Ricky Dimon
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It’s a big weekend college basketball and Saturday’s slate is a huge one. Among the teams taking the court are UCLA, Kansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona, and Houston. The Bruins, who travel to Marquette, are part of today’s mega parlay.
We cashed a +1022 parlay last Sunday behind Arizona, Xavier, and North Carolina before Kansas, Georgia, and Missouri all covered the spread to hit a +596 parlay on Tuesday. Let’s keep the momentum going!
UCLA -9.5 alternate spread (+115)
South Dakota State ML (+195)
Santa Clara ML (+115)
Parlay odds: +1264
For this parlay we are going with one favorite against an alternate spread and two underdogs on the money line. Let’s break down each of the three legs one by one.
UCLA -9.5 alternate spread over Marquette (+115)
The Bruins’ 13th-ranked offense in the nation is led by junior guard Johnny Juzang, who is averaging 17.1 ppg on 44.6% shooting from the field and has scored in double-figures in every game so far this season. Cody Riley, UCLA’s primary big man, returned to practice this week after sustaining an MCL sprain in the season opener and might return tonight. Jaime Jaquez Jr., their third-highest scorer, was cleared to play after sustaining a head injury against Colorado. The visiting Golden Eagles are coming off of a 64-63 win over Kansas State in the Big East/Big 12 Battle on Wednesday night. In Shaka Smart’s first year at Marquette his team has been good but a bit inconsistent, which is understandable considering the fact that he is acclimating 8 new players with freshmen and transfers. The Bruins and their lethal offense will be the biggest test for Smart’s squad to date.
Check out our UCLA vs Marquette preview
South Dakota State ML over Washington State (+195)
Washington State recently suffered two tough home defeats against Eastern Washington and USC. The Cougars bounced back to beat Weber State 94-60, but Weber State isn’t anything special. The Jackrabbits play better defense and their offense is such that Washington State will likely have to score a ton to keep up. SDSU’s offense this season has been nothing short of stellar, as this team leads the nation in 3-point shooting (44.5 percent), is shooting 9th-best in the nation overall (50.9 percent), and ranks top 3 in Division I in scoring (90.5 ppg). Senior forward Douglas Wilson paired with sophomore guards Baylor Scheierman and Noah Freidel should cause havoc for the Cougars, as all 3 Jackrabbit players are averaging double-figures in points, All are also nationally ranked in one or more statistical categories.
Check out our South Dakota State vs Washington State preview
Santa Clara ML over California (+115)
These teams actually have quite a bit of similarities, but Santa Clara is the recommended side in this matchup. Both defenses are very good at protecting rim, forcing their opponents to make jump shots against them. Cal ranks 81st in field-goal percentage defense at the rim, while Santa Clara ranks 41st in that department. The differentiator that sways this game to Santa Clara is its offense, which ranks 58th per KenPom. The Broncos are scoring in a variety of ways, as they rank in the top-35 in two-point and three-point percentage. On the flip side, Cal’s offense ranks 180th per KenPom and the Bears need to score inside to have any success. Cal ranks 333rd in three-point attempt rate and it is making just 33.5 percent of those attempts. Going up against the strong interior defense of Santa Clara, it’s unlikely that the Bears will have a very effective offensive game.
Check out all our college basketball previews and picks for Saturday
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