Our experts have picks for all of Saturday’s big games from the CBS Sports Classic and elsewhere
USATSI
Whichever rendition of “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” you’ll be blasting in your car this weekend, just know that it is as much an ode to college basketball as it is to the upcoming Christmas holiday. Because this weekend’s slate — particularly Saturday — is jam-packed with goodies between the CBS Sports Classic and other high-profile conference and nonconference games.
Among them: No. 9 Marquette goes on the road to face Xavier in its first road game in Big East play, No. 2 Auburn and No. 16 Purdue square off in Birmingham, Alabama, and the CBS Sports Classic’s always-juicy doubleheader looks especially delightful featuring a top-five Kentucky team and an ascending No. 16 UCLA team.
Our college basketball experts made picks for all the biggest games of the day on tap both straight-up and against the spread. Those picks are below.
Odds via SportsLine consensus | All times Eastern
12 p.m. | Fox, fuboTV (Try for free) — Marquette has been the most consistent team in the Big East this season with a blend of balance on both sides of the floor. But winning on the road in the Big East is never easy. And especially not against this Xavier team, which has lost two-straight tight ones and is coming off an OT loss at UConn. Prediction: Xavier +4
12:30 p.m. | CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App and Paramount+ with Showtime (try it free) — Penny Hardaway’s Tigers have time and again found ways to win close games this season and this is another one that’ll fall into that category. This matchup should be close, but the Tigers’ prolific 3-point shooting will be too tough a task for the Bulldogs to conquer inside FedExForum. Prediction: Memphis -2
3 p.m. | CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App and Paramount+ with Showtime (try it free) — How a team has played recently isn’t always a predictor of how a team will play in its next game, but it’s hard to ignore how rough UNC and its flailing defense has looked in contrast to how well UCLA and its chaos-creating defense has looked and think the Tar Heels can win this one. It may be close, but Bruins get this one done by more than a possession. Prediction: UCLA -2
4:30 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV (Try for free) — With star Johni Broome dealing with a shoulder injury and his status up in the air, this feels like a big number for Auburn to cover. Yes, it has been the best team in the country this season, and yes, it has dominated almost every team in its path. But Broome has been the catalyst of that. Without him — or even with a diminished version of him — Purdue can keep it within single digits. Prediction: Purdue +11
5:30 p.m. | CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App and Paramount+ with Showtime (try it free) — These two teams are going opposite directions — and fast — entering the weekend. Kentucky is 10-1 having beat Gonzaga and Louisville in the last two weeks. Ohio State is 7-4 with a 2-3 record in its last five games and a lot of uncertainty as far as its roster due to injuries and the news this week that Meechie Johnson is taking a leave of absence. I know which team I prefer here. Prediction: Kentucky -5
Who will win and cover in every college basketball game? Visit SportsLine to get picks from the model that simulates each game 10,000 times and is up more than $1,200 for $100 players on its top-rated spread picks the past six years.
