Top College Basketball Parlay Picks for Saturday: Can Arizona State Cover Against Oregon State?

Saturday’s college basketball parlay picks include playing the Over in a game featuring one of the 10 worst defenses in all of Division I.

There really is nothing quite like Saturday college basketball slates this time of year. For those living within the Eastern Time Zone, there will be games to watch spanning from high noon into the wee hours of Sunday morning. When constructing college basketball betting parlays, the greater number of games that bettors have to choose from, the better. 

With less than two weeks until the start of the first conference tournaments, teams all across the country are jockeying for position within their respective league standings. At this point in the season, the vast majority of matchups also mark the second time that schools have faced each other. Thus, bettors have prior matchup data points to consider for many of Saturday’s games.

Here are my top parlay picks for Saturday’s college basketball action (odds via BetMGM; pick confidence based on 1-to-5-star scale).

Saturday's College Basketball Parlay Picks

Sam Houston State-UTRGV Over 145.5 (-110) ???Pepperdine vs. Portland -7.5 (-110) ??Oregon State vs. Arizona State -8.5 (-110) ????

SEE ALSO: Kansas vs. West Virginia Picks

College Basketball Parlay Predictions

Sam Houston State-UTRGV Over 145.5 (-110)

Here’s the deal: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley literally cannot stop anyone. The local Huntsville YMCA team would probably be able to go out and drop at least 60-65 on the Vaqueros horrendous defense. Taking this into account, one has to believe that Sam Houston State will go for at least 80 in Saturday’s matchup. 

The first matchup between these two teams featured 164 combined points. Thus, it’s a bit surprising to see the total for tonight’s game only set at 145.5. 86 of the points in the first meeting on Jan. 3 came courtesy of the Bearkats in an 86-78 win. Aside from a handful of matchups against non-Division I opponents, that still stands as Sam Houston’s highest offensive output of the season. 

While the Bearkats actually only rank tenth in the Western Athletic Conference when it comes to scoring offense at 70.3 points per game, every team UTRGV faces tend to outperform its season average. The Vaqueros have surrendered a whopping 79.2 ppg defensively. Considering that Seattle just dropped 102 on UTRGV on Wednesday, it’s quite clear that little to no improvement has been made.

In total, 11 of UTRGV’s 13 conference games this season have eclipsed 145 total points. Not even a slight line move to the Under at a handful of sportsbooks should deter bettors from fading the UTRGV defense tonight.

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Portland -7.5 (-110)

We travel to the Pacific Northwest for the second pick of our college basketball parlay. Aside from Gonzaga, the Portland Pilots are the hottest thing going in the West Coast Conference right now. Portland carries a four-game winning streak into Saturday’s contest, highlighted by a stunning upset of NCAA Tournament hopeful San Francisco. Tonight’s home matchup with WCC cellar-dweller Pepperdine offers the Pilots the opportunity to climb back to .500 in conference play.

Pepperdine comes in allowing an average of 75.1 points per game to opponents in conference. In the first head-to-head matchup between these teams in Malibu, the Pilots put up 82 points in a convincing 19-point victory. Both Moses Wood and Chris Austin went off for 22 points in that contest. They comprise one-half of the Pilots’ foursome that is averaging double figures for the season. Tyler Robertson leads the bunch with 14.9 per game.

If Portland figures to have the edge from a matchup standpoint, why then has this line actually trickled down slightly after opening at -8? Well, Pepperdine has shown signs of improvement recently. Freshman Houston Mallette has been red-hot scoring the ball averaging over 20 points in his last three games. But the lack of any other legitimate offensive threats makes it tough for the Waves to outscore what their defense gives up on the other end.

Arizona State -8.5 (-110)

It was only a year ago that Oregon State went on an improbable run in the Pac-12 Tournament and then advanced all the way to the Elite 8 in March Madness. The good times have since withered away up in Corvalis. Wayne Tinkle’s Beavers have won all but three games this season. For a Power 5 program, that is simply unheard of. 

While Bobby Hurley’s Arizona State squad has also struggled this season, the Sun Devils have been quite feisty of late. ASU comes in on a two-game winning streak and has taken three of its last five overall. The impressive recent stretch includes an overtime upset over UCLA, a road win over Washington State, and a lopsided victory over Oregon earlier this week. Meanwhile, Oregon State has lost 11 straight. On top of that, only one outcome has been decided by less than 10 points since Jan. 10!

While the Sun Devils do not have the talent of teams in recent years, each of DJ Horne, Kimani Lawrence, and Marcus Bagley are all averaging over double figures in points. As for the Beavers, Jared Lucas is the only reliable offensive threat they have. 

Despite a sub-.500 record, Arizona State ranks 121st in KenPom’s overall power ratings. Needless to say, it’s a long way down to OSU at No. 234. Add in the recent trajectory of both programs and laying the points with the Sun Devils at home stands out as the preferred play.

Combined Odds: Sam Houston State-UTRGV Over 145.5 (-110) + Portland -7.5 (-110) + Arizona State -8.5 (-110) = +595

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College basketball parlay picks made 2/19/2022 at 10:38 a.m. ET.