College basketball picks: UNC-Indiana, Ohio State-Duke, Michigan State-Notre Dame and

It’s the last night of the last go-round for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. This series dates back to 1999, but it’s coming to an end because the Big Ten moved its TV rights away from ESPN. Still, this event, which spawned a bevy of other inter-league challenges, is going out with a bang as two of the sport’s most venerated venues, Cameron Indoor Stadium and Assembly Hall, take center stage. I had a terrific start to my picks in my last column, so hopefully that momentum will continue. I’ve picked six games against the spread, and I have 100 tokens to spread amongst them with a minimum of 10 tokens on each game. Happy watching!

All lines via BetMGM.

Kansas State at Butler (-1.5), 6:30 p.m., FS1. Kansas State has emerged as one of the feel-good stories early on. Not only is former Baylor assistant Jerome Tang undefeated in his first season as head coach, but Keyontae Johnson, the 6-5 senior forward who collapsed because of a heart condition while playing for Florida two years ago, is leading the team in scoring at 17.7 points per game on 50 percent 3-point shooting. He’s getting plenty of help from 5-7 senior guard Markquis Nowell, who was named Big 12 player of the week after averaging 18.7 points and 9.0 assists during three games at the Cayman Islands Classic. Butler also has a new coach in Thad Matta, although Matta has previously been a head coach for 17 years, including the 2000-01 season at Butler. The Bulldogs, who are down to eight healthy players, lost at Penn State on Nov. 14 and went 1-2 at the Battle 4 Atlantis, so they need to get on track. It’s hard to pick against them in Hinkle Fieldhouse, but they’re hurting right now, and they’re going up against a better team. The pick: 10 tokens on Kansas State

Ohio State at Duke (-6.5), 7:15 p.m., ESPN. The Blue Devils entered the season ranked No. 7 in the AP’s preseason poll largely on the basis of their highly-ranked freshman class. So far, the results have been mixed. Kyle Filipowski, the 7-0 stretch big, is the team’s leading scorer (15.4) and rebounder (9.4), and 6-5 guard Tyrese Proctor has been a pleasant surprise, but the other three freshmen (Dereck Lively II, Mark Mitchell and Dariq Whitehead) were non-factors in the Blue Devils’ 75-56 loss to Purdue on Sunday. The Blue Devils shot 2 of 19 from 3 in that loss and are making just 29.1 percent on the season, so a return to the friendly rims at Cameron Indoor Stadium will be most welcome. The Buckeyes pose a defensive challenge for Duke — they are ranked No. 6 in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom — but 6-8 junior forward Zed Key is the tallest of Ohio State’s top eight players. That is, shall we say, a big problem against Duke’s deep frontcourt. The pick: 20 tokens on Duke

GO DEEPER

‘He’s not afraid’: Kyle Filipowski is Duke’s biggest weapon

Providence at TCU (-6.5), 8 p.m., ESPN+. This should be the first time all season that Jamie Dixon has a full complement of players. Last year’s third-leading scorer, Damion Baugh, is back after missing the first six games due to an NCAA suspension. Another starter, 6-7 senior forward Emanuel Miller, missed the last two games because of a back issue, but he should be ready to go as well. They also played two games without their best player, Mike Miles, earlier this month. The Horned Frogs still beat Iowa, 79-66, on Saturday, so they should feel confident at home against a Friars squad that lost its entire starting lineup from last season. Providence has only played two games against teams ranked in the top 200 on KenPom (Miami and Saint Louis at a neutral site), and it lost them both. The pick: 20 tokens on TCU

Michigan State (-1.5) at Notre Dame, 9:15 p.m., ESPN2. Tom Izzo has once again put together a ridiculously tough nonconference schedule, and it has been made all the more difficult by a pair of injuries to potential starters. Malik Hall, the team’s third-leading scorer (12.0 points per game) and rebounder (5.3), missed the last three games because of a stress reaction in his left foot, and won’t be back for at least another two weeks. Jaden Akins, a 6-4 sophomore guard who had foot surgery in September, also missed the last three games after re-injuring his foot and is doubtful for this game. Still, the Spartans’ brutal early schedule has prepared them well to play a Notre Dame squad that lost by 12 Friday to St. Bonaventure and ranks 168th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency and 350th in offensive rebound percentage, per KenPom. If you can’t defend and rebound, you’re going to have a tough time against Michigan State, shorthanded or not. The pick: 20 tokens on Michigan State

North Carolina at Indiana (-6.5), 9:15 p.m., ESPN. The Hoosiers have only had one difficult game so far, and that was a two-point win at Xavier on Nov. 18. Have they been properly tested? The Tar Heels lost to a tough Iowa State team in Portland, and they took Alabama to four overtimes on Sunday days later before losing, 103-101. Hubert Davis is having a hard time playing his two centers, Armando Bacot and Pete Nance, together, so Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis should have his way in the paint as usual. Indiana ranks eighth nationally in scoring (88.8 points per game) while North Carolina ranks 38th at 82.6, so this should be an entertaining, high-scoring affair. This is a huge game for the Hoosiers and I suspect they will pull it out, but sometimes the home team can get too hyped up in games this big, so I’ll pick the Heels to keep things close. The pick: 10 tokens on North Carolina

Rutgers at Miami (-2.5), 7:15 p.m., ESPNU. Rutgers is off to a quiet 5-1 start (the lone defeat came against Temple in Mohegan Sun), but that will change this week with games against the Hurricanes and Indiana on Saturday. The Scarlet Knights are once again playing Jersey-tough defense (11th in adjusted efficiency, first in 3-point D), and they just welcomed back Caleb McConnell, the 6-7 super senior point guard who missed the first five games because of a knee injury. Miami’s lone defeat came against Maryland at Mohegan Sun, but it beat Providence by 10 the day before and just got a tough two-point road win at UCF. The Hurricanes are an older, experienced team, and they are getting lots of production from Norchad Omier, a 6-7 sophomore forward who transferred from Arkansas State and is leading the Canes in scoring at 13.4 points per game. I think Miami is capable of winning ugly, especially at home. The pick: 20 tokens on Miami

(Photo of Indiana’s C.J. Gunn:  Justin Casterline / Getty Images)