UConn, Texas A&M, Florida and other picks for college basketball big games tomorrow

Tuesdays in February have delivered fantastic college basketball games for the last few seasons. This Super Tuesday may be the best Tuesday the sport has seen in quite some time. There are some unbelievable games between ranked teams. There are a few games with bubble teams that, if the bubble team won, could end the bubble talk relatively quickly. Here are the best games I am keeping an eye on.

Villanova at UConn prediction and pick

The Wildcats have flirted with the bubble all season long and have been close to picking up some huge wins. They blew a late lead against Creighton and narrowly lost to Creighton. Villanova has already beaten St. John’s and Xavier. They do have some bad losses to Columbia, Virginia, and Saint Joseph’s, but even with all that, the Wildcats are still a team that can get hot and find their way onto the bubble. A second win over UConn, this one on the road. Coupled with their recent win over St. John’s, it would be a huge step in the right direction.

UConn has had quite a week. They went to Omaha and beat Creighton, which was a huge win for the Huskies, considering how hard it is to win in Omaha. Then the Huskies lost to 6-win Seton Hall in overtime. The Seton Hall loss was a strange one as UConn looked disinterested most of the game, and the Pirates really put the clamps on defensively. The Huskies are in no danger of missing the NCAA tournament, but the seed line is slipping, and they don’t provide a ton of confidence in their ability to make a deep run this season. UConn needs to beat Villanova to wash the taste out of their mouth from their loss to Seton Hall.

Oklahoma at No. 2 Florida prediction and pick

These two teams are going in completely opposite directions. Oklahoma started their season 13-0 but have limped to a 3-9 record in the SEC and in are in danger of missing the NCAA tournament. The latest loss to LSU was another example of a season that is going south quickly. The Sooners' main problem is their inability to win any games against the top of the SEC. That is a problem that a lot of the bubble teams are having. There is no shame in not beating the top teams, but when you couple that with the losses against the bottom-tier teams, a tournament appearance slips away. Oklahoma could pick up one of the best wins that any bubble team would have this year if they could pull off this upset on the road. Given how it has gone over the last two months, it’s not likely.

The Gators also started 13-0, and they are currently 22-3 and, as of Saturday, are a one seed in the NCAA tournament. The Gators play unbelievably fast, move the ball, shoot a ton of threes, and have one of the best backcourts in the country. Florida is one of the best rebounding teams in the country and doesn’t allow many second-chance opportunities. They were able to use their ability to shoot threes and rebound in a win at Auburn last week. The Gators are a legitimate Final Four and National Title contender and likely won’t let Oklahoma hang around to long.

No 13. Purdue at No. 14 Michigan State prediction and pick

Last week, the Boilers were in first place in the Big Ten, and everyone thought they were going to cruise to another regular season title and that the post-Zach Edey days for Purdue were just as good as they were last year post-Zach. Then Purdue took two straight losses to Michigan on the road and Wisconsin at Mackey Arena. It is the second loss for the Boilers at home this year. Purdue has had to be reliant on their guards in some games this season. Their guards were always important, but without a dominant big man, the play style has changed a bit for Purdue. Even with that the Boilers were still awarded a 2 seed in the top 16 reveal on Saturday. That was before the most recent loss to Wisconsin. The Boilers need this game to keep pace with Michigan at the top of the league.

Easier said than done for Purdue to just walk into Breslin Center and expect to win. They are facing Michigan State who is coached by one of the legends of college basketball who now has the most wins ever in Big Ten history. Michigan State struggled two weeks ago when they had to take their cross-country trek to California and then came back and lost to Indiana. They most recently beat Illinois using a huge run at the end of the game. Michigan State has the defense and the players to neutralize Purdue and being at Breslin gives them a leg up.

No. 7 Texas A&M at No. 21 Mississippi State prediction and pick

The Aggies are the team that everyone forgets about when discussing the SEC and their dominance. I am not saying this to be mean to Aggie fans, but it seems like Texas A&M gets left out of a lot of discussions involving how good the SEC is. The Aggies are a scary group, and it will be terrifying to see them on your side of the bracket when the bracket is released. The Aggies are going to be a top 8 seed in the tournament and are the favorites for the final four. Wade Taylor IV and Andersson Garcia are a matchup problem for every team in the country.

Mississippi State doesn’t do anything flashy, but they are sound on both offense and defense and always make the right play. They protect the rim, rebound well, shoot the ball well, and there will be another team come March that is very hard to beat because the Bulldogs don’t beat themselves. Josh Hubbard is good enough to go toe to toe with Wade Taylor and when Hubbard goes off the Bulldogs usually win games. The Hump is going to be rocking for this one as Mississippi State looks to improve their resume. The only problem is the top of the SEC is a different level than the middle of the league.

No. 23 Kansas at BYU prediction and pick

It isn’t often that you see Kansas ranked this low, but this Jayhawks team has not lived up to the lofty expectations put on it at the start of the season, and it is due to their inability to win on the weekend. I know it sounds weird, but Kansas is 10-3 on weekdays and 7-5 on the weekends. It has been a strange year for the Jayhawks, and they are coming off a loss to Utah, on Saturday. There are times when Kansas has struggled mightily to score, mostly on the weekends, and then there are times on weeknights when they score and play defense enough to beat Michigan State, Duke, and Iowa State. Weekday Kansas can beat anyone in the country, and it is good for them to play this game on a weekday.

BYU is truly on the bubble. The Cougars are one of either the last four byes, last 4 in, or first 4 out. They are in desperate need of wins and a win over Kansas would help their cause immensely. BYU gets the Jayhawks in Provo where the Cougars are 12-2. This would be the signature win of the Kevin Young era and would almost assuredly get BYU on the right side of the bubble. Kansas is still Kansas even though they are having a down year.

Here are the rest of the games for a loaded Tuesday.