
Wow, what a day we had on the college hoops hardwood yesterday! We went a sizzling hot 9-3 on our parlay picks, and we nearly had a full scoop on our hands, as two of those three losses were overtime bad beats. We nailed our money line magic play yesterday for a 3.26-1 payout when Michigan State, Purdue, and Marquette all took care of business. And while they was a nice little payout, the blockbuster bet of the day came on our get rich or die trying point spread parlay.
That bet was a 5-teamer with Georgetown (+2.5), UCF (-3), Kent State (-2), Ball State (-7.5), and Pitt (-5) that would have paid out a whopping 20-1 had we hit it. And the only reason we didn’t cash that jumbo ticket is because the Kent State game got canceled last minute, dropping it off the parlay. The rest of the ticket came in, and with the Kent State game dropping off, we had to settle for a 4-teamer, which still paid a very handsome 10-1!
STATEMENT WIN! pic.twitter.com/FcFhAfkUkH
— Illinois Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 3, 2021
It was almost an all-time day, though, as our 3-team point spread parlay was in great shape as we had Illinois (+8.5) and Arkansas (-6.5) in the books and only needed West Virginia to cover at home against Baylor to add another 6-1 payout to our big day. It sure seemed like we were on the right side of that one, as the Mountaineers led with just 2-seconds left on the clock, and we were getting +4.5-points. But unfortunately for us, the Bears tied the game up at the buzzer and sent it into overtime.
Even in the extra period, we seemed like locks to cover as this was a 3-point game with 18-seconds left to play, but we got unlucky late, and Baylor won 94-89, and we took a brutal bad beat to cost us a 3-teamer. I guess we will have to settle for just a 10-unit winning day instead of scooping it all! We are back on the hunt for value again today with more parlay action!
Point Spread Parlay
Not all parlays are the same. In this first section, we are going to focus on point spread parlays. A point spread parlay is a parlay bet where all of the games bet are point spreads, and you will have to lay a little juice on each bet. A standard 3-team point spread parlay will payout 6-1, a 4-teamer pays out 11-1, and a 10-teamer pays out a whopping 720-1! As you can see, the payouts can get really big, really fast, on point spread parlays!
Clemson Tigers at Syracuse Orange (-1)
It is going to take a lot to get Syracuse into the NCAA tournament this season, as they just haven’t been able to get over the hump in the ACC. That being said, the Orange have done a great job of protecting their home floor as they are an impressive 12-1 in the Carrier Dome. That includes wins over top-100 teams like North Carolina, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, NC State, and Buffalo. Clemson, on the other hand, has caught fire here late in the season, and they are quickly looking like a team worthy of an at-large bid.
One more time in the Dome ?✊ pic.twitter.com/dllcjn45v2
— Syracuse Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) March 3, 2021
The Tigers have won 5 straight games, with quality wins over North Carolina, Syracuse, and Georgia Tech. And while this run was a nice one, and badly needed for Clemson, 4 out of those 5 wins came at home, with the lone road victory coming against a bad Wake Forrest team. Of the Tigers 5 losses on the year, 4 of them have come on the road in conference play, with losses to fellow bubble teams Duke, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech. Clemson is the better overall team, but I just can’t back them on the road in hostile territory against a Syracuse team that is elite at home. Give me the Orange.
UCONN Huskies at Seton Hall Pirates (+1.5)
Home dogs in league play are amongst my favorite plays in all of college hoops betting. This line opened with the Pirates laying a point, and after the early betting action, you can now back the Pirates getting a point and a half, and I just can’t that up. Seton Hall is 7-3 at home in conference play, and two of those losses came to Creighton and Villanova. Throw in the fact that the Pirates just beat the Huskies in Storrs a month ago, and I love them at home against a UCONN team that just might be a tad bit overrated.
