Andrew Ortenberg
It sure is great to have college basketball back in full swing, and I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Now it’s time to turn our attention to 2022, and the first college basketball slate of the new year. What better way to celebrate the new year than by going for a big payday? That’s right; we’re back with another mega parlay, college hoops edition. We’re going big and bold again, so let’s not waste any more time.
But before we dive in, don’t forget to check out our free picks on the side and total for every big NCAAB game.
West Virginia ML (+385)
Iowa State ML (+260)
Parlay odds: +1646
Let’s break down each of the two legs one by one.
West Virginia ML (+385) over Texas
Give me West Virginia to start this mega parlay. Everyone is all gung-ho about this Texas team, but I’m not completely sold. The Longhorns are 10-2, but none of those 10 wins have been impressive. Their best win was against a mediocre Stanford team, and even then they only won by seven. Texas’ strength of schedule ranks 357th according to Kenpom. There are only 358 D1 teams, which means the ‘Horns have played the second-easiest schedule in all of college basketball.
Most of the teams they have beaten have been completely awful. They’ve only been tested twice, against Gonzaga and Seton Hall, and they lost both of those games. West Virginia is 11-1 despite playing a much tougher schedule, and senior guard Taz Sherman (20.9 ppg) should keep balling on Saturday. Getting better than 3/1 with the Mountaineers is too good to pass up.
Iowa State ML (+260) over Baylor
Staying in the Big 12 for the second leg of this mega parlay. And this is a very similar situation as the WVU/Texas game. Baylor is 12-0, but they’ve also played a ridiculously easy schedule. This is only the second road game of the season for Baylor, and in their first one they nearly lost to a 7-6 Oregon team. Don’t sleep on Iowa State. The Cyclones are undefeated too, and it’s not by accident.
They already have some impressive wins, including over ranked Memphis and Xavier teams. They also crushed Iowa by 20, and Iowa is ranked #23 by KenPom. If those three aren’t good enough, the Cyclones also beat a very good Creighton squad on the road. For some reason they aren’t getting any respect, though. Penn State transfer Izaiah Brockington has been a revelation, averaging 17 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while shooting better than 42 percent from deep.
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