Ricky Dimon
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Fridays are not much of a thing during the college basketball regular season, but that changes in a major way when it comes to conference championship week. The ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-12 are all in action – some in the quarterfinals and others in the semis. Auburn, Kentucky, Arizona, UCLA, Kansas, Duke, and North Carolina – among many others, of course – are taking the court. You don’t have wait until next week’s NCAA Tournament to enjoy some madness right now!
Let’s take a look at our three-team mega parlay for Friday.
Tennessee -9.5 alternate spread (+115)
Villanova -3 (-110)
North Carolina -6.5 alternate spread (+175)
Parlay odds: +1029
For this parlay we are going with three favorites against the spread – two on an alternate number. Let’s break down each of the three legs one by one.
Tennessee -9.5 alternate spread over Mississippi State (+115)
Tennessee (KenPom No. 12) opens SEC Tournament play against Mississippi State (KenPom No. 44) in the quarterfinals. Mississippi State advanced to the quarters after defeating South Carolina 60-51, but Tennessee is a whole different beast. The Volunteers’ ability to defend the interior figures to lead them to a convincing win on Friday. In SEC conference games Tennessee ranks 3rd in defensive 2-point scoring rate, allowing opponents to connect on just 47.2% of their attempts. Mississippi State’s offense is predicated on penetrating the lane, as the Bulldogs lead the SEC in total point distribution from 2-point range (62.4%). Mississippi State’s lack of consistent 3-point shooting is a major cause for concern; the Bulldogs rank last in the SEC in 3-point scoring rate, making a mere 23.7% of their attempts. Back the Volunteers to advance to the semifinals with a big win.
Check out our Mississippi State vs Tennessee preview
Villanova -3 over UConn (-110)
The Huskies are coming off a 62-52 win over Seton Hall last night in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals, their 8th win in 10 games. Their 37th-ranked offense finished conference play within the top 5 teams of the Big East in points, field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage, free-throw percentage, and assists. UConn clipped Villanova by 2 points in their most recent meeting, but that was at home and it was also an outlier. The Wildcats had won the previous 5 head-to-head contests by an average of 13.6 points. ‘Nova has a new lease on life after coming back from 17 points down to defeat St. John’s 66-65 on Thursday. Senior guard Collin Gillespie leads the team with 16.3 ppg, while Justin Moore, Jermaine Samuels, and Caleb Daniels are scoring 15.3 ppg, 10.3 ppg, and 10.1 ppg respectively. The ‘Cats are too deep; they should win and cover.
Check out our UConn vs Villanova preview
North Carolina -6.5 alternate spread over Virginia Tech (+175)
There may be no slowing down North Carolina following its epic takedown of Duke in head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final game inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. Case in point: the Tar Heels humiliated Virginia 63-43 in the ACC Tournament quarters on Thursday night in a game that was pretty much over before the end of the first half. UNC has won 6 in a row, 8 of their last 9, and 12 of 14. To say it is playing its best basketball of the season right now would be a gross understatement. Whereas the Heels have not broken a sweat this week with a double-bye followed by a blowout, the Hokies are coming off tough games against Clemson (overtime) and Notre Dame (87-70). North Carolina swept the regular-season series 2-0, winning by 10 points and 8 points. Another comfortable win has every reason to be in the cards.
Check out all our college basketball previews and picks for Friday
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