The Monday slate was super tight, but we came out of it with a sweep! Coppin State got the outright win as home dogs and Mississippi Valley State ramped up their pace to push the scoring. A 2-0 start to the week is a thing of beauty. Here are the College Basketball picks for January 10th.
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College Basketball Picks January 10th
Providence at St. John’s (-6.5) (O/U 143.5)
A pair of beat-up teams meet up at the Mecca this evening. One team will be more short-handed than the other, as the Providence Friars will be without one of their best players, Bryce Hopkins. Not only is Hopkins a key player on the floor, he is the glue that keeps this team together.
Bryce Hopkins down at center court in Providence
Extent of injury unclear at this moment pic.twitter.com/uDH95zUZnw
— Ryan Cassidy (@ryancassidycbb) January 4, 2024
I see Hopkins’s injury as a full two-point bump in the spread which is fairly sizable. With that being said, Providence always seems to get the job done one way or another. I hate betting against this team because even when you think they are dead, they reel it back in. I want to take a look at the total here.
Both of these teams play on the faster end but Big East matchups are always a gritty battle. I would imagine Providence slows down the tempo a bit to minimize St. John’s chances to score. If they let the Jonnies run, it could get ugly.
The Pick: Under 143.5
Kansas (-7) at Central Florida (O/U 143.5)
Super easy handicap here. Kansas is coming off a very hard-fought and controversial win at home, while UCF got blown out in their Big 12 road opener to Kansas State. Clearly, Kansas is better than Kansas State, so the Jayhawks should roll UCF, right? Not so fast.
This is UCF’s first home game as a Big 12 team, so you would have to imagine the place will be jumping. Throw in the fact they get to host a blue blood and are coming off a game where they just got smacked, and I can see UCF bouncing back in a strong way.
Kansas has a top-ten matchup with Oklahoma up next, which is where their focus is at. Look for the Knights to be live in this one.
The Pick UCF +7