Providence Friars at St. John’s Red Storm (-1)
You might sense a recurring theme in this first section of picks, as I am taking all home teams. Late in the season, when the games matter the most, home teams always seem to perform better than usual. Similar to Syracuse, it doesn’t look like a trip to the NCAA tournament is in the cards for St. John’s, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been really good at home this year. The Johnnies are 9-3 at home, including wins over Xavier and Villanova. St. John’s has lost 3 out of 4, but 2 of those losses came on the road, so they will be happy to be back at home tonight against a tough Providence team.
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?️ https://t.co/qDtuc4GJft#SJUBB | #WeAreNewYorksTeam pic.twitter.com/pmSEvTBUtI
— St. John’s BBall (@StJohnsBBall) March 3, 2021
The Friars are one of the more disappointing teams in the Big East, in my opinion, as this team has enough talent to compete at the top of the league, yet they have a losing record in conference play at 8-9, and they aren’t going to make the tournament. Road losses at Butler, Xavier, Marquette, Villanova, Georgetown, and UCONN tell me that these Friars won’t be up for pulling off the upset tonight.
Point Spread Parlay
- Teams Odds
- Syracuse Orange (-1) -100
- Seton Hall Pirates (+1.5) -110
- St. John’s Red Storm (-1) -110
$100 Bet Wins $600
Money Line Magic
This next type of parlay we are going to look at is an all money line parlay. With these types of bets, you don’t care about points spreads, it is just who wins or loses the games that matter. Want to load up on a bunch of favorites and get paid when they all win? Do you smell a couple of big upsets? Parlay those together on a money line parlay, and you can get paid big!
Stanford Cardinal at USC Trojans (-345)
What is going on with this USC Trojans team? Two weeks ago, they looked like a team that was going to run away with the PAC-12 regular season title and hit the tournament as a top-3 seed. But since they reeled off 13 wins in 14 games earlier this year, they have dropped 3 of their last 4. They did have a nice win over Oregon mixed in there, and the schedule has been a tough one with games against the top of the league in Colorado, Oregon, and Arizona, but I would have expected the Trojans to play better.
Last time in Galen this season.
Make it count. pic.twitter.com/vTFcG58O0c
— USC Men’s Basketball (@USC_Hoops) March 3, 2021
USC is going to be happy to be home tonight, as their last 2 losses have both come on the road, and it’s looking like the Trojans have caught Stanford at just the right time for a season sweep. USC knocked off Stanford on the road earlier this season, and the Cardinals just haven’t been the same since. In January, the Cardinals were playing great basketball with a wins over Arizona and UCLA and they had a 6-3 record in league play. But once we hit February, Stanford just hasn’t been able to beat good teams. The Cardinals have lost 3 straight games with awful losses to Washington State and Oregon State and even with USC not playing their best right now, the Cardinal’s aren’t going to beat the Trojans on the road.
Maryland Terrapins (-205) at Northwestern Wildcats
I will switch gears a bit from backing all home teams and take the Maryland Terrapins to win at Northwestern. Maryland is in desperate need of this win, as they are currently in most expert’s projections a tournament team, but a bad loss late in the season to a team like Northwestern could be enough to put them on the outside looking in for March Madness. The Terrapins are smoking hot, with a current 5-game winning streak, and their recent wins over Michigan State, Rutgers, and Minnesota will go a long way into Maryland hearing their names called on Selection Sunday.
❤️ day in Evanston!
9 PM | Big Ten Network pic.twitter.com/FQQv8NyxfL
— Maryland Basketball ? (@TerrapinHoops) March 3, 2021
What has been most impressive about Maryland has been their ability to win on the road against elite teams. The Terrapins have road wins over Wisconsin, Illinois, Rutgers, and Minnesota and those are some of the toughest places in the nation for opposing teams to win. For Northwestern, the Wildcats did have home wins over Michigan State and Ohio State early in the year, but nobody is remembering those wins now as the Wildcats lost 13 games in a row before winning their last game against Minnesota. I hate taking road teams in the Big 10, but this one just makes too much sense not to back Maryland.
