Ricky Dimon
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The Big Ten/ACC Challenge has come and gone, and as usual it provided plenty of entertainment – highlighted by Ohio State’s dramatic upset of Duke. Thursday marks a bit of a calm before another storm of games, but there are still more than a few betting opportunities on offer. Arizona, Oregon State, Cal, Missouri, and Mississippi are among the teams taking the court today.
Oral Roberts ML (+300)
Arizona -18.5 (-110)
Oregon State ML (+130)
Parlay odds: +1656
For this parlay we are going with one favorite against the spread and two underdogs on the money line. Let’s break down each of the three legs one by one.
Oral Roberts ML over TCU (+300)
Oral Roberts, which famously made a dramatic run to the Sweet 16 last season, is coming off of an 87-80 win over Tulsa on Monday night. Junior guard Max Abmas poured in a season-high 38 points on 56.3% shooting along with 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. As a team, the Eagles shot 47.3% from the field and 46.3% from three — making 19 total three-pointers and attempting more than twice the amount of free throws than the Golden Hurricane. One of the most important factors of a successful college basketball team is a strong backcourt, and Abmas — the preseason Preseason Player of the Year in the Summit League — is an experienced floor general who can score at will. While TCU has only lost one of its first six games, it has only played the 238th most difficult schedule.
Check out our Oral Roberts vs TCU preview
Arizona -18.5 over Washington (-110)
A 4-4 record might not look terrible, but things are not going well for Washington. The Huskies have already lost as a home favorite 3 times this season, most recently to Winthrop. Now they start Pac-12 play and have their first true road game at Arizona. Leading scorer Terrell Brown Jr. has been about the only good thing for the Huskies this season. He was with Arizona last year, so he will definitely be excited for this one. While Washington has struggled, Arizona has looked great under new head coach Tommy Lloyd. The Wikdcats are 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS, including a dominant win over Michigan — a team that most people had in the preseason Top 10. There is NBA-caliber talent on the Wildcats right now. Azuolas Tubelis leads the team in scoring and Christian Koloko is right behind him. That duo is 6’11” and 7’1”, respectively. There are not many teams that play with that kind of size and get production from it. Arizona is winning by an average margin of 34 ppg, so needing to beat the Huskies by a little more than half of that does not seem too much to ask.
Check out our Arizona vs Washington preview
Oregon State ML over California (+130)
Considering the fact that Oregon State is coming off of an Elite Eight performance in last year’s NCAA Tournament, the Beavers have played below expectations to say the least. With that being said, head coach Wayne Tinkle is famous for gearing his teams toward the end of the season and 3 of their last 4 losses have been by 3 points or less — including an overtime loss. The Bears and the Beavers have played the 67th and 69th-most difficult schedules so far this season, respectively, but the Bears rank just 329th in offensive efficiency compared to 276th for the Beavers. It’s only a matter of time before Tinkle has his guys playing with more efficiency and confidence and finds the right lineups with this year’s personnel. That time could be now, and a less than spectacular Cal squad would be the victim of it.
Check out all our college basketball previews and picks for Thursday
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