It didn’t take long for No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers to suffer their first loss of the season as they fell to the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils this week. And while they will slide down the AP Top 25 rankings following that disappointing 80-70 loss, the focus now has to be on bouncing back on the road against a pretty good team at Marquette Golden Eagles. That’s one of the matchups we’re keeping our eye out for on Saturday along with three others involving Top 25 teams. Here is a quick look at the four best college basketball games to bet on this Saturday.
#2 Wisconsin Badgers @ Marquette Golden Eagles
Saturday, 12:30 PM ET
Wisconsin earned votes to move to No. 1 with wins over the Georgetown Hoyas and the Oklahoma Sooners, but came crashing down to earth in their 80-70 loss to the Blue Devils on Wednesday. Traevon Jackson scored a team-high 25 points in that loss but Frank Kaminsky was held to 17 points. When he’s not on his game, the Badgers are clearly not the same caliber of team. On top of that, the Badgers allowed Duke to shoot a whopping 65 percent from the field, which is the the third-highest by any team against an AP top 5 opponent in the last 15 seasons. Ouch. Wisconsin might be able to scrape out a win on the road against Marquette this weekend but they clearly have a lot of work to do at the defensive end of the floor.
A lot of bettors will be keeping a close eye to see if the Duke game was just an aberration or the start of a greater trend. Wisconsin will try to get back on track in that department against the Golden Eagles. Pick: Wisconsin[divider]#7 Virginia Cavaliers @ VCU Rams
Saturday, 2:00 PM ET
Virginia probably won’t hold VCU to 26 points the way they did in a dominant defensive display against Rutgers last Saturday but they have held three of eight opponents to under 40 points, although they had little trouble beating up on No. 21 Maryland for a 76-65 win. The Rams have already suffered a couple of tough losses to Old Dominion and Villanova, and it won’t surprise anyone when the Cavaliers hand them their first home loss of the season. Pick: Virginia[divider] #9 Gonzaga Bulldogs @ #3 Arizona Wildcats
Saturday, 5:15 PM ET
Arizona won a couple of close games over Kansas State and San Diego State to take the Maui Invitational title in what the program hopes will be multiple titles this season. However, their first real test comes against Gonzaga in the most highly anticipated showdown on Saturday’s schedule. The Bulldogs are averaging a healthy 88 points per game thanks to the third-best field goal percentage in the nation at 55%. They rank second in the country with close to 20 assists per game. The Wildcats could very well be among the best teams in the country but there will be a ton of pressure on them at home this weekend. It wouldn’t be a major shocker if the Bulldogs pulled off the road upset in a game that will very likely go down to the wire. Pick: Gonzaga[divider] Saint Louis Billikens @ #8 Wichita State Shockers
Saturday, 6:00 PM ET
Wichita State cruised through the opening four opponents on its schedule but it’s somewhat concerning that they stumbled against the first top 25 team on their schedule. The loss exposed a number of areas where the Shockers need to be better, although there’s no real shame in losing on the road to a quality Utah team. Right now, the most pressing issue for the Shockers is they need Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet to step up and guide the way against Saint Louis. If that happens, they’ll get back on track. Wichita State has the talent to be a top 10 team and paying attention to the details will be key to winning and covering against the Billikens. Pick: Wichita State
