Picks for 1/20/26
College Basketball
6:30 PM EST
Rotation # 606
Ohio State -7.5 over Minnesota (win)
Minnesota head coach Niko Medved has his work cut out for him in his first year. The Gophers have lost three straight and have not looked good on the road at all. The Gophers are missing starters Chansey Willis and Robert Vaihola for the season, which shortens their rotation and puts extra weight on just a handful of guys. Ohio State has the size with players like Devin Royal and Christoph Tilly that can get the Gophers into foul trouble. I don’t trust their bench at all. The Buckeyes are a good shooting team led by senior Bruce Thornton, who will look to pull away from a Minnesota team that runs at a turtle pace and isn’t offensively gifted. Look for the Buckeyes to get the home win and for the spread to take care of itself. Take Ohio State.
6:30 PM EST
Rotation # 606
Ohio State -7.5 over Minnesota (win)
Minnesota head coach Niko Medved has his work cut out for him in his first year. The Gophers have lost three straight and have not looked good on the road at all. The Gophers are missing starters Chansey Willis and Robert Vaihola for the season, which shortens their rotation and puts extra weight on just a handful of guys. Ohio State has the size with players like Devin Royal and Christoph Tilly that can get the Gophers into foul trouble. I don’t trust their bench at all. The Buckeyes are a good shooting team led by senior Bruce Thornton, who will look to pull away from a Minnesota team that runs at a turtle pace and isn’t offensively gifted. Look for the Buckeyes to get the home win and for the spread to take care of itself. Take Ohio State.
College Basketball
7:00 PM EST
Rotation # 613
NC State +2.5 over Clemson (win)
Clemson is off to a flawless start in conference and is 10-0 at home this year, winners of 9 straight. It’s interesting that the oddsmakers only have them as the slightest of favorites against NC State. The Wolfpack is a well-balanced team that is playing well under Will Wade in his first year with the program. Paul McNeil, in his sophomore campaign, has been one of the most improved players in the country. The Wolfpack were happy to get Tre Holloman back after missing a few games, as they will need him against a great Tigers defense. The Wolfpack has the size to compete on the road. Take NC State.
7:00 PM EST
Rotation # 613
NC State +2.5 over Clemson (win)
Clemson is off to a flawless start in conference and is 10-0 at home this year, winners of 9 straight. It’s interesting that the oddsmakers only have them as the slightest of favorites against NC State. The Wolfpack is a well-balanced team that is playing well under Will Wade in his first year with the program. Paul McNeil, in his sophomore campaign, has been one of the most improved players in the country. The Wolfpack were happy to get Tre Holloman back after missing a few games, as they will need him against a great Tigers defense. The Wolfpack has the size to compete on the road. Take NC State.
College Basketball
9:00 PM EST
Rotation # 645
SMU -1.5 over Wake Forest (pending)
Both teams have identical 2-3 conference records coming off a 2024 campaign in which they both finished 13-7 in the conference, tied for 4th place. Each team is looking to move up in the standings, and tonight’s game will be a good test to see where they are compared to a season ago. The Demon Deacons’ offense has struggled this year, as they lost a lot of pure scoring to graduation. SMU played well against Duke a few games ago, even without top scorer Boopie Miller, who missed the game due to illness. SMU freshman forward Jaden Toombs missed the first few weeks of the season but has been a big boost on the glass and can score at the rim. I like the Mustangs’ guards a bit better in this contest. Take SMU.
9:00 PM EST
Rotation # 645
SMU -1.5 over Wake Forest (pending)
Both teams have identical 2-3 conference records coming off a 2024 campaign in which they both finished 13-7 in the conference, tied for 4th place. Each team is looking to move up in the standings, and tonight’s game will be a good test to see where they are compared to a season ago. The Demon Deacons’ offense has struggled this year, as they lost a lot of pure scoring to graduation. SMU played well against Duke a few games ago, even without top scorer Boopie Miller, who missed the game due to illness. SMU freshman forward Jaden Toombs missed the first few weeks of the season but has been a big boost on the glass and can score at the rim. I like the Mustangs’ guards a bit better in this contest. Take SMU.