College Basketball Parlay Picks for Tuesday, December 21st (2021)
As we head into Christmas break, the NCAAB season is really heating up as conference play has begun. We’ll heavily feature one of the marque conferences in the Big East as they could have a heavy presence in the tournament come March.
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Xavier at Villanova: Pick Villanova -5
(Tip 7 p.m. ET)
This matchup could have significant implications early on in the Big East conference. Villanova lost its first conference game in a road matchup against Creighton, and they do not know to want to start 0-2 in a Big East that could put a few teams in the tournament. The Wildcats have recently shot poorly at just 23% percent from behind the arc over their last three games. This is too good of a team to continue this cold streak, and hopefully, they can turn it around.
This is one of the best Xavier teams Travis Steele has coached in his four-year tenure. Cincinnati senior Paul Scruggs has been the star of this offense, but with the support of Nate Johnson on the wing shooting 47% and Colby Johnson grabbing 11 rebounds a game, they have a well-balanced team.
Even with Villanova struggling and Xavier is on a hot streak, the Wildcats are in a better spot. Xavier has yet to beat Nova in Finneran Pavilion and has covered the spread in five of their last seven matchups. Their shooting should be a little better with the home crowd, and the low-turnover rate will always keep them competitive.
Kansas at Colorado: Pick Kansas -10.5
(Tip 9 p.m. ET)
Kansas is continuing its impressive run thanks to Christian Braun and Ochai Agbaji. Braun had 21 points on 8-of-12 with six rebounds in their last game Stephen F. Austin while Agbaji had 18 points and five rebounds. Not only is Braun been stellar on offense averaging 22.3 points per game and 48% behind the arc, but he’s been productive on defense with 13 steals and 13 blocks this year. The Jayhawks are just an all-around balanced team as they are eighth in scoring offense (85.8 PPG) and 38th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Although Colorado is sitting at 9-3, they’ve been far from impressive this season. They are 168th in offensive rating, 141st in defensive rating, and 204th in points per game. Their record is more of a mirage as they have not beaten a formable opponent this season. The Buffaloes might also be without their star guard Jabari Walker as he took a shot to the head fighting for a rebound in their last game.
Colorado comes into this game over-matched, and possibly being without their best player doesn’t help. The Buffaloes are out-sized by Agbaji and Braun and should not have a problem creating shots. Add the Jayhawks limiting possessions with their defense, and it should be an easy win heading in Christmas break.
Connecticut at Marquette: Pick Connecticut -4
(Tip 9 p.m. ET)
The absence of UConn forward Adama Sanogo was prominent in their loss to Providence over the weekend. They could not create open shots and lacked the advantage on boards. They could possibly be rotating only eight players in this game, which would be very guard-heavy. Guard RJ Cole has done his best to step up, but they are ride or die with the perimeter shooting without Sanogo.
Marquette started the season hot with wins in their first five out of six, but they’ve taken a bit of a slide, including a loss in the Big East opener against Xavier. The Golden Eagles love to shoot behind the arc, as they are 40th in 3-point attempt ratio, per KenPom, hitting 31.8% on the season. The heavy outside shooting is due to their lack of talent in the frontcourt - the offensive rebounding percentage is 22.7% this season and 28.5% on the defensive end.
Marquette has struggled against more experienced teams this year which is what the Huskies are. The Marquette outside shooting hasn’t been good, to begin with, but the UConn guards have played well defensively. If Sanogo does play, that’s a huge advantage, but the Huskies should be able to sneak out a road win without him.
Total Parlay Odds (FanDuel): +608
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