Best College Basketball Bets January 30: Our Top Picks including (16) Ohio State vs (6) Purdue and (22) Marquette vs (17) Providence

Despite a relatively calm college basketball schedule on Sunday, there are some heavyweight matchups featuring several Top-25 squads.

Saturday started off with a PAC 12 matchup between #15 USC taking on California. It was a competitive matchup, but USC won 79-72. Later that day we had a WCC matchup with #2 Gonzaga taking on Portland. Gonzaga destroyed Portland 104-72. Finally we ended the day with another PAC 12 matchup between #7 UCLA and Stanford. UCLA outmatched Stanford 66-43. Our Best Bets went 1-1-1 on the day, we hope to do better today.

Let’s take a closer look into Sunday.

#16 Ohio State vs #6 Purdue

The Bet: Ohio State +10

A BIG Ten and a top 25 matchup between #15 Ohio State and #6 Purdue. This is a crucial game for both teams in the BIG Ten conference standings as they are both looking to catch up to Illinois.

Ohio State is off to a great start to the season so far at 13-4. The Big Ten is a great conference this season and Ohio State is one of the best teams in the conference. Ohio State is an efficient and explosive offensive team that averages 75 points a game on 48% shooting. The Buckeyes are led by junior E.J. Riddell who averages 19.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, all on 52%

shooting from the field. Ohio State is on a three game winning streak and has looked better as the season goes on. They may not win this game, but they most definitely should cover the spread. I personally think Ohio State even wins this game.

Purdue is off to a great start to the season with a 17-3 record. The Boilermakers are a top team this year and have expectations to go far in this tournament. They have one of the best offenses in the country that can score at will. The Boilermakers average 84.7 points per game on 50.6% shooting from the field as a team. They average almost 19 assists as a team as well. They are a great offense that usually can score a high amount of points. They are considered one of if not the best offensive teams in the country. They are looking for a big win against a ranked conference rival to continue their early season dominance.

We think this should be a very competitive and exciting matchup that comes down to the final minutes, which is why we like Ohio State to cover the 10 point spread.

#22 Marquette vs #17 Providence

The Bet: Marquette +1.5

A rematch of Big East rivals and top 25 matchup between #22 Marquette and #17 Providence.This should be a great game between two great teams this year.

Marquette is off to a great start to the season with a 15-6 record. Marquette has played great especially lately winning seven in a row. They are even better than their already great record. They have played good competition and have played well against all their opponents. They played Providence earlier in the season. Marquette dominated that game in a 88-56 win. It was a close game 22-18 with 8 minutes left in the first half and then the Eagles went on a 20-2 run to end the half. Marquette was easily able to continue their success in the second half of that game. Marquette shot 52% from the field and 43% from three that game. They also forced Providence to turn the ball over 14 times that game. If they can shoot at a high rate and force Providence to turn the ball over, it should be another win for Marquette.

Providence is off to a great start to the season with a 17-2 record. One of those losses was to Marquette in an embarrassing 88-56 loss. Providence has won four straight since that loss. They are a solid defensive team that needs to do better in this game against Marquette. Last game Marquette scored at will scoring over 40 points in each half. Providence must play much better defense than they did last time or else they will have another embarrassing loss to Marquette on their resume.

Minnesota vs #11 Wisconsin

The Bet: Wisconsin -11.5

Another BIG Ten matchup to end the night. Minnesota is not a ranked team, but should provide an exciting matchup against Wisconsin.

Wisconsin off to a great start to the season at 16-3. Wisconsin has proved to be one of the best teams in a great Big Ten conference this year. Wisconsin has been great on defense this season only allowing opponents 66.8 points per game. Wisconsin’s offense is good, but not great. The Badgers average 72.7 points per game, but have played inconsistent on the offense end all season. If they can play more consistently on offense they can be a top team in the country.

Minnesota is off to a good start with a 11-6 start. They are 1-4 in their past five games however. They have struggled recently on offense, which has been an issue earlier in the season. They have however played consistently well on the defensive end. Minnesota is not great in any specific category alone though however. They are a good team, but no where near they talent and skill that Wisconsin has.

Wisconsin should easily win this game which is why we like them to cover the 11.5 point spread.