The winter storms continue in January on and off the court. Top 10 teams are losing daily. There is nothing better than some quality college basketball to kickstart the weekend. Let’s check out the college basketball slate for Friday. Here are the College Basketball Picks for January 19th.
College Basketball Picks January 19th
Indiana at Wisconsin (-11) (O/U 140.5)
A classic Big Ten matchup in Madison between the Hoosiers and Badgers. Wisconsin laying quite a number here. Greg Gard hasn’t lost to Indiana at home in his tenure with the Badgers. Wisconsin, coming off of a loss on the road in conference, should motivate Gard’s squad properly.
Let’s highlight some Indiana key stats. They are 322nd in FT% per KenPom. The Hoosiers rank 259th in Offensive Rebound %. These are concerning in themselves, but let’s look at more contributing factors. They are 238th in opponent Offensive Rebounding % and 249th in opponent Turnover %.
Indiana is going to go into Wisconsin, not hit their free throws and not rebound. I’m taking the under while this may seem like a Wisconsin -11 post. Wisconsin’s tempo and Indiana’s inability to capitalize on free throws or second-chance points have led me here.
The Pick: Under 140.5
UNLV at Colorado State (-7.5) (O/U 144)
There is reason for optimism on both sides here. Colorado State is super efficient with inside scoring, and UNLV can put a big body down low to both the Rams. The rebounds should be a fun storyline to watch. Neither team has length in terms of NCAA average but the Mountain West is grit.
Isaiah Stevens is distributing at the highest clip of his career. The point guard has increased his Ast percentage by 13% in his time at Colorado State.
The surrounding cast for the Rams deserves a lot of credit for this. Colorado transfer Nique Clifford has added another dimension to this offense. A forward who is able to hit three-pointers at a high percentage.
That is going to be the game plan once again for the Rams tonight. Pull UNLV’s big bodies away from the basket and create driving lanes and open shots from the forwards.
Grab Stevens’ assist prop to go along with Colorado State’s spread. This will be a fun display from Colorado State.
The Pick: Colorado State -7.5
