Alabama and Kansas State Headline a Great Night of College Hoops

The games I highlighted on Wednesday turned out not to be very good. Houston did what they do and blew out Oakland, and Minnesota got blown out by Missouri after keeping the game close for a half. The best game of the Wednesday schedule took place in Gill Coliseum, where the Oregon State Beavers made a considerable comeback late in the game to beat North Texas. A key technical foul on North Texas with 1 second left sealed their fate.

Wednesday also helped answer a few questions about some teams. In the Atlantic 10, George Washington looks excellent and is a team that will be hard to beat. The next game takes us to the Ohio Valley, where UT Martin looks to be one of four teams competing at the top of that conference. Through three games, the Skyhawks look dominant. Already having wins over UNLV and Bradley, both on the road.

The Thursday schedule is back to featuring two top-10 teams squaring off. Then pair that game with a nightcap in Manhattan, and that is a nice schedule of games with two must-watch games. There will always be the games built in the true college basketball sickos, but here are the picks of the day for Thursday, November 13th, 2025.

No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers at No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide- Two top 10 teams clash in Coleman

Coleman Coliseum has been the site of some huge games over the last few seasons, and tonight is no exception. The Crimson Tide has already knocked off one top-5 team this season, beating St. John's on Saturday. We all know what to expect from Alabama in this game: running up and down the floor, getting into the paint, shooting a ton of threes, and getting to the foul line. If they don't make threes, it could be tough sledding.

Purdue got a scare last week when it allowed Oakland to stay in the game for far too long. The Boilers will need to play a whole lot better against Alabama, or this game will be over soon. Braden Smith is the frontrunner for National Player of the Year, and if he plays great and finds the open shooters, Purdue will win the game. This is a challenging early-season road game for the Boilers, who didn't need to schedule this game.

California Golden Bears at Kansas State Wildcats- The Octagon of Doom hosts an upset-minded ACC foe.

The Golden Bears are expected to be much improved this year under Mark Madsen, but will they win enough games to make the postseason tournament? That is the question for which we will soon get a more definitive answer. The Golden Bears are not yet a great team, and this game is going to be tough. However, the Golden Bears play strong defense, and they have enough athletes to keep this close for a while.

Full disclosure, I love the Kansas State roster. It resembles the Elite Eight roster for Coach Tang; the team needs to gel a bit, and they will start rolling. PJ Haggerty is an elite scorer, and with the supporting cast around him, the Wildcats can do some extraordinary things this year. There will be a lot of questions answered about both teams when this game ends.

Here are the picks for the rest of the day: