College Basketball Betting: Conference Showdowns in Big Ten

Super Saturday’s continue in college basketball this weekend, with a list of games capable of at least temporarily drawing the attention away from the Super Bowl betting going on across the country. 21 of the top-25 teams in the nation will be hitting the hard court, including four of the top-five, but no matchups will be bigger than the two featuring teams in the top-20. First, the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes will face their toughest Big Ten challenge so far this year when they travel to face the No. 20 Wisconsin Badgers with the top spot in the conference on the line. Then, it’s a battle of the top two teams in the Big 12 as the No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks look to forget that surprising loss to Iowa State when they travel to face the No. 4 Missouri Tigers.

(3) Ohio State Buckeyes @ (20) Wisconsin Badgers
Saturday, 2:00 PM ET

The Buckeyes had no trouble in the first of back-to-back games against nationally ranked opponents from the Big Ten, knocking off the No. 22 Michigan Wolverines 64-49 in a game that they simply dominated.

Wisconsin will hope to give them a much toughest test even though they are also underdogs at home according to the pay head bookies, and extend their winning streak to seven. The Badgers had no problem at Illinois and then home to Indiana in back-to-back games against ranked opponents, but this will be the toughest challenge yet for leading scorer and rebound Jordan Taylor and company. Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger still ranks among the most dangerous players in the nation, and he has the ability to absolutely dominate in the biggest games. Wisconsin doesn’t have the defense to contain Sullinger all night, and if William Buford heats up from beyond the arc, the Buckeyes will be hard to slow down as a solid per head unit.

College Basketball Betting Pick: Ohio State Buckeyes

(8) Kansas Jayhawks @ (4) Missouri Tigers
Saturday, 9:00 PM ET

Few would have ever projected that the team Kansas would lose their first Big 12 game against would be the unranked Iowa State Cyclones, even though they have started strong in the conference. The fact that five Jayhawks’ players finished in double figures for the Jayhawks and they still couldn’t get the job done is troubling, but they were caught napping by a more determined team to open the second half, and part of that could have been feeling they had the game locked up. Kansas will not dare slow down against its net opponent in Missouri, which are just one-half game back of the Jayhawks in the Big 12, and actually four spots ahead of them in the national rankings. Marcus Denmon and Ricardo Ratcliffe have helped the Tigers become the sixth-highest scoring team in the country, and the Mizzou Arena will be rocking when they take the court against Kansas as Betonline underdogs.

College Basketball Betting Pick: Missouri Tigers