Free College Basketball Picks, Expert Predictions & Parlays Against the Spread

2014 Kentucky Wildcats Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/10/2014

The Kentucky Wildcats came up just short last year, but don’t expect anyone to feel sorry for them. Kentucky went into last season as the favorite, but they struggled for much of the season. It was such a struggle for Kentucky at one point that there was even a little bit of debate about whether the Wildcats would make it into the NCAA Tournament. They ended up getting in as a No. 8 seed and making a historic run to the NCAA Finals, where they lost to the UConn Huskies in a hard-fought game. It didn’t click until late in the season, but once it did the Wildcats had a lot of success.

2014 Florida Gators Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/10/2014

The Florida Gators won a school-record 30 straight games last year and reached the Final Four for the fifth time in program history. The Gators were disappointed with a 63-53 loss to UConn in the Final Four, but all in all it was another terrific season for this program. Florida has become a national power under the leadership of Billy Donovan. In the last four years, Florida has won a minimum of 26 games in every single year. That doesn’t even speak of the success they had in 2006 and 2007 when they won back-to-back national titles.

2014 Duke Blue Devils Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/10/2014

Nobody is about to proclaim that Duke’s basketball program is in any kind of trouble, but the Blue Devils have suffered a couple huge upsets in their first game of the NCAA Tournament in the past four years. In the 2011-12 season, Duke was ranked as a No. 2 seed and lost to Lehigh. Last year, Duke was a No. 3 seed and lost to the Mercer Bears in their opening game of the NCAA Tournament. Those are definitely humiliating losses for a program of Duke’s stature.

2014 Arizona Wildcats Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/10/2014

There weren’t many who questioned the hire of Sean Miller at Arizona five years ago, but anyone who did would look really bad right about now. Miller had to rebuild the once-proud Arizona program first, and he has done that and more. Miller has shown himself to be a great recruiter as well as a great in-game coach. The sign of a great program is a program that can withstand significant losses and still be one of the favorites to win the title the next year. That’s exactly where Miller has the Wildcats right now.

2014 North Carolina Tar Heels Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/6/2014

The North Carolina Tar Heels have been in the news during the offseason for all the wrong reasons. The academic scandal surrounding the program has been all the talk. I have to imagine that Roy Williams and his team are extremely excited that it is just about time to get back on the court for some meaningful games. Now the task will be to play well enough that the talk is about the team’s play on the court instead of off-the-court problems.

2014 Texas Longhorns Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/5/2014

The Texas Longhorns basketball program looked like it was in serious trouble a couple years ago. Rick Barnes was rumored to be out the door after the team’s 16-18 finish in the 2012-13 season. Instead, the guys at the top decided to stick with Barnes and ride out the rough patch. Texas had an up-and-down season last year, but the Longhorns did pick up 24 wins and get to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. It was a marked improvement from two years ago.

2014 Wichita State Shockers Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/5/2014

Wichita State is going to have a really hard time repeating last year’s amazing start. The Shockers went 35-0 in their first 35 games last season. Unfortunately for them, their first loss came at a really bad time. Wichita State lost to Kentucky in what was one of the best games of the entire NCAA Tournament last year. At the time it seemed like a bit of a bad loss since Kentucky was a No. 8 seed, but Kentucky went on to play in the NCAA Championship, and it’s pretty obvious the Wildcats were no ordinary eight seed.

2014 Louisville Cardinals Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/4/2014

The Louisville Cardinals won it all two years ago, but they were unable to repeat last year. Obviously, there’s no shame in not being able to repeat since it’s virtually impossible in today’s environment, but the fact that the Cardinals lost in the Sweet 16 when they were considered one of the favorites by many people was a bit disappointing. The fact that Louisville lost to in-state rival Kentucky in that game was the most maddening part for fans.

2014 Villanova Wildcats Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/3/2014

Villanova entered last season with a lot of questions. The Wildcats had an inexperienced team, and they had been underachieving in recent seasons. The Wildcats were picked to finish fourth in the Big East. It turns out expectations were far too low for last year’s Villanova team. The Wildcats rolled off 29 wins, which was the second most in program history. They easily coasted to a Big East regular season title.

2014 Gonzaga Bulldogs Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/3/2014

There’s no way to overstate the amazing job Mark Few has done at Gonzaga in his tenure. There’s always a lot of talk about how “mid-major” teams can make a mark on the college basketball scene. The blueprint for how to do that has been drawn by Few at Gonzaga. Even though they play in a small conference, the Bulldogs are in the NCAA Tournament every year, and they are a tough out every single year. In fact, at this point it almost sounds wrong to call Gonzaga a mid-major.

