Top 10 teams losing on the road has become the norm. Both Alabama and Northwestern take down their top 10 conference opponents on Wednesday, defending their home courts. Arizona is the only top 10 team on the road tonight, but an upset won’t be brewing. Here are the College Basketball picks for January 25th.
College Basketball Picks January 25th
Arizona at Oregon State (+18) (O/U 149)
Backing Kentucky on Tuesday was a bold move. Not a wise one. Time and time again, the top 10 teams travel on the road in conference play and go down. Typically, they are not looked at as upset most of the time due to the nature of college basketball despite the Vegas lines. We stepped in it there. Hand up.
However, if Oregon State is able to pull out a win – consider it a massive upset. It is Arizona’s offense that is getting most of the attention. However, they aren’t without concerns.
Kylan Boswell has been missing. He’s been missing buckets and MIA on the stat sheets. He has a combined 5 points in Arizona’s last two road games. Both losses. Arizona has five players averaging double digits, and Boswell remains in the grouping, but it will be key for the Wildcats to get him in a rhythm sooner rather than later.
Arizona will have to get their energy up and fight the road demons in this matchup. This is a huge spot for them after losing their last two conference road games. Life won’t get easier for this team as they play both Oregon teams in three days.
They will win this game but have to look forward to heading to Eugene. Taking Arizona’s top 5 defense and pairing it with Oregon State’s snail’s pace for an under-play. Oregon State has the home court against a top 10 team. The arena should be rocking.
The Pick: Under 149
San Francisco at Gonzaga (-9.5) (O/U 151.5)
Unranked Gonzaga plays host to 15-5 San Francisco led by Jonathan Mogbo. Don’t be easily deceived by Gonzaga being unranked. This team is still a very good basketball team.
They rank top 30 in both Adjusted Efficiency on Offense and Defense. The Bulldogs rotate size down low with a variety of skillsets with Graham Ike, Anton Watson, Braden Huff, and Ben Gregg. They won’t give up size to Mogbo and will spread the Dons out on defense.
The concerning part is San Francisco’s ability to get to the free-throw line. They like to work their way into the paint. Gonzaga should bother this team enough down low to force missed shots. San Francisco may be 15-5, but they dropped their last game to Saint Marys by 17 at home and don’t have the best quality of opponents.
Expecting Gonzaga to play bully tonight in Spokane, especially on the glass. Offensive rebounding will be the difference in this one.
The Pick: Gonzaga -9.5
