Picks for 1/9/26
College Football
7:30 PM EST
Rotation # 276
Indiana -3 over Oregon (win)
Indiana/Oregon Over 48.5 (win)
Indiana went up to Eugene a few weeks ago and beat the Ducks on the road. Oregon running back Noah Whittington had one of his worst statistical days as the Ducks couldn’t get much going on the ground. The only running back that looked decent that day for the Ducks was Jordan Davidson, and he will miss tonight’s game. Stopping the run is what the Hoosiers do best. Oregon is going to have to throw the ball tonight, and most likely won’t be able to control the clock as Miami did against Ole Miss last night. We will take Indiana because of this, and we will also add the total, since there should be more possessions in this game. The Ducks’ offensive line has the size to allow Dante Moore time to make throws. With just one game on the board, the oddsmakers are pretty sharp, as there isn’t a bunch of games on the card to find a few that hold value. Look at last night’s game. It went from underdog and the under to favorite and the over in the final 18 seconds of the game. Winning or losing your wager can come down to whether your team has the ball last or not. That is the price you pay for wanting action on big marquee games. We all do it. It is what it is. Indiana has a balanced offensive attack, as Fernando Mendoza is a phenomenal quarterback who can lean on a good running game, which sets him up to find any one of his outstanding receivers. Oregon put on a defensive clinic against Texas Tech in its last game, but a couple of fluke turnovers did the Red Raiders in. I can’t see Indiana making the same mistakes with its outstanding turnover margin, which leads the nation. The Hoosiers were the only team to get a bye in the college football playoffs the last few years and not look like they hadn’t played in a year, which is a credit to their coaching staff for preparing them to play rust-free. Curt Cignetti will lay it all out on the line for his offense to get plenty of scoring opportunities, as it’s not in his DNA to allow his offensive coordinator to get timid. Take Indiana and the Over. No parlays.
7:30 PM EST
Rotation # 276
Indiana -3 over Oregon (win)
Indiana/Oregon Over 48.5 (win)
Indiana went up to Eugene a few weeks ago and beat the Ducks on the road. Oregon running back Noah Whittington had one of his worst statistical days as the Ducks couldn’t get much going on the ground. The only running back that looked decent that day for the Ducks was Jordan Davidson, and he will miss tonight’s game. Stopping the run is what the Hoosiers do best. Oregon is going to have to throw the ball tonight, and most likely won’t be able to control the clock as Miami did against Ole Miss last night. We will take Indiana because of this, and we will also add the total, since there should be more possessions in this game. The Ducks’ offensive line has the size to allow Dante Moore time to make throws. With just one game on the board, the oddsmakers are pretty sharp, as there isn’t a bunch of games on the card to find a few that hold value. Look at last night’s game. It went from underdog and the under to favorite and the over in the final 18 seconds of the game. Winning or losing your wager can come down to whether your team has the ball last or not. That is the price you pay for wanting action on big marquee games. We all do it. It is what it is. Indiana has a balanced offensive attack, as Fernando Mendoza is a phenomenal quarterback who can lean on a good running game, which sets him up to find any one of his outstanding receivers. Oregon put on a defensive clinic against Texas Tech in its last game, but a couple of fluke turnovers did the Red Raiders in. I can’t see Indiana making the same mistakes with its outstanding turnover margin, which leads the nation. The Hoosiers were the only team to get a bye in the college football playoffs the last few years and not look like they hadn’t played in a year, which is a credit to their coaching staff for preparing them to play rust-free. Curt Cignetti will lay it all out on the line for his offense to get plenty of scoring opportunities, as it’s not in his DNA to allow his offensive coordinator to get timid. Take Indiana and the Over. No parlays.
College Basketball
8:30 PM EST
Rotation # 891
USC +3.5 over Minnesota (win)
Niko Medved has done a fine job taking over as the Gophers’ head coach. Minnesota is 9-0 at home and off to a decent start in conference play. The Gophers are coming off a big home win against ranked Iowa the other night and took advantage of a slow-paced opponent. USC is a fast-tempo team that will try to get Gophers starters into foul trouble. Minnesota is only playing with a 6 or 7-man rotation with Chansey Willis and Robert Vaihola out. The Trojans are an experienced team that has a lot of size. Utah transfer Ezra Ausar is good around the basket and does an excellent job getting to the foul line, which could force the Gophers to go deep into their bench. Auburn transfer Chad Baker-Mazara leads the Trojans in scoring and dishes the ball to his teammates well. Look for the Trojans to take this game to the wire. Take USC.
8:30 PM EST
Rotation # 891
USC +3.5 over Minnesota (win)
Niko Medved has done a fine job taking over as the Gophers’ head coach. Minnesota is 9-0 at home and off to a decent start in conference play. The Gophers are coming off a big home win against ranked Iowa the other night and took advantage of a slow-paced opponent. USC is a fast-tempo team that will try to get Gophers starters into foul trouble. Minnesota is only playing with a 6 or 7-man rotation with Chansey Willis and Robert Vaihola out. The Trojans are an experienced team that has a lot of size. Utah transfer Ezra Ausar is good around the basket and does an excellent job getting to the foul line, which could force the Gophers to go deep into their bench. Auburn transfer Chad Baker-Mazara leads the Trojans in scoring and dishes the ball to his teammates well. Look for the Trojans to take this game to the wire. Take USC.