams in recent years. The team opened Big Ten play with a 10-point home win over Indiana, thanks to 28 points from Ethan Happ. However, Wisconsin’s injuries continue to hamper them, as they have since lost at Rutgers by four and at Nebraska by four. They simply don’t have the horses to keep up with competition in the Big Ten — and now they head to third-ranked Purdue. BPI gives Purdue a 19% chance to win the NCAA basketball tournament right now, the best odds in the nation. The Boilermakers have not lost since a tournament at the beginning of the season and dominated Minnesota on the road, 81-47, on Saturday, to roll up 13 wins in a row. The problem with Purdue last year was that, despite a dominant presence inside, the Boilermakers did not have the speed on the perimeter to keep up with the opposition. Vincent Edwards (who had 25 points against Minnesota) is part of the solution to that problem as he went 9 for 14 against the Golden Gophers and leads a backcourt that has Purdue outrunning opponents. NCAAB Betting Prediction: Purdue 81, Wisconsin 67

Wednesday, January 17

Texas Tech at Texas (8:00pm ET, Longhorn Network / WatchESPN)

Texas Tech is just another scary team in the Big 12 this season. So far in conference play they have beaten Baylor by 22 at home, beaten Kansas by 12 on the road, routed Kansas State and beaten then-#2 West Virginia at home. They did lose at then-#9 Oklahoma by 10, but they are #8 in the nation in the latest rankings. Keenan Evans put up 20 points and Brandone Francis added 17 in their win over the Mountaineers, who gave up an 11-point lead in the last 13 minutes of the game. Texas Tech is one of four Big 12 teams with 4-1 records. The Red Raiders head to Austin on Wednesday to take on a Longhorn team that is 2-3 in conference play, with wins at Iowa State and at home over then-#16 TCU and losses against Kansas, at Baylor and at Oklahoma State (a one-point loss that saw the Cowboys finish the game with a 15-2 run). Texas battled TCU to double overtime before taking that victory and will have some motivation after seeing that lead evaporate at Oklahoma State. But do they have the speed to keep up with the Red Raiders? NCAAB Betting Prediction: Texas Tech 86, Texas 83