5 NCAA basketball teams on upset alert this week: Could Ohio State fall on the road?

The Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan State Spartans have tough road matchups on tap. Could they be among this week’s most popular college basketball upset picks?

One of the biggest takeaways longtime college basketball fans are aware of is that it is extremely difficult to win on the road in conference play. The intense nature of long-standing rivalries leads to rowdy home crowds, which make life difficult for road teams simply trying to maintain their place on the seed line by avoiding an upset.

Purdue and LSU were upset victims last week in conference road games, which isn’t surprising at all given the quality of the leagues they play in. Let’s look at five more teams that could be staring an upset in the face in this week’s college basketball upset picks.

Upset Alert: Week 12 College Basketball Upset Picks

Note: All games listed below were on the schedule as of post time. COVID-19 related issues can lead to a postponement at any moment.

No. 10 Michigan State at No. 24 Illinois – Tuesday

The Spartans are coming off a huge road win at Wisconsin on Friday but have a dangerous game against a ticked-off Illinois team that lost to Maryland on Friday night. The X-factor in this game is the availability of Illini center Kofi Cockburn, who missed that contest after suffering a concussion in a game against Purdue earlier in the week. If Cockburn is active it gives a huge edge to Illinois since Michigan State doesn’t really have a true answer for him down low.

No. 16 Ohio State at Minnesota – Thursday

This one falls into the category of a potential trap game for the Buckeyes, who have a huge trip to Purdue on tap for Sunday afternoon. Ohio State has to be careful not to look past Minnesota, which managed to beat Rutgers at home last week despite being down three starters and having only seven scholarship players available due to COVID-19 issues. The Golden Gophers are more than capable of knocking off the Buckeyes if Ohio State is caught napping on Thursday.

No. 19 LSU at TCU – Saturday

The Big 12/SEC Challenge could certainly lead to some upsets, including this game where LSU hits the road to take on an underrated TCU squad. The Horned Frogs are 13-3 this season and just picked up a key road win at Iowa State last week. This spot is dangerous for LSU since TCU knows their resume is light on big wins, making a shot at a Top 20 ranked SEC team very important for the Horned Frogs.

No. 4 Baylor at Alabama – Saturday

Baylor regained its form with a pair of road wins last week but this game against Alabama should be one of the highlights of the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Crimson Tide have been very uneven this season but are as dangerous as any team in the country when they knock down their threes as evidenced by wins over Gonzaga and Houston. This game is very dangerous for the Bears since Alabama can easily take them down and should have been ranked in this week’s poll.

No. 7 Houston at UCF – Saturday

The Cougars have quietly taken care of business in the American this season, a tremendous credit to them since they have already lost two starters for the year due to injury. There aren’t many true road tests in the American this year but Saturday’s date against UCF is fraught with peril for Houston. The Knights have picked up quality non-conference wins against Miami and Michigan but stumbled a bit in league play, making this shot at the Cougars imperative for their chances at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

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