College Basketball Weekly Picks

January 25th to February 1st

Maryland vs. (1) Duke

Cody Zeller

Duke may be sitting at number one in the nation, but they're are a lot of questions about this team. They were dominated by Miami from start to finish and could fall to .500 inside the ACC with a loss to an underrated Maryland squad. The 15-4 Terps look like a tournament team headed by Alex Len and Dez Wells, but they haven't faced a team like Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils should use their perimeter scoring in Quinn Cook and Seth Curry to stretch out the Terps defense early. The last time I saw Maryland get off to a weak start was against UNC and that was a comfortable Tar Heels win. This one could be much the same.
Duke, 78 Maryland, 66

(7) Indiana vs. (13) Michigan State
The craziness should continue in the Big Ten this weekend. No team appears to be gaining an edge but the winner of this one hopes too. The Spartans have a huge post presence in senior Derrick Nix and they will need one to stop Player of the Year candidate Cody Zeller and Christian Watford. It's odd to say that teams may not be able to keep up with the Hoosiers but Indiana has some serious speed on their roster in point guard Yogi Ferrell and Victor Oladipo. They should use all of it to outrun a relatively weak transition Spartans team.
Indiana, 80 Michigan State, 71

(24) Notre Dame vs. Villanova
'Nova is on an emotional high after beating the fifth-ranked Louisville Cardinals in their last game. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish have hung around in the Big East but haven't been overwhelming. Don't think Notre Dame will run away with this one, in fact I pick the upset as the Wildcats led by JayVaughn Pinkston in the post and Ryan Arcidiacono on the perimeter pull out a close one. The Irish have one of the Big East's best rebounders in Jack Cooley but he may have met his match against big men Mouphtaou Yarou and Daniel Ochefu of Villanova. That may be the key in the upset for 'Nova.
Villanova, 65 Notre Dame, 60