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The NCAA tournament has been trimmed down to 16 teams and we have a few intriguing matchups set to take place on Friday at KFC YUM! Center and T-Mobile Center.
After looking at the Tipico Sportsbook’s NCAA Tournament odds and lines, here is Friday’s can’t-miss, Sweet 16 parlay among our expert college basketball picks and predictions.
Three of the games that are set to take place on Friday currently have spreads of 7.5-points or higher. The only game with a lower spread than is the nightcap between No. 2 Texas against No. 3 Xavier.
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NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 parlay
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:02 a.m. ET. All game times ET; ML = moneyline.
Leg 1: Alabama vs. San Diego State – UNDER 137.5 (-112) – 6:30 p.m. (TBS)
Many people watching the tournament would agree that Alabama appears to be the best team remaining. The Crimson Tide cruised to 21-plus-point wins over Texas A&M CC and Maryland in their 1st 2 games of the tourney, but the Aztecs are a much better group than those programs.
San Diego State prefers to slow things down on the offensive end and it’ll try to limit the number of possessions for Alabama. Even though the Crimson Tide boasts the No. 5 scoring offense in the country (82.3 PPG), both teams are top 40 in field-goal percentage allowed (Alabama 2nd, San Diego State 40th) on the defensive end.
The Aztecs have gone Under in 10 consecutive games, while the Crimson Tide are 5-1 to the Under in their last 6 games overall.
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Leg 2: PRINCETON +9.5 (-105) vs. Creighton – 9 p.m. (TBS)
Princeton has been the biggest cinderella of the tournament and is the lone double-digit seed remaining. After limiting No. 2 Arizona to only 55 points in the first round, 15-seed Princeton impressively converted 12 threes and free throws alike to take down No. 7 Missouri 78-63 in the 2nd round.
Creighton also looked impressive in its 85-76 victory over No. 3 Baylor in the Round of 32, where it made all 22 of its free-throw attempts. While the Bluejays attempt a lot of 3s per game (24.6 to rank 52nd), the Tigers have forced teams to shoot only 32 percent from beyond the arc (74th) this season.
Princeton has covered the spread in 6 straight games and it should be able to keep it within 10 points against Creighton on Friday night.
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Leg 3: XAVIER ML (+160) vs. Texas – 9:45 (CBS)
Fans of Texas may believe I have it out for them as I picked Penn State to beat them in the Round of 32. Penn State had the recipe to defeat Texas, but Xavier is by far the best team the Longhorns have faced in the Big Dance.
Besides shooting an efficient 38.9 percent from 3-point range (5th), the Musketeers dominate the glass with 37.8 rebounds per game (36th). Meanwhile, the Longhorns are 214th at 34.4 rebounds per game.
Despite Texas forcing 15.9 turnovers per game (19th), Xavier has the 9th-best assist/turnover ratio (1.55) this season. If they prevent the Longhorns from getting easy points off of turnovers, the Musketeers could be advancing to the Elite 8.
Parlay payout: Bet $10 to profit $86.09 (ticket pays $96.09).
Try out the USA TODAY Parlay Calculator.
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