2014 Virginia Cavaliers Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/3/2014

Every year since Tony Bennett has arrived at Virginia the team has won more games than they did the year before. In his five years, they have won 15 games, 16 games, 22 games, 23 games, and then last year 30 games. That trend is going to be mighty hard to continue this year, but there’s little doubt that Bennett has been tremendous at the helm of this Cavaliers program.

2014 Oklahoma Sooners Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/3/2014

Lon Kruger is often underrated by many who follow college basketball. This is a guy who has taken five different schools to the NCAA Tournament. He’s won 537 games in his career. Oklahoma has been to the NCAA Tournament twice in Kruger’s three years at the helm. This was a program that had very little going for it before he came to town. Oklahoma went 23-10 last year, including an impressive 12-6 record in a solid Big 12 Conference.

2014 Nebraska Cornhuskers Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/3/2014

Nebraska basketball was completely off the map a couple years ago. The Cornhuskers made the move to the Big Ten, which is arguably the best basketball conference in the nation, and many saw them as a perennial cellar dweller. The Cornhuskers struggled in their first year in the conference, but last year was a special season for the Cornhuskers basketball team. The renaissance that is underway in Lincoln, Nebraska, is truly remarkable.

2014 Iowa State Cyclones Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/3/2014

Winning with transfers can be really difficult because there is so much turnover that it can be difficult to build chemistry. Fred Hoiberg doesn’t seem to have many problems with this formula, though. For four years, Hoiberg has consistently done what many coaches have so much trouble doing. The Cyclones won 28 games a year ago, and they lost a close game in the Sweet 16 against the eventual champions from UConn.

2014 San Diego State Aztecs Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/3/2014

San Diego State has won 20 or more games in nine consecutive seasons. They have two 30-win seasons in the last four years. They are right in the middle of a school-record five straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. Steve Fisher has built a tremendous program at San Diego State. In my opinion, you won’t find many better coaches in the nation than Fisher. He does things the right way and gets his kids to play hard from the jump ball to the final whistle. As long as Fisher is on the sidelines, San Diego State will be a contender.

2014 VCU Rams Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 10/31/2014

While VCU is technically still a mid-major, the Rams are a dominant force in college basketball on a perennial basis. Shaka Smart has been the hottest coaching commodity around in the last few offseasons, but he continues to stay true to VCU. In Smart’s five years with the program, VCU is 137-46. They are one of only three programs to win at least 26 games in five straight seasons.

2014 Ohio State Buckeyes Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 10/29/2014

The Ohio State Buckeyes went to the Final Four in the 2011-12 season. They went to the Elite Eight in the 2012-13 season. That’s why last year’s exit in their first game of the NCAA Tournament was a disappointment to Buckeyes fans. Ohio State drew Dayton in that opening game (second round) of the NCAA Tournament last year, and Dayton edged them 60-59. The Flyers were really hungry in that game, and the Buckeyes just didn’t have enough scoring firepower to get the job done.

2014 Pitt Panthers Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 10/28/2014

In Jamie Dixon’s 11 years as head coach at Pittsburgh, the Panthers have averaged 26 wins. Last year, Pittsburgh made the move to the Atlantic Coast Conference, and they finished 11-7 in ACC play. The Panthers earned a No. 8 seed in the Big Dance last year. They won in blowout fashion 77-48 over Colorado in the second-round game, but they were beaten 61-45 by Florida in their attempt to reach the Sweet 16. Getting the eight or nine seed can be really tough, since it means you are going to play the No. 1 seed in the Round of 32. The Panthers finished the season with 26 wins, so they were right on their average with Dixon as coach.

2014 Michigan State Spartans Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 10/16/2014

In Tom Izzo’s first 19 years as Head Coach at Michigan State, every senior class had been to at least one Final Four. That streak ended last year as the 2013-14 Michigan State Spartans lost in the Elite Eight to the eventual National Champions from Connecticut. Last year’s Michigan State team was loaded with talent, and their top three players from that team are gone.

2014 Stanford Cardinal Predictions and NCAA Basketball Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 10/8/2014

Johnny Dawkins was squarely on the hot seat entering last season. Stanford had been just outside the NCAA Tournament bubble the previous year (they ended up winning the NIT), and it was going to be NCAA Tournament or bust for Dawkins in the 2013-14 season. In early March, the Cardinal lost their third straight game and sat at 18-11 on the year. They were in danger of missing another NCAA Tournament. They responded by winning their final regular season game and winning two games in the highly-competitive Pac-12 Tournament.