Andy Katz and Chad "March Chadness" Aycock predict the winners for some of the top college basketball games on the schedule on this week's episode of the March Madness 365 podcast. Katz was joined on the podcast by Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart and ESPN's Dan Dakich, which you can listen to in full below.
Katz was 3-5 with his predictions last week, so his overall record is now 25-17. So, let's get to it.
No. 15 Rutgers at No. 23 Michigan State | 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Jan. 5 | ESPN2
Rutgers' last four conference games have gone win, loss, win, loss, with the Scarlet Knights beating Illinois and Purdue, and losing to Ohio State and Iowa. Rutgers has one road win on the season, at Maryland, while Michigan State is 5-1 in East Lansing, with the only loss coming to Wisconsin.
Katz's pick: Michigan State
No. 16 Minnesota at No. 10 Michigan | 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 6 | BTN
Michigan and Minnesota will play twice in an 11-day span, with the two Big Ten teams meeting in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, then in Minneapolis on Jan. 16. This game could be played in the mid-to-high 70s with Michigan owning the No. 7 offensive efficiency nationally and Minnesota at No. 20, according to kenpom.com, as of Jan. 4.
Katz's pick: Michigan
LATEST NEWS: Schedule changes, COVID-19 updates for college basketball
Arkansas at No. 9 Tennessee | 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 6 | ESPN2
Tennessee is coming off of its first loss of the season, a 71-63 defeat at home to Alabama, as is Arkansas, which fell to Missouri 81-68 at home. The Vols have the No. 1 defense in the country, through Monday, so points could come at a premium in Knoxville.
Katz's pick: Tennessee
No. 19 Virginia Tech at Louisville | 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 6 | ACC Network
Both teams enter the week with a one-loss record and Virginia Tech and Louisville are two of the three ACC teams that own a 2-0 conference record, through Jan. 4. Neither team is elite on either end, but they both have solid balance with Virginia Tech's offense ranked No. 35 and its defense No. 46, while Louisville's splits are No. 44/No. 22. This is the first of two regular-season meetings between these two programs with Louisville scheduled to visit Virginia Tech on Feb. 13.
Katz's pick: Louisville
No. 17 Oregon at Colorado | 11 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 7 | FS1
Oregon has rattled off eight consecutive wins since its season-opening loss to Missouri and as of Jan. 4, the Ducks are tied with UCLA atop the Pac-12 standings with a 3-0 conference record. The Buffaloes have lost two of their last three games, both on the road, against Arizona and UCLA.
Katz's pick: Colorado
DON'T MISS: What's going on in college basketball today we couldn't have imagined the first day of 2020
No. 4 Texas at No. 14 West Virginia | 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 9 | ESPN
Texas is coming off of a monster road win, 84-59 at Kansas, which propelled the Longhorns to a 2-0 Big 12 record — something only Baylor can also claim. Texas has the No. 4 defense in the country, plus a top-20 offense, making the Longhorns a true Big 12 contender and one of the nation's elite. The Mountaineers have split their last four games, losing at Kansas and Oklahoma, while beating Northeastern and Oklahoma State.
Katz's pick: Texas
Oklahoma at No. 6 Kansas | 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 9 | CBS
Kansas' month-long winning streak came to an end at eight games after the Jayhawks lost to Texas by 25 points at home. But they're still ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll and in the top 15 on kenpom.com, led by the country's No. 12 defense. Oklahoma, meanwhile, is coming off of a signature win over West Virginia, but the Sooners have an extremely challenging week ahead with road games at Baylor and Kansas.
Katz's pick: Kansas
No. 19 Clemson at North Carolina | 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 9 | ESPN
Clemson won in Chapel Hill for the first time ever during the 2019-20 season and now the Tigers have a chance to turn their historic losing streak at North Carolina into a potential winning streak. The enter the week with an 8-1 record (2-1 ACC), including recent wins over Florida State and Miami (FL) in conference play. The Tar Heels got back in the win column with a 66-65 victory over Notre Dame, following a two-game losing streak to kick off ACC play.
Katz's pick: Clemson
Kentucky at Florida | 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 9 | ESPN
Florida enters Tuesday with a share of first place in the SEC standings, thanks to a 2-0 conference record. The Gators have defeated Vanderbilt and LSU, with their lone blemish coming at Florida State. Kentucky picked up its second win of the season Jan. 2, when the Wildcats defeated Mississippi State 78-73 in double overtime, thanks to a breakout performance from Dontaie Allen, who scored 23 points off the bench with seven 3-pointers.
Katz's pick: Florida
No. 16 Minnesota at No. 5 Iowa | 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 10 | BTN
In their first meeting, Minnesota pulled out a 102-95 win in overtime, thanks to an incredible 17-of-43 (.395) 3-point shooting performance, including an impressive 8-for-9 from Brandon Johnson. Now the Gophers are looking for the regular-season sweep of the Hawkeyes, who look to get even.
Katz's pick: Iowa
Where did these iconic mascots come from? 🤔
Alabama Crimson Tide 🐘| Arizona Wildcats 🐻
UC Irvine Anteaters 🐜
Southern California Trojans ⚔️ | Southern Illinois Salukis 🐕
Vermont Catamounts 🐱 | Virginia Tech Hokies 🦃
Wake Forest Demon Deacons 🎩 | Wisconsin Badgers 🦡
Yale Bulldogs 🐶 | Youngstown State 🐧
