The first “real” day of the 2022 NCAA Tournament tipped off Thursday with 16 first-round games on the docket. The fun to continues Friday with 16 more first-round contests. After looking at the NCAA Tournament odds and lines, here is a can’t-miss, first-round Friday parlay among our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Tenth-seeded Loyola-Chicago and No. 7 seed Ohio State will kick off Friday’s action, which could be stacked full of upsets with every 14 vs. 3 matchup taking place throughout the day. The potential for smaller-scale upsets is here too with two 10 vs. 7 battles.
To finish the first round, fans should be primed for a terrific slate of games, especially from a betting standpoint.
See also: Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports
Friday 3-teamer can’t-miss 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 4:47 p.m. ET.
Leg 1: USC -1.5 (-120) vs. Miami, 3:10 p.m. ET
USC is basically being given a pick ’em situation and has a much more impressive resume. The No. 7 seed has taken down San Diego State, the Mountain West Tournament runner-up, and 12th-ranked UCLA.
While Miami features a win over Duke, the No. 10 seed lost to Alabama by 32 earlier in the season – the Crimson Tide are the sixth seed in the West Region.
USC is 3-2 against the spread (ATS) against ranked opponents, so it has been a good side against some of the nation’s top teams. As for Miami, it is just 3-8 ATS in non-conference games. The Hurricanes are also just 3-3 straight up in neutral-court games.
Miami’s strength, ranking 28th in field-goal percentage, plays to USC’s strength with a lengthy defense that holds opponents to the 14th-worst percentage in the nation.
Give me USC -1.5 (-120) to kick off this parlay.
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Leg 2: Chattanooga +7.5 (-105) vs. Illinois, 6:50 p.m. ET.
The fourth-seeded Fighting Illini were just 4-6 ATS in non-conference games. They struggled down the stretch, covering just two of their last 9 games.
Led by C Kofi Cockburn, the Fighting Illini will need to showcase premier 3-point shooting when the 13th-seeded Mocs undoubtedly double down on the Illinois big man. The Mocs rank 25th in the nation in opponents’ 3-point percentage (29.9%).
As for scoring, the Mocs’ 75.1 points per game ranks 75th in the country. Chattanooga, the Southern Conference regular-season champion, won the league’s tournament – in overtime – to claim its NCAA tourney bid.
This is an upset most aren’t predicting, but the Fighting Illini, following a second-round exit as a No. 1 seed last year, could be primed to struggle against an underrated Chattanooga team.
Leg 3: TCU (-105 ML) vs. Seton Hall, 9:57 p.m. ET
We’ll wrap up this winning parlay ticket with the last scheduled game of the night.
The Big 12 was the best conference in college basketball this season. Ninth-seeded TCU was 18-11-3 ATS on the season, including 6-4-2 ATS against non-conference opponents.
Seton Hall, the No. 8 seed here, was 14-16 ATS this season.
The Pirates don’t have many high-profile wins, going 0-3 against fifth-ranked Villanova (two losses) and No. 13 Providence (one loss) this season. They are 1-5 if you add their 1-2 showing against No. 21 UConn.
TCU, on the other hand, beat third-ranked Kansas, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest, No. 11 Texas Tech, the 3 seed in the West, and 25th-ranked Texas, the East’s sixth seed.
Seton Hall’s regular-season top scorer, G Jared Rhoden, shot just 30.8% in the team’s two conference tournament games. If he continues to struggle, the Horned Frogs should cover with ease.
Given TCU has the 24th-ranked defensive efficiency, per Kenpom, I expect the Horned Frogs to make things challenging for Rhoden and company.
Parlay payout: Bet $100 to win $598.82.
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