Caleb Wilfinger
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The college basketball season is in full swing and Saturday brings us another great slate filled with nonstop action and marquee games from Noon until deep into the night on the east coast. And what better way to celebrate a massive college hoops slate on Saturday than with a mega parlay? That’s right; I have crafted an NCAAB parlay for today’s games that pays out at nearly 10/1 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook.
And, like always, don’t forget to check out all of our college basketball predictions for today’s games.
TCU ML (+190)
Baylor Bears -4.5 (-110)
Creighton -3.5 (-110)
NCAAB Parlay odds: +957
TCU Horned Frogs ML over BYU Cougars (+190)
To start off our mega parlay, I’m going to target one of the better situational spots on the board, and it comes in the Big 12. For starters, this is a pretty obvious spot to sell high on BYU after the Cougars just knocked off the Kansas Jayhawks in Phog Allen Fieldhouse, making it the first time any team has won in that building in over 2 years. Bill Self doesn’t lose at home very often and for BYU to get that win in its inaugural season in the Big 12 was a massive result for a program that needed a signature conference win.
On the other side, TCU wasn’t so fortunate earlier this week, dropping a home game to the Baylor Bears where the Bears shot 41% from the three-point line, along with dominating the game on the offensive glass. The Horned Frogs also shot very poorly from all areas of the court, a performance that likely won’t be repeated against a mediocre BYU defensive unit. It’s important to remember that the Cougars were able to knock off Kansas thanks to an awful shooting effort from the Jayhawks, along with the absence of All-American candidate Kevin McCullar. This TCU team should be much healthier and hungry to pick up a massive road win. Let’s trust the great spot and back an underdog on Saturday.
Check out all of our college basketball predictions for today’s games
Baylor Bears -4.5 over Kansas Jayhawks (-110)
For the second leg in our mega parlay, I’m going to target a couple of teams trending in completely opposite directions of late. I’ve written about the Big 12 a lot this season, and the Baylor Bears have a lot of indicators that suggested positive regression was coming earlier in the campaign. Now, it looks like Scott Drew’s team is rounding into form at the right time, plus they’ll likely be getting back sophomore guard Langston Love for this one. Love is a key piece in an already talented Baylor backcourt and I expect his impact to be felt considering he missed the first meeting against Kansas.
The Jayhawks are reeling heading into this game, having just blew a second-half lead at home to BYU for their first loss at Allen Fieldhouse in over 2 years. Kansas was able to fend off Baylor by 3 points without McCullar at home back on February 1, but the void on both sides of the ball should even more pronounced in his absence on Saturday. Baylor center Yves Missi should be able to handle Hunter Dickinson in the post, while the Bears shoot and make 3-pointers at greater than a 40% clip. If the Bears wings start seeing success against Kansas’ perimeter defense without McCullar, it could be a long night for the Jayhawks, who don’t take (and make) a ton of threes on the other side of the ball. Let’s back the Bears to get their revenge in front of their home fans.
Creighton Blue Jays -3.5 over Marquette Golden Eagles (-110)
Creighton is playing some of its better basketball of the season of late, and the Blue Jays will be looking to exact some revenge over the Golden Eagles in what is their last home game of the regular season. It could easily be argued that Creighton let that first meeting get away from them back on December 30, as the Blue Jays led at halftime but surrendered 44 second-half points en route to losing 72-67. That should be fresh in the minds of Greg McDermott’s team ahead of this important Big East clash.
Marquette guard Sean Jones wreaked havoc in the first meeting, to the tune of 15 points in just 13 minutes, but his absence due to injury should be felt in this rematch. There is also something to be said for the improvements that Creighton has made on the defensive side of the ball (23rd in adjusted efficiency at KenPom), and I expect Ryan Kalkbrenner to be a major deterrent for a Golden Eagles team that likes to attack the paint. Ultimately, I trust the Blue Jays to defend their home court, so let’s go with the hosts.
