Basketball Parlay of the Day: Wednesday, January 23rd

Disclaimer: Every basketball parlay in this series is going to be a simple 4-legger, so we won’t be getting too crazy nor diving into the hellish world of teasers or 10-leggers. A 4-leg basketball parlay is RISKY so approach with caution and avoid tossing full unit bets on these picks. With that said, who doesn’t want to toss down a little parlay that can pay you out exponentially more money. After all, sports betting is supposed to be fun. Why not live a little?

Last night’s parlay got off to a rough start with Portland (the first leg) falling apart late after keeping the game within striking distance of the Thunder all night. In tonight’s installment, we have a solid mix of point totals and point spreads across the NCAA and NBA slates. Without further ado, let’s dive into those picks!

Basketball Parlay of the Day

• Providence @ Xavier (-3)
• Tennessee (-11) @ Vanderbilt
• FAU @ FIU – UNDER 161
• Rockets @ Knicks – OVER 227

Providence Friars vs Xavier Musketeers (-3) – 6:30pm EST

Led by the one-man wrecking crew that is Alpha Diallo, Providence has enjoyed some very solid success on the year so far. Despite sitting at the very bottom of the Big East, they have an impressive win over Seton Hall. While Providence should by no means be competing for a Big East title, they are a dangerous basketball team, if only due to the fact that Diallo has proven his ability to put the Friars on his back.

Xavier on the other hand sits at 3-3 in conference play and has a number of quality conference wins to their name. Xavier is a deep team that uses a different player to beat you on any given night. The also are a very solid team at home, going 9-3 in their home building. Although their overall record isn’t outstanding, the Musketeers are a well-rounded team that has the capability to beat up on teams outside of that upper echelon.

Providence ran through non-conference play, but has hit a wall facing tougher competition in the Big East. Xavier is a very solid Big East squad and gets the matchup in their own backyard. Look for Xavier to simply wear down the Friars with their deep rotations and quality overall play as they cover with ease.

Basketball Parlay Pick: Xavier Musketeers (-3)

Tennessee Volunteers (-11) vs Vanderbilt Commodores – 7:00pm EST

Tennessee might be the best basketball team in the country at the time of this writing. Despite a recent trend of underdog opponents knocking off the best teams in the nation (shoutout my Underdog Picks series), the Commodores are a dumpster fire since entering SEC play. Led by veterans Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams, the Volunteers have one of the best one-two punches in college basketball.

To circle back to Vanderbilt being a dumpster fire, they sit at a winless 0-5 in SEC play so far. Despite having a solid 9-3 record in non-conference play, the Commodores have been exposed as a team that thrived on beating up weaker competition. With the exception of their matchup against South Carolina, the Commodores haven’t kept a conference game within single digits.

This should be the lock of the evening. Once again, that recent trend of ranked opponents falling on the road gives me a slight scare, but Vanderbilt is so bad at this point that not even divine intervention should be able to help them cover this one.

Basketball Parlay Pick: Tennessee (-11)

Florida International Golden Panthers vs Florida Atlantic Owls (Over/Under – 161) – 7:00pm EST

In a matchup between two extremely high-powered offenses, the Golden Panthers and their 88.32 points per game roll into tonight’s matchup on the heels of a loss to Marshall. However, as great as their offense has been, they offer one of the worst defenses in the league. Giving up over 80 points per game it should come as no surprise that they are involved in some of the highest scoring affairs in the college basketball world.

Florida Atlantic on the other hand pairs a fairly decent offensive attack with a slightly above average defense. Led by versatile forward Jailyn Ingram, the Owls are enjoying one of their best seasons after not sniffing a campaign above .500 since 2010-2011.

Although the Golden Panthers score (and let other teams) score in spades, The Owls play at a significantly slower pace. The Panthