After a long hiatus from publishing Saturday college basketball sports betting picks on Twitter, I’ve re-emerged as the same old dude.

Speaking of old dudes, the college basketball transfer portal and the “throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks” approach to roster construction has led to my uncertainty in picking games early in the season. It takes teams longer to gel.

Which College Basketball Rosters Have a Healthy Chemistry with a touch of Transfers

I don’t like teams like Texas that seemingly always have one sub-group of transfer portal elders mixed with one diaper dandy expected to go in the NBA Lottery round. As a college basketball fan, I do love teams that have a healthy incumbent core and are adding a few seasoned transfers for their first and only cameo in the portal with the hopes of winning a championship. A guy like Mason Gillis comes to mind in that scenario. He played multiple seasons with the Purdue Boilermakers, including a championship game runner-up last season, before transferring to Duke where he hopes to finally cut down a net with a championship ring.

Underdogs to Watch for College Basketball Games on Saturday, January 25, 2025

The Tennessee Volunteers find themselves in a rare position as a 5 point underdog this weekend against Auburn. Both teams have injury concerns among their low post stars, but with the Vols sporting two of the best guards in the country, this seems like an easy bet.

Another team that has a surprising number today is the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. You’d think that with two potential NBA Lottery picks and one of the best coaches in the game, Rutgers would be in better position right now. However, they are getting 5 1/2 points at home hosting Michigan State. I will take the five-and-a-half knowing that Rutgers postseason hopes really rest on games like these.

Former Chicago Bulls champion Ron Harper has a son starring on Rutgers basketball. Click here to see this season’s roster of second generation sons of NBA players in Division 1 basketball

Suspect Spread Picks for January 25, 2025 in Men’s College Basketball