Ricky Dimon
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We had a small slate of college basketball action on Monday, but a big week heats up in a big way on Tuesday. After all, the college football season has come and gone so the hardwood hoopers finally have the stage all to themselves. Tuesday’s schedule features 12 top-25 teams taking the court (it would have been 13 but Purdue’s game against Michigan has been postponed). Three matchups pit ranked teams against each other, including No. 1 Baylor putting its undefeated record on the line with Texas Tech paying a visit to Waco.
Needless to say, there is more than enough to work with as we try to formulate a winning mega parlay. Here we go!
Texas -6.5 (-110)
Providence ML (+165)
Auburn ML (+135)
Parlay odds: +1089
For this parlay we are going with two underdogs on the money line and one favorite against the spread. Let’s break down each of the three legs one by one.
Texas -6.5 over Oklahoma (-110)
This matchup sets up well for a buy-low, sell-high situation to back Texas. The Longhorns were recently blitzed in the second half against Oklahoma State, losing the game by 13 points. Oklahoma was in a similar situation as the Cowboys, hosting a ranked team in Iowa State. OU was a favorite and used a late run to win and cover, but those were similar in that they were both massive spots on their home floor. Texas will now have an opportunity to protect its home court, and there are some matchup edges for the Longhorns. Under new head coach Chris Beard, Texas is built on their defense. The Longhorns rank 11th in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric and are forcing turnovers at the fourth-highest rate in the country. This is where they could have success, as Oklahoma ranks just 282nd in offensive turnover rate.
Check out our Oklahoma vs Texas preview
Providence ML over Creighton (+165)
Providence is 14-2 on the season and a top of the Big East standings with a 4-1 record in the conference. The Friars’ only 2 losses this season have come to Virginia and Marquette. They bounced back from their recent setback against Marquette by beating St. Johns 83-73 on Saturday. Creighton is 10-4 on the season after getting blown out by Villanova on Wednesday. The Bluejays could not sweep Villanova on that season, as they scored just 45 points and lost by 34 Philadelphia. Creighton shot just 12.5% from beyond the arc and had just 1 player finished in double figures. Alex O’Connell was the only bright spot in that game, as he finished with 13 points. The ‘Jays have played much better than anyone has expected, but I think they will come back to reality during Big East play. They are a young team that will have some growing pains this season. There is good value on Providence.
Check out all our college basketball previews and picks for Tuesday
Auburn ML over Alabama (+135)
Auburn is 14-1 this year with its only loss coming in double-overtime against UConn in November. Since then, the Tigers have ripped off 11 straight wins — including over Loyola Chicago, Syracuse, UCF, LSU, and Florida. They are the 18th-ranked offense in KenPom’s efficiency metric, scoring more than 80 ppg on the road while shooting better than 46% from the field. This is a talented team with scorers such as as Jabari Smith, KD Johnson, and Wendell Green accounting for 40 ppg combined. The Tigers also defend extremely well thanks to the block machine that is Walker Kessler. Alabama is coming off a loss to Missouri, which ranks 319th in effective FG percentage. Overall, Alabama has not been as good defensively this year as it was last year. The Tide rank 59th in KenPom’s defensive efficiency and outside the top 100 in effective FG%, compared to 3rd and 16th respectively in those statistics last year. Alabama lost on the football field last night and I expect it to do the same on the basketball court 24 hours later.
Check out our Auburn vs Alabama preview
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