If all you want for Christmas this holiday weekend are your two front teeth and an incredible college basketball board, then I've got news for you: Santa (spoiler alert!) has chosen you for his nice list. Because Saturday is an incredible day of action on the hard court, headlined by the annual CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta, which features ranked teams in every match and an opportunity for Kentucky and Ohio State to shine after recent upsets.
Twelve ranked teams battle it out throughout the day and night on Saturday, including No. 22 St. John's and No. 12 North Carolina — and there are three ranked matches to boot. One of them is perhaps the game of the day on CBS at 5:30 pm ET between No. 8 Houston and No. 14 Arkansas. But we also have No. 6 Purdue vs. No. 21 Auburn and No. 3 Duke vs. No. 19 Texas Tech in the nightcap. And for those staying up late, tip #1 is Arizona at 11:30 PM ET (!!) vs. San Diego State.
Like I said: a loaded tablet.
Bracketology: Where Kentucky, North Carolina stands ahead of CBS Sports Classic; projected conference champions
David Cobb
College basketball experts have made picks straight and against the spread for some of Saturday's biggest games. These picks are below.
Odds via Bookmaker DraftKings | All times are Eastern European Time.
12:30 on CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App, Paramount+ Premium: Rick Pitino is 1-0 this season against teams he has previously coached (St. John's beat Iona 91-64 last week), and I expect that record to improve to 2-0 on Saturday. This Kentucky team has looked sluggish on offense for most of the past month, and the Johnnies are starting to figure things out on defense at the right time. This St. John's team has squandered most of its chances at the gate – currently 0-3 against ranked teams – but here the worm turns against the Wildcats. Pick: St. John's -2.5.
15:00 on CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App, Paramount+ Premium: A long-awaited test in the CBS Sports Classic for both UNC and Ohio State – and I expect it to end in the Tar Heels' favor. UNC is 3-0 against the Buckeyes in the CBS Sports Classic and they have played very well against big opponents so far, with wins over Kansas, Kentucky and Georgetown on their resume. The Tar Heels' length and defense give them the win. Choice: UNC -4.5
17:30 on CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App, Paramount+ Premium: Arkansas is the real deal and has proven that multiple times this season with wins over Louisville and Texas Tech. That doesn't mean Houston isn't real either – I think Houston will win this game – but if I were playing it, I'd be scoring points with the Razorbacks. They have a tremendous defense, they have a great backcourt, and they have a personnel that can match or at least potentially keep up with the physicality that Houston will bring to this game. Pick: Arkansas +4.5
No. 6 Purdue vs. No. 21 Auburn
18:30 on “Peacock”: A win for Purdue, but that win may be closer than people expect. Auburn nearly upset Houston in November and has picked up wins over St. John's and N.C. State in the past few weeks, gaining confidence in its staff under first-year coach Stephen Pearl. The Tigers can score nearly as well as any team in the country, but Purdue isn't one of them. Pick: Auburn +8.5
at 20:00 on ESPN, FuboTV (try it for free): An 8-3 record doesn't really reflect how good Texas Tech is or how good it can be. I'm also a huge JT Toppin supporter and think a match with Cameron Boozer could be amazing. However, this Duke team is operating on another level right now, with its defense ranking No. 10 in 3-point attempts, No. 2 in 2-point percentage and No. 1 in effective field goal percentage. A win would be a tough test for a Tech team that has been good, not great, on offense so far, even with Christian Anderson's stellar turnaround. I get points with the dog, but Duke wins by a few possessions. Pick: Texas Tech +8.5 – Boone
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