Top College Basketball Parlay Picks For Monday

There aren't any power conference games on Monday night, but we’ve found some good mid-major value for our college basketball parlay picks.

An injured star, a dynamic duo, and an underrated team on the rise highlight our selections here.

Can The Citadel win without its best player? Will an extended COVID-19-related absence slow Northern Arizona's momentum from its last effort? And can Alcorn State coach Landon Bussie take what he learned from his stint with Prairie View A&M and use it against the Panthers? We'll dive into each of those games.

Here are my top parlay picks for the Jan. 17 college basketball matchups (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook; pick confidence based on 1-to-5-star scale).

Monday's Top College Basketball Parlay Picks

Mercer (-170) vs. The Citadel ????Northern Arizona (-220) vs. Idaho ?????Alcorn State (-190) vs. Prairie View A&M ????

SEE ALSO: Monday's Top College Basketball Expert Picks

Top College Basketball Parlay Predictions

Mercer (-170)

I’m making this pick on the basis that The Citadel star Hayden Brown - the preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year - won't be able to play after suffering an injury in the first half of Saturday's game. He wasn't able to return for the second half of that contest.

This spread opened with Mercer at -1.5 and has jumped to -3.5 (-170) on the Moneyline, which tells me that oddsmakers don't think Brown will play. He leads the team in scoring (17.9 points per game), rebounds (8.3 per game), and steals (1.2 per game).

As it is, The Citadel has lost five of six. Meanwhile, Mercer won back-to-back games over VMI and UNC Greensboro, though the victories came in very different fashions. The Bears beat the Keydets 97-91 but then won a rock fight over the Spartans 58-49.

Mercer holds a 20-7 lead in the all-time series vs. The Citadel, including 12-3 since becoming SoCon foes in 2014-15. Their last meeting was in Hawkins on Feb. 22, 2021, which Mercer won 88-52.

Again, this is predicated on Brown sitting; I don't like it as the first leg of our college basketball parlay picks if he plays. You can also consider the Under if he's out.

Northern Arizona (-220)

The past three Northern Arizona games were postponed, but in their most recent contest, junior Nik Mains and sophomore Jalen Cone combined for 45 points and 15 made 3-pointers, the most in a single game by two teammates in program history. Mains ranks second in the Big Sky in 3-point percentage (.434) and fifth in 3-pointers per game (2.4), while Cone - the league's No. 2 scorer at 18.0 points per game - is fourth in percentage (.419) and first in makes per game (3.1).

Idaho has one good player in Mike Dixon, who's fourth in the Big Sky with 17.6 points per game. However, this is a terrible program at 3-12 overall and 0-5 in the league. Idaho could also be a bit flat following a tough loss Saturday in a rivalry game at Idaho State.

The Vandals lead the Big Sky and rank 20th nationally in 3-point percentage (38.3), but they can't stop anyone, allowing 82.0 points per contest. The Lumberjacks are riding a six-game winning streak against the Vandals, Northern Arizona's longest active streak vs. a Big Sky opponent.

Alcorn State (-190)

Alcorn State is 5-11 overall but 4-0 in the SWAC after upsetting 2021 conference champion Texas Southern on Saturday. Believe it or not, that was the Braves' first home game of the season. They've played the likes of Washington State, Gonzaga, Houston, Wichita State, Baylor, and Oklahoma, and it's clearly made Alcorn State a better team.

The Braves don't have a single player averaging double-digit points, but they have nine averaging at least six.

Meanwhile, Prairie View A&M is 1-11, with that lone victory coming at home on Jan. 10 against an equally bad Arkansas Pine Bluff team. The Panthers are one of the nation's worst defensive clubs, allowing 84.7 points per game.

Additionally, if anyone should know the weaknesses of Prairie View A&M, it's Bussie, who was at Prairie View as an assistant from 2014 to 2020.

Combined odds: Mercer (-170) + Northern Arizona (-220) + Alcorn State (-190) = +252

SEE ALSO: All picks and odds. Be sure to check out SportsbookReview.com's community forums and betting tools.

College basketball parlay picks made 1/17/2022 at 11:30 a.m. ET.