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It’s officially March Madness, which means everyone will be tuning into the first round of the NCAA Tournament to see how their brackets are doing. The action gets underway on Thursday, but there are 16 games taking place on Friday.
After looking at the Tipico Sportsbook’s NCAA Tournament odds and lines, here is Friday’s can’t-miss, first-round parlay among our expert college basketball picks and predictions.
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NCAA Tournament first-round parlay
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 11:10 a.m. ET. All game times ET; ML = moneyline.
Leg 1: MICHIGAN STATE ML (-130) vs. USC – 12:15 p.m
Coach Tom Izzo is still at the helm for the Spartans and this time of year is when Michigan State creates magic. This Spartans squad converts a whopping 39.5 percent (4th in the nation) of their 3-point attempts, which will be an issue for the No. 10 Trojans.
Michigan State has also limited its opposition to 31.5 percent (53rd) of its 3-point attempts. If the Spartans are knocking down their outside shots as they did during the regular season, they should come away with the victory.
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Leg 2: VCU +4.5 (-115) vs. Saint Mary’s – 2 p.m.
We’ve seen plenty of No. 12 seeds upset the No. 5 seed over the years, and the battle between VCU and Saint Mary’s is certainly one to watch. The Rams enter Friday’s matchup on a 9-game win streak after taking down Dayton to win the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Both of these teams use stifling defense to win as they are allowing only a combined 123 points per game. That being said, VCU forces 16.47 turnovers per game (15th), so it’ll score enough points off Saint Mary’s mistakes to keep this game close.
Leg 3: MEMPHIS -1.5 (-112) vs. FAU – 9:20 p.m.
The impending bout between No. 8 Memphis and No. 9 FAU is expected to be a close one. However, the Tigers just cruised to a 75-65 win over an impressive 31-3 Houston team to win the AAC Tournament, though, it should be noted that Houston was without its leading scorer, G Marcus Sasser.
Memphis has a talented guard of their own that is led by Kendric Davis, who has recorded 20 or more points in 6 straight games. The Tigers are another team that thrives off of forcing turnovers (15.35 per game, 31st) and they went 5-2 ATS in their 7 neutral-site games this season.
Parlay payout: Bet $10 to profit $52.61 (ticket pays $62.61).
Try out the USA TODAY Parlay Calculator.
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