College Hoops Picks: Top 25 Quick Picks—Jan. 15, 2009

No. 4 Connecticut Huskies @ St. John's Red Storm
7:00 PM EST

Line: Connecticut -12.0

	Record	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Connecticut	14-1	6-4	6	23	79.7	61.9
St. John's	10-5	5-4	116	141	70.8	65.2

 
Prediction: The Huskies are one of the hottest teams in the Big East, while the Red Storm are, well, not. Connecticut's only loss was the conference opener to Georgetown, and they have looked great for the rest of the season.

St. John's defeated Notre Dame, but that was after losing three in a row by 14, 14, and 21, respectively. After they defeated the Fighting Irish, though, they lost to Pitt by 23.

The Huskies are both strong and deep enough to avoid having St. John's upset them. Hasheem Thabeet will control the paint on both ends, and the strong Connecticut guards will control the outside. Keep in mind, too, that Anthony Mason, Jr. is out for the rest of the season for the Red Storm after tearing a tendon in his foot at the beginning of the season.

I like Connecticut -12.0.

No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels @ Virginia Cavaliers
9:00 PM EST

Line: -15.0

	Record	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
North Carolina	14-2	4-8	9	21	94.3	71.0
Virginia	7-6	4-4	80	19	75.9	71.2

 
Prediction: Neither UNC nor Virginia have been overly impressive against the spread this season. But the Tar Heels have had a lot expected of them—their average spread is -22.9. When favored in the teens or single digits, they are 3-2 ATS (with one of those losses coming in their actual loss to Wake Forest).

When the underdog, Virginia is 3-2. The Cavaliers have been double-digit underdogs only once this season, and they covered that spread against Syracuse.

North Carolina has been on a slight slide and currently sit 0-2 in conference play. Look for them to come out swinging on the road. I like North Carolina -15.0.

Arizona Wildcats @ No. 9 UCLA Bruins
11:00 PM EST

Line: UCLA -13.0

	Record	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Arizona	11-5	7-9	58	76	70.5	63.0
UCLA	13-2	7-5	38	153	76.2	58.3

 
Prediction: UCLA is an incredibly young team, but they have found success for the most part so far this season. At 13-2, they suffered their two losses to Michigan and Texas. They narrowly escaped USC the other day, but beat the spread of two.

Arizona does not have a deep team, but their three top scorers are very powerful. So powerful, in fact, that they upset fourth-ranked Gonzaga, defeated Kansas by 17, and lost to UAB by one.

I think that UCLA get the win, but Arizona keeps it to single digits. I like Arizona +13.0.

No. 15 Xavier Musketeers @ Rhode Island Rams
8:00 PM EST

Line: Xavier -1.5

	Record	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Xavier	13-2	6-5	8	13	73.0	62.3
Rhode Island	11-5	6-4	51	92	81.9	73.4

 
Prediction: Xavier's two losses on the season came in back-to-back games against Duke and Butler, although you may remember that they escaped a loss in November with a half-court at the buzzer shot that went in. Since their two losses, though, Xavier has been great—they have gone 4-0, defeated their opponents by an average of 21.75 points, and have gone 3-0 against the spread.

URI gained national attention when they took Duke down to the wire at the beginning of the season but wound up losing by three. Unfortunately, they have lost to Villanova, Providence, Oklahoma State, and St. Joseph's since then.

With the way Xavier is playing right now, I don't think that URI is going to be able to grab their first Atlantic Ten win. I like Xavier -1.5.

No. 16 Arizona State Sun Devils @ USC Trojans
10:30 PM EST

Line: Arizona State -1.0

	Record	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Arizona State	14-2	8-3	22	67	75.6	58.3
USC	10-5	5-6	99	136	71.2	61.8

 
Prediction: USC is coming off of two tough losses—one in overtime to Oregon State and the next game to UCLA, both by four. They started the season ranked in the top 20, but have since fallen out of the rankings altogether.

As a point of comparison, Arizona State defeated Oregon State by 31. They have a great team and their key component is James Harden, who is averaging 23.1 points per game.

The Sun Devils have had a successful season so far, and after taking on USC they will travel to UCLA and Arizona. This is a great game that kicks off their three-game road trip—look for Arizona State to make a statement.

I like Arizona State -1.0.

No. 17 Butler Bulldogs @ Loyola (Chicago) Ramblers
8:00 PM EST

Line: Butler -7.0

	Record	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Butler	14-1	8-5	4	37	68.0	56.1
Loyola	10-7	5-7	143	237	64.6	65.6

 
Prediction: Butler has had a great season so far—they have lost one game by three points and defeated teams like Xavier and UAB. The toughest opponent that Loyola (Chicago) has faced so far this season has been Purdue, and they lost to them by 32.

When Butler has been favored, they are 4-5 ATS.

When Loyola has been the underdog, they are 4-4 ATS.

Butler's defense has been solid this season—they have held opponents to 38.7 percent from the field. Loyola's defense, on the other hand, has allowed opponents to shoot .428 from the floor while only shooting .429 themselves.

I think that Butler is going to be able to continue their fantastic season and overcome any speed bump that Loyola may present. I like Butler -7.0.

No. 18 Minnesota Golden Gophers @ Wisconsin Badgers
9:00 PM EST

Line: Wisconsin -6.5

	Record	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Minnesota	15-1	7-4	20	60	72.1	61.0
Wisconsin	12-4	7-3	14	3	66.4	59.3

 
Prediction: Tubby Smith's Gophers travel to Wisconsin after taking down teams like Ohio State and Louisville. Wisconsin has had their own slew of challenging games this season, though, taking down Michigan and losing to Connecticut, Marquette, and Texas.

When the Badgers have been favored this season, they are 2-4 ATS. When the Gophers have been underdogs, they are 2-1 ATS.

Wisconsin is a solid team, but Tubby Smith and the Gophers will keep this one close. I like Minnesota +6.5.

No. 19 Purdue Boilermakers @ Northwestern Wildcats
7:00 PM EST

Line: Purdue -5.0

	Record	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Purdue	12-4	7-6	60	78	72.6	57.4
Northwestern	8-5	5-5	50	25	64.5	56.9

 
Prediction: Northwestern is 0-3 in Big Ten conference play, and they have just gone 0-5 against the spread in their last five games. Things aren't looking great for them either, as they take on Minnesota, Michigan State, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin in their next five games.

In Purdue's last four games, they are 1-3 against the spread. Two of those games they lost outright (they have been favored in every spread this season), but they have been against the tougher unranked teams in the Big Ten (Illinois and Penn State).

Purdue's average margin of victory is 15 points, and they have been allowing seven fewer points than Northwestern averages. I do not think that the Wildcats can stand up to the Boilermakers, especially as Purdue tries to regain lost ground in the Big Ten.

I like Purdue -5.0.

This article is also featured at CFBPlace.

*All of the stats from this article have come from statsheet.com*