Abilene Christian Wildcats at Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks (-115)
I know that you likely haven’t checked in on too many games in the Southland Conference this year, but you might be surprised to find out that the league has several solid teams. Abilene Christian, Stephen F Austin, Nichols State, and Sam Houston State have a combined record of 68-21. Whichever team wins the Southland Conference tournament and represents the league in the NCAA tournament, needs to be on your radar as a bracket buster. Kenpom tells us that the Lumberjacks and Wildcats are the best the league has to offer, and I would tend to agree as both of these teams are really good small conference squads.
Back in Nac ?
? Abilene Christian
? Nacogdoches, TX
? 8 pm
?️ https://t.co/jgfOK2epH3
? https://t.co/Dr5XuP0Bwn
? Q107.7#PressU #RaiseTheAxe #AxeEm pic.twitter.com/a0gM52JC6T— SFA Men’s Basketball (@SFA_MBB) March 3, 2021
The Wildcats beat up on Stephen F Austin earlier this year when they hosted the Lumberjacks, and now it is Austin’s turn for revenge as the series shifts to Nacogdoches. SFA is undefeated at home this season, which isn’t all that shocking considering they were 16-1 at home last season as well. This is just another one of those spots where a home team really needs a win in a big game, and I think that they find a way to get it done. I am taking stone cold Stephen F Austin to win a tight one.
Wichita State Shockers (-205) at Tulane Green Wave
Tulane stinks. Even at home, the Green Wave is just 1-5 in conference play. Overall, Tulane is 4-11 in the AAC, and they don’t have a single win over the national top-100 yet this season. Wichita is hanging right around the bubble, and if the season were to end today, they are probably out of the Big Dance. That makes this game that much more important for Wichita State. The Shockers are building a lot of momentum here late in the season as they have won 5-straight games, including an enormous win over top-10 ranked Houston. There is no way that Wichita State lets this winnable road game pass them by. Expect the Shockers to cruise.
Money Line Magic Parlay
- Teams Odds
- USC Trojans -345
- Maryland Terrapins -205
- Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks -115
- Wichita State Shockers -205
$100 Bet Wins $450
Get Rich Or Die Trying
In this final section, we are going to go for the jumbo payouts! These are your lottery ticket types of plays that aren’t going to come in all that often but pay off big time when they do. A wise man once said, if you don’t swing hard, you never hit any home runs. Well, in this section, we swing for the fences!
NC State Wolfpack (+2.5) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame are actually a decent basketball team. Their bad overall record of 9-13 might suggest otherwise, but the Irish have played the 21st toughest schedule in the nation this season, and all but one of their 13 losses have come against top-100 teams. The problem I have with Notre Dame is that their one really bad loss, to a Boston College team that was just 3-13 at the time, came in the Irish’s last game, and they just aren’t playing well, having lost 3 straight.
GAMEDAY‼️ pic.twitter.com/zo58Jh7LqY
— NC State Men’s Bball (@PackMensBball) March 3, 2021
Notre Dame has done most of their winning at home, which does give me a little bit of pauses fading them in South Bend. But when I see that NC State has managed to win their last 4 road games, including a win in Charlottesville over a very good Virginia team, I feel that the Wolfpack could pull off the upset. And even if NC State can’t win outright, we have a +2.5-point insurance policy to fall back on. Notre Dame has had bad luck against good teams all season long, expect more of the same tonight against a quality NC State team.
Oregon State Beavers (+5.5) at Utah Utes
Which Utah team is going to show up tonight in Salt Lake City? The one that beat USC, Arizona, Colorado, and Stanford? Or the one that lost to Oregon State, Washington, and Cal? These two teams matched up in Corvallis a couple of weeks again, and the Beavers hammered the Utes, blowing them out by 18-points. The Beavers have won back-to-back road games, and while I don’t see them pulling off the win tonight on the road, I do think that this game is going to be very competitive, and I like them to keep it close enough to cover.
Creighton Blue Jays (+5) at Villanova Wildcats
Villanova and Creighton played on February 13th in Omaha, and the Blue Jays ran the Wildcats out of the gym. It was Creighton’s 12th win over the top-100 this year and showed me that the Blue Jays are a team capable of a deep run in March. 6 of those top-100 wins have come on the road, and the Blue Jays will play any team, any time, anywhere.
