Ricky Dimon
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As usual, Friday doesn’t feature the most substantial college basketball schedule of the week. But a few games are enough to work with when it comes to forming a parlay, and that is what we are going to do now. Wisconsin, Michigan State, Illinois, and Maryland are taking the court in the Big Ten, while St. Bonaventure tries to bounce back from a loss to Dayton that knocked the Bonnies out of the top 25.
Here is our three-team mega parlay for the festivities.
Illinois -4 (-110)
Wisconsin -9 alternate spread (+230)
St. Bonaventure -9.5 alternate spread (+150)
Parlay odds: +1475
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.
Illinois -4 over Maryland (-110)
Illinois heads to College Park to face Maryland for the second time this season. The first meeting was a 76-64 win by the Fighting Illini in which Kofi Cockburn put up 23 points and 18 rebounds. The last time Illinois took the court it was on the losing end of a double-overtime thriller against Purdue on Monday. Needless to say, that is a respectable result despite the setback. Cockburn isn’t playing on Friday, which is why the Illini are now -4 instead of -7.5. They should be able to cover that number even without their star big man. Maryland is coming off an 83-64 blowout loss to a Michigan team that had not won a game since mid-December.
Check out our Illinois vs Maryland preview
Wisconsin -9 alternate spread over Michigan State (+230)
Michigan State had been playing with fire for several games and finally got burnt by Northwestern at home. The Spartans are still 5-1 in the Big Ten, but their wins have come against Northwestern, Minnesota twice, Penn State, and Nebraska. They have yet to face one of the upper-echelon Big Ten teams until this matchup. Wisconsin, on the other hand, has beaten Indiana, Ohio State, Iowa, and Purdue. These teams are very close in the standings as well as the analytical rankings, but Wisconsin has been much more impressive. The Badgers are the recommended side. From a matchup perspective, Michigan State’s offense has been thriving due to 3-point shooting — where the Spartans rank 9th in percentage. However, Wisconsin’s defense is very good at taking away the 3-point line — ranking 69th in the country in limiting 3-point attempts. Wisconsin’s goal is not really to force turnovers, but Michigan State has been sloppy enough with the ball to make consistent efficient offense hard to come by. The Spartans have the highest turnover rate in Big Ten play, while Wisconsin ranks second in the entire country in protecting the ball. Back the Badgers in a big way.
Check out our Michigan State vs Wisconsin preview
St. Bonaventure -9.5 alternate spread over Duquesne (+150)
Duquesne is coming off a 72-52 home loss to Dayton this past Saturday. The Dukes, now 1-2 in the Atlantic 10, enter tonight’s contest on a 2-game losing streak. The visiting Bonnies are coming off a 68-50 road loss to Dayton on Tuesday. The Bonnies dropped to 2-1 in the A-10. Jaren Holmes is averaging 15.2 ppg, while the rest of the starting 5 is all scoring in double-figures and 6’10” senior Osun Osunniyi leads the conference with 3.1 bpg. The Bonnies have dominated the Dukes, winning 9 of their last 10 meetings by an average margin of 11.3 ppg. Duquesne also ranks lower in both offensive and defensive efficiency while losing by an average margin of 2.7 ppg at home, where it is 3-4 this season. Don’t be surprised if St. Bonaventure takes this one by double digits.
Check out all our college basketball previews and picks for Friday
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