The good thing about sports is that if you have a bad day at the betting window you don’t have to wait long to rebound. And if you hit a winning ticket or two you can continue the heater. The NCAA Tournament takes in a massive haul at sportsbooks with 16 first round games over the opening two days with Friday’s slate offering up a fine assortment of contests to match that of the previous day. It’s called March Madness for a reason because there are always upsets in the first round.
Upsets are defined by a team’s tournament seed and those seedings can be misleading since mid-majors and one-team leagues don’t get respect like the so-called power conferences do. Is the eighth place team in the Big Ten better than the second place squad from the Big West? Well, the committee doesn’t think so and that’s just fuel for a lower seed. But I digress and instead look at games that I can put on a parlay with hopes of winning a few bucks. A $100 investment on my three picks below would give me a $581.39 payout. You can bet parlays at Bookmaker.eu with odds for every game on the Friday schedule.
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos vs. Baylor Bears ( -11 )
Nobody will argue that the Big West as a whole is better than the Big 12, that’s just ludicrous. But one could say the Gauchos are good. Former Arizona assistant Joe Pastarnack has built a solid program on the sands of the Pacific Ocean winning more than 20 games in five of his six seasons. And this is his best with the Gauchos winning 27 times, tying for the conference regular season crown and winning the Big West tournament. They don’t have a signature win on their resume likely preventing them from a better seed, but UCSB has a few players who were members of the 2021 NCAA Tournament squad that lost a heartbreaker to Creighton, including Miles Norris and Josh Pierre-Louis, who have emerged as leaders. And they also have Big West player of the Year Ajay Mitchell, who averaged 24 points and 5.3 assists while shooting 64.1 percent from the field in the Big West tournament. One thing that will keep UCSB close is Baylor’s lack of defense. I’m not saying the Gauchos are going to win, but I do like the 11 points.
CBB Parlay Pick: UC Santa Barbara +11
Grand Canyon Lopes vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs ( -16 )
The one-bid leagues get screwed when a lower-seeded team goes on a run and wins the conference tournament. With New Mexico State’s program shutdown the WAC was wide open and Grand Canyon got hot at the right time, winning three games over higher seeds to earn the WAC’s only ticket. Not that they’re deserving of the title, but a 24-11 overall record with no significant wins doesn’t get me excited. And Gonzaga has something to prove after several close calls in recent years. The Zags aren’t getting the attention they did in previous seasons but this is a dangerous group that routed St. Mary’s 77-51 in the WCC title game. Once again GU is filling it up leading the nation in scoring and field goal accuracy with just too many weapons for the Lopes to contend with.
CBB Parlay Pick: Gonzaga -16
Providence Friars vs. Kentucky Wildcats ( o/u 145 )
Kentucky was slow out of the gate and Providence stumbled to the finish line. Does that give coach Cal’s squad the edge in this matchup? One would think so based on the point spread and seeding, but the Friars were among the best in the country through the first half of the season. And it isn’t asking a lot to see them return to that form. Kentucky got the benefit of being Kentucky with a nice draw for a team that went 21-11 overall and dropped two of its last three games. The Friars struggled worse down the stretch dropping their last three games and four of five entering the Tournament. A club known for playing an aggressive brand of defense the Friars allowed an average of 71.3 points and ranked 154th in defensive efficiency. UK has Oscar Tshiebwe and the club got better on both ends of the court as the season progressed. The Cats were second in offensive efficiency during SEC play and should be able to score plenty of points.
CBB Parlay Pick: OVER 145