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? No.?
? Philadelphia
? FS1
? 1620 the Zone
? https://t.co/rnIBDn3Km9#GoJays pic.twitter.com/Ok8wjsGKnD— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) March 3, 2021
For Villanova, the Wildcats have had a strange season as they lost nearly a month due to a COVID-19 related delay, and while they seem to pass the eye test as a Final Four type of team, they have weird losses to Virginia Tech, St. John’s, and Butler that are hard to understand. Will Creighton pick up the season sweep over Villanova tonight? Maybe. But I do really like them to cover what I see as an inflated spread. I am snatching up the points in this one and hoping that we see the same Villanova team tonight, that we saw in their last game, when they somehow managed to get blown out by 12-points by a bad Butler team.
Mississippi State Bulldogs at Texas A&M Aggies (+5.5)
Home dog. League play. Fade the public. Those are all of my favorite things to do, and I get to do all of them in this game! Texas A&M is admittedly terrible this season, but they are decent at home with a 6-3 record in College Station. Each of those home losses came to top-50 teams, and I think they are going to put on a nice performance tonight on senior night. The analytics like Mississippi State more than my eyeballs do, as Kenpom has the Bulldogs ranked 67th in the nation. But Mississippi State has lost 7 of 11, and it is hard to see them running up the score tonight on the road, where they just haven’t played well this year. The Bulldogs win, but the Aggies cover, and we get paid.
UCLA Bruins (+4.5) at Oregon Ducks
Who knows what is going on out west right now in the PAC-12. With USC and Stanford fading hard, UCLA struggling on the road, and Oregon being super inconsistent, it’s anybody’s guess if any team in the league is ready to make a run in March. The Bruins haven’t been great on the road, but I just feel they are too talented of a team to get this many points, no matter where the game is being played. Oregon has home losses to teams outside of the top-100 in Washington State and Oregon State, and they just can’t be trusted, despite the fact they are playing well right now. This one comes down to the wire, and in a close one, I always want to be on the side getting points, not laying them. I’ll take UCLA.
Missouri Tigers at Florida Gators (-4)
A month ago, the media was trying to convince me that the Missouri Tigers were an elite team. But I just never bought in on the Missouri hype, even when they were 13-3, with wins over Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, and Oregon. Their resume was as good as any team in the SEC, but I just wasn’t a believer for whatever reason. My hate seems justified now, though, as the Tigers have lost 4 out of their last 5 games, and they have gone from a potential 2 or 3 seed to a team sliding down the bracket quickly.
? Last ? game of the season ?
? Missouri
⏰ 6:30 p.m.
? SEC Network
? https://t.co/qOB5vdNKwC
? https://t.co/OetKbDjrFp
? https://t.co/2onD54v0Ei#GatorsHoop pic.twitter.com/UMnrGb0od5— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) March 3, 2021
The Gators are on the opposite end of that spectrum, as they are playing their best basketball of the season at just the right time. Florida has won 7 of 9 with huge wins over Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The Gators SOS is at 24th right now, and they have 10 top-100 victories. We aren’t hearing a lot about Florida, and my guy says that maybe we should. The Gators are going to take advantage of the Tigers while they are down and win and cover in Gainesville.
Get Rich Or Die Trying Parlay
- Teams Odds
- NC State Wolfpack (+2.5) -110
- Oregon State Beavers (+5.5) -110
- Creighton Blue Jays (+5) -110
- Texas A&M Aggies (+5.5) -110
- UCLA Bruins (+4.5) -110
- Florida Gators (-4) -110
$100 Bet Wins $4,000
Wrap Up
Parlays are a great way to make quick cash, and here you have four different ways to get in on the parlay bet action! Thanks for reading and make sure that you stay tuned to TheSportsGeek for all of your March Madness betting advice and be sure to check out our college hoops betting page, where we bring you free daily betting picks each and every day!