College Basketball Picks

North Carolina looks like it usually does at the start of a season… long on talent and great coaching, which has consistently made it one of college basketball’s blue-blood programs. It wasn’t afraid to play Wofford and Elon on the road, and it has shown more than just bravery, as it hasn’t been held below 90 by anyone besides Wofford. Texas averages 77 points per game so how do the Longhorns close that gap? DJ breaks down this match up.

To hear coach Bill Self tell it, the Jayhawks are a mess right now. Obviously, Kansas is far from a mess after winning its first three games, but since a convincing win over Michigan State on opening night, Kansas simply hasn’t been Kansas yet. The Jayhawks have had two wins over Vermont and Louisiana-Lafayette in Lawrence that were a lot closer than they should have been, mainly because they’ve been all offense and no defense to this point. Will this be the game they get it together and lock down Marquette? Sportsbooks have the market set at Kansas -8.5.

What’s helped Georgia so far is its depth. In their first three games this year, the Bulldogs got at least 25 points out of their bench players, which goes a long way toward making up the difference when a star isn’t scoring. Rayshaun Hammonds did most of the scoring against Illinois State, torching the Redbirds for 31 points Monday, but that’s an outlier among Georgia’s first four games. What’s more likely to happen is that Georgia will spread the scoring around and get contributions from all over the court. DJ breaks down the match up and gives his basketball pick.

Kentucky might have looked poor against Duke, but that’s because the Blue Devils are playing on another level from just about everyone else so far. Kentucky has since gotten back on track and looks like it’s going to be a force in the SEC yet again. The earliest parts of the season are usually the best time to bet against the Wildcats as Calipari tries to figure out which pieces go where with his freshmen, but that’s reserved for when Kentucky faces better opponents than this VMI squad. VMI lost by 39 to Pitt. Does that mean betting your bookie -33?

Louisiana-Lafayette is facing off against their second top-10 team in as many games after being subjected to the wrath of the Tennessee Volunteers in their last outing. The do have a solid game to build on however. UL scored 120 points in their home opener and are making 11 3-point field goals per game, and their 18 ppg senior forward JaKeenan Gant is a legitimate problem for opposing teams. Is getting hot from beyond the arc the only way the Caguns can stay within 21 points? KC has his basketball prediction!