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The first round has commenced, and the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Round of 32, is upon us.
After looking at the Tipico Sportsbook’s NCAA Tournament odds and lines, here is a Saturday can’t-miss, second-round parlay among our expert college basketball picks and predictions.
Saturday’s slate of games is based on who played Thursday, which gave us notable upsets like 13-seed Furman over 4th-seeded Virginia and No. 15 seed Princeton over 2nd-seeded Arizona, the No. 8 team in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
So, let’s dive into a parlay to bank on for this highly anticipated slate of games.
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NCAA Tournament second-round parlay
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:47 a.m. ET. All game times ET; ML = moneyline.
Leg 1: MISSOURI -6.5 (-110) vs. Princeton – 6:10 p.m.
Princeton beat Arizona because the Wildcats just couldn’t shoot from deep. They were just 3-for-16 from downtown and 4-for-7 from the free-throw line.
Princeton is outside the top 100 in Kenpom’s defensive rating, and the Tigers rank 9th in adjusted offense. Missouri should be able to abuse those defensive weaknesses better than Arizona did.
Missouri’s weakness is defense, but Princeton shot just 4-for-25 from deep and had just 5 free-throw attempts against Arizona. Missouri should be able to dominate offensively and cover here.
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Leg 2: Auburn vs. Houston UNDER 131.5 (-110) — 7:10 p.m.
Houston has gone Under in 4 of its past 5 games, and it has held opponents to 52 points or fewer in 3 of its last 4 those 4. The Cougars offense hasn’t been playing at an elite level since the end of the regular season either as they have yet to top 70 points in any of the 4 postseason games.
Houston’s defense ranks 2nd in points allowed (56.4 PPG). Auburn, on the other hand, is 5-4 O/U in its last 9 games. The Tigers played Tennessee twice — the Vols defense ranks 3rd, right behind the Cougars, by allowing 57.9 PPG. Against the Vols, the Tigers averaged 61.0 points per game.
Put it all together, and UNDER 131.5 (-112) should work perfectly as the 2nd leg of this parlay.
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Leg 3: ALABAMA -8.5 (-110) vs. Maryland — 9:40 p.m.
Alabama is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Crimson Tide rank top 20 in offensive and defensive rating per Kenpom. Alabama has covered 3 consecutive games when favored by a single-digit spread. The Tide are the better side here and should comfortably cover.
Maryland ranks outside the top 25 in both offensive and defensive ratings. The Terrapins and showed many flaws in their first-round win against West Virginia with early-game turnovers.
Parlay payout: Bet $10 to profit $59.58 (ticket pays $69.58).
Try out the USA TODAY Parlay Calculator.
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