Alabama, Purdue, and three more picks for college basketball big games tomorrow

Welcome to Saturday!  The best day of the week and the best day of college basketball. There are a ton if impact games today. You have bubble teams, the number 1 vs number 2 matchup in the SEC, The battle for first place in the Big 12, and huge mid-major games. Here are the five best ones for Saturday.

Arkansas at No. 8 Texas A&M prediction and pick

It's February, which means teams are on the home stretch of trying to make the tournament, and Arkansas is one of those teams making a late-season push. They are on the right side of the bubble right now and need as many big wins as they can. The beauty of the SEC is that there is a big game every night. Arkansas already has two huge road wins, which got them back into the tournament conversation. A win in College Station would be their biggest win of the year.

Texas A&M is loaded and is one of the top teams in the country. The Aggies are still in play for a top 8 seed in the NCAA tournament, but to do that, they are going to have to win their games at home. Texas A&M is a hard team to prepare for with their dominant big men who protect the rim and can score, and then they have guards who can shoot and score from all three levels. Arkansas needs this game so it will be close, I just don’t know if the Razorbacks have the horses to beat the Aggies.

No. 16 Wisconsin at No. 7 Purdue prediction and pick

The Badgers are currently in 4th place in the Big Ten and want the double bye. However, they have two teams who are nipping at their heels for that position, and a loss at Purdue would move Wisconsin into 5th place. The Badgers have one of their best offenses in history and they are doing it by making a ton of threes and getting out in transition. It is a new style for Wisconsin, and it has paid off this year with a lot of wins. John Tonje and John Blackwell are two guys who will score a lot of points if they get comfortable. The only problem is they must travel to Mackey Arena where teams go to lose.

Purdue is coming off a loss to Michigan that took them out of the top spot in the league. The Boilermakers are built a lot differently than the National runner-up team last year. They are dominated by two fantastic guards in Braden Smith, who is likely going to be the Big Ten Player of the Year. Smith and Fletcher Loyer along with Trey Kaufman-Renn are going to need to be at their best to beat the Badgers. Wisconsin is good enough to win at Mackey.

No 6. Houston at No. 13 Arizona prediction and pick

This is the battle for first place in the Big 12. At this point, we should all know what we are going to get from Houston. Smothering defense with a heavy three-point offense. The Cougars get a ton of offensive rebounds and putbacks and will use turnovers to get out in transition for easy offense. The Cougars have an outside shot at a top overall seed in the NCAA tournament but need to keep winning games, and winning games against good teams is going to help that cause.

Arizona just lost to Kansas State and now returns home for one game before heading out to Waco to face Baylor. The Wildcats play fast and also shoot a lot of threes. Against Kansas State, they only made 2 of their 22 attempts from deep, which allowed the Wildcats to stay in the game. They are going to have to make a ton of threes to stay in this one. The advantage they do have is Houston having to travel to McKale in this game.  Houston might be too much for Arizona.

No. 1 Auburn at No. 2 Alabama prediction and pick

This game is going to make history. There has never been a No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup in the SEC and there has not been one since 2021 when Gonzaga beat UCLA. Auburn is the number 1 team in the country, and they do it using a fantastic defense led by John Broome, who is the front-runner for the National Player of the Year. Auburn has the number 1 strength of schedule in the country, and they are 20 games over .500. They are extremely efficient on offense and have a ton of depth.

Alabama has been one of the best teams in the country consistently over the last three seasons. Head coach Nate Oats runs a wide-open style that allows a ton of threes and runs to the rim. The Crimson Tide play as fast as anyone in the country, and when they get out and run, they are the best at it. Alabama loves to get to the free throw line. If Alabama gets to the free throw line at a high rate, they usually win the game. Alabama at home could be enough to tip the scales in this one.

No. 11 Michigan State at Illinois prediction and pick

The Spartans are going through it right now. They have lost 3 out of their last 4 games, and two of them were to non-NCAA tournament teams. The Spartans have another tough one on Saturday as they travel to the State Farm Center to take on an Illinois team that is very capable of beating the Spartans. Michigan State has lived off defense and getting out in transition this season, and they are one of the best rebounding teams in the country. None of that has mattered recently as Michigan State has struggled to make shots and has struggled to play their brand of defense. They need to get back to it quickly before they risk losing the double bye in the Big Ten tournament.

Illinois is streaky. If they are hitting threes they are very hard to beat, but recently head coach Brad Underwood told his team he wants them to drive the lane and get baskets at the rim. Illinois switched to that and has now won two in a row after a tough stretch of games. The Illini are the best rebounding team in the country and can get a ton of backbreaking rebounds to get easy offensive putbacks. Kylan Boswell and Kasparas Jakucionis will be huge in this game for Illinois.

Those are the five biggest games on Saturday. Here are the rest of the Saturday winners in a loaded slate of games. Enjoy the hoops!