Ricky Dimon
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The Big Ten/ACC Challenge tipped off a new week in college basketball on Monday, when the Big Ten powered its way to a 2-0 start behind Iowa and Illinois. Ohio State, Purdue, Minnesota, and Rutgers helped their conference improve to 6-2 in the series with wins on Tuesday. The most notable result, of course, saw the Buckeyes come back from 13 points down at halftime to stun top-ranked Duke 71-66. That opens the door for No. 2 Purdue – a 93-65 winner over Florida State – to become No. 1 in the nation next week.
There are six more games in the challenge on Wednesday, and two of them are part of today’s NCAAB mega parlay.
Michigan State -5 (-110)
Maryland -1 (-110)
Wichita State ML (+230)
Parlay odds: +1140
For this parlay we are going with two favorites against the spread and one underdog on the money line. Let’s break down each leg.
Michigan State -5 over Louisville (-110)
Louisville is 5-1 on the season, although a home loss to Furman is not particularly encouraging. Michigan State comes into this Big Ten/ACC showdown with a 5-2 record, losing to Kansas on opening night and to defending champion Baylor on Friday. The Spartans beat Loyola-Chicago and UConn on their way to a 2nd-place finish in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. They defended well in the Bahamas, holding Loyola to 61 points and UConn to 60 points. Senior forward Gabe Brown leads the Spartans in points, averaging 13.4 per game. Louisville has played good defense so far this season, but it will be difficult for them to slow down Michigan State on the Spartans’ home floor.
Check out our Louisville vs Michigan State preview
Maryland -1 over Virginia Tech (-110)
Virginia Tech enters this Big Ten/ACC challenge game as losers of 2 straight games after being swept in the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Hokies run a methodical offense to earn themselves high percentage shots, with 57% of their initial shot attempts coming after running more than 10 seconds off the clock, per Hoop-Math. As a team the Hokies average 71 points a game on 47% shooting from the field. Maryland is also coming off a loss after falling to Louisville in the final of the Bahamas Championship. The Terrapins run a very similar style offense to the Hokies, with 56% of their initial shot attempts happening after 10 seconds or more have come off the clock. Senior guard Eric Ayala leads Maryland with 15 points per game, but the heartbeat of the offense is Rhode Island transfer Fatts Russell. He is second on the team in scoring and leads the team in assists with 3.6 per game. These teams appear to be evenly matched on offense — you have to feel good about Maryland having two senior guards in Russell and Ayala in a tight game — which is exactly what this one projects to be.
Check out our Virginia Tech vs Maryland preview
Wichita State ML over Oklahoma State (+230)
Wichita State guard Tyson Etienne looks to continue to lead the way for the Shockers. Etienne is averaging 18.6 points and has scored 23% of his team’s points this season. Ricky Council IV is also averaging double figures (10.2 ppg) and contributing 4.2 rebounds per game for the Shockers. WSU is no stranger to true road games, as the Shockers hold a .750 winning percentage when playing on the road. The Cowboys returned 4 starters from a season ago and 73% of their total points, but Cade Cunningham is obviously gone. This is a good opportunity for Wichita State to pull off a minor upset.
Check out all our college basketball previews and picks for Wednesday
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