College basketball is back! There is a slew of games today as colleges from all across the country take the court for the first time this season, and what better way to celebrate the return than with a mega parlay? That’s right, I’ve crafted an NCAAB parlay for today’s games that pays out at nearly 8/1 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. And don’t forget to check out all of our college basketball predictions for today’s games.
Marquette -23.5 (-110)
Kansas State ML (+140)
Northern Arizona/Connecticut Under 141.5 (-105)
NCAAB Parlay odds: +794
Marquette Golden Eagles -23.5 over Northern Illinois Huskies (-110)
Marquette opens the college basketball season by hosting the Northern Illinois Huskies. Marquette won both the regular season and Big East conference tournament last season, and they return almost the entire roster this season. In fact, this Marquette team has one of the most stable rosters from last season to this season in the entire country. Shaka Smart returns nearly 90% of the scoring from a year ago, and his only lost starter will be replaced by one of the nation’s better 6th men. There is every reason to expect that the Golden Eagles will be in contention this year, not only in a very tough Big East, but also for a national championship.
Opening the season as nearly 24-point favorites is tough though. Can Northern Illinois hang in there in this one? The Huskies finished in the middle of the pack in the MAC last season, and they are likely to move up to the top third of the conference this season. They return several of their top scorers, and most importantly for a mid-major team, they gained more in the transfer portal than they lost. Could this team make some noise in the MAC this year? Maybe so. But on the road against Marquette on opening night? I don’t think so. Consider this play a vote of confidence in a really good Marquette team that shouldn’t take any time getting up to speed this season. My expectations for Shaka’s squad this season are quite high, and therefore, the big spread is the first leg of this parlay.
Check out our expert’s college basketball best bets for today
Kansas State Wildcats ML over USC Trojans (+140)
Last season, the Kansas State Wildcats outperformed all expectations en route to an appearance in the Elite Eight and barely missing out on a Final Four berth. Jerome Tang’s team is supposed to take a step back this season with the loss of Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson, but Tang hit the portal hard (as he did in 2022) and was able to land some key names, most notably Tylor Perry (North Texas) and Arthur Kaluma (Creighton). Additionally, the return of David N’Guessan and Cam Carter makes this team one of the most experienced units in the Big 12. So while Kansas State won’t have the same rotation as last season, the Wildcats are still a formidable opponent this year, particularly for a shorthanded team like USC.
The Trojans are a team I’m high on as the season goes on, but this is a tough opponent to play in your season opener on a neutral floor. Kansas State’s defense loves to force turnovers, and USC was well outside the top 100 in this department a season ago. The Trojans lost Drew Peterson, Reese Dixon-Waters and Tre White from last season’s team, but do bring back Boogie Ellis to run the show, along with standout freshman Isaiah Collier. The issue is the Trojans could be shorthanded in the paint, especially if 7-foot forward Vince Iwuchukwu is unable to play on Monday. I expect Perry and Kansas State’s aggressive defense to be a real factor in this one from start to finish, so let’s back the Wildcats in what should be a close, entertaining contest.
Find out our 2023-24 college basketball best futures bets — including a +7500 longshot!
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks vs UConn Huskies Under 141.5 (-105)
It is opening day of college basketball season, and one of the first matchups involves the defending national champion UConn Huskies. With a line of 25 points and growing, both the books and the public expect the champs to roll in this opening matchup. What do we know about these teams? Let’s start with the Huskies. Dan Hurley’s squad lost a lot from the national title team, including 3 players to the NBA. That won’t be easy to replace, but Hurley has brought in a ton of good talent that includes a couple of draft prospects once again. One key player is 7’2” big man Donovan Clingan, a talented big that very few teams can counter. UConn has more good guards in place this season too, and expectations have not dropped off for the defending champs. We may not find out fully who they are until early December when the Huskies play Kansas, UNC, and Gonzaga before launching into conference play, but there is certainly no reason to have them on upset alert on Monday night.
It is perfectly possible that NAU is better than we think, or that UConn just takes a few games to get all the pieces together, either of which could make the +25.5 a good play. Yet, it is just as likely that the defending champs overwhelm the Lumberjacks, especially in front of the home crowd, and run away with this one. Therefore, I prefer the game total. I suspect it is likely that one or both of these teams could start out slow in terms of scoring, and I especially think that Northern Arizona will find it difficult to score against a big and talented Husky team. The under is the final leg of this mega parlay.
Check out our Northern Illinois vs UConn predictions
