5 NCAA basketball teams on upset alert this week: Is Baylor in trouble?

The Baylor Bears and Duke Blue Devils are among this week’s most interesting college basketball upset picks.

The start of the new year brings with it the heavy emphasis on conference play in college basketball. Those intense rivalries and the increased number of true road games for top teams also leads to an increase in upsets as teams closer to the NCAA Tournament bubble try to take advantage of resume-building opportunities.

The upset bug was in full swing last week as Xavier got tripped up by Villanova and Alabama shockingly dropped a de facto home game to Davidson that they scheduled at the last minute to replace a lost contest against Colorado State. Let’s take a look at five more teams that should be on high alert for a potential upset this week, starting with Seton Hall out of the Big East on Wednesday.

Upset Alert: Week 8 college basketball upset picks

Note: All games listed were on the schedule as of post time.

No. 15 Seton Hall at No. 21 Providence – Wednesday

The COVID pause got Seton Hall, which had to cancel two games and missed a third when DePaul had to go into a pause of their own last Thursday. The end result is a 17-day layoff for the Pirates, which isn’t ideal against a good Providence team that just won at UCONN and has a victory over Texas Tech on its resume. Don’t be shocked if a rusty Seton Hall team gets tripped up in this road contest.

No. 17 Texas vs. West Virginia – Saturday

Big 12 play is an absolute war and Texas may not be ready for it. The Longhorns lost their two biggest non-conference games against Gonzaga and Seton Hall while assembling a resume that includes eight wins over cupcakes and a seven-point victory over a mediocre Stanford team on a neutral floor. That kind of seasoning may leave Texas ill-prepared for a home date with a rugged West Virginia team that already has a win over UCONN under its belt.

No. 1 Baylor at No. 8 Iowa State – Saturday

The Bears have handled all comers thus far on their way to the top of the polls but they could be walking into an ambush in Ames on Saturday. Iowa State is one of the country’s biggest surprises as first-year head coach T.J. Otzelberger has gotten the Cyclones off to a 12-0 start just months after Iowa State ended the 2020-21 campaign on an 18-game losing streak. Wins over Memphis and Xavier proved that Iowa State is legit, making this a statement game that could lead to a very hostile environment that could prove to be too much for Baylor to overcome.

No. 22 Providence at DePaul – Saturday

The Friars have an interesting week since they can pull the upset in one game on their schedule while being a potential upset victim in the other. Saturday’s trip to DePaul is an important Big East contest for the Blue Demons, who have raced off to a 9-1 start that includes wins over Rutgers and Louisville in non-conference play. It has been a long time since DePaul has gone dancing, with a postseason drought dating back to 2004, and this Blue Demons’ team should be primed to give Providence everything they can handle in this one.

No. 10 Michigan State at Northwestern – Sunday

It has been a very quiet rise into the Top 10 for Michigan State, which has only lost twice this season against Kansas and Baylor on neutral floors. The Spartans could be walking into a tricky spot here as they hit the road to take on 8-2 Northwestern, which has shown it can hang with quality Big Ten teams by taking down Maryland on the road earlier this season. A win here would put the Big Ten on notice that Northwestern may be a problem so Michigan State can’t afford to take the Wildcats lightly.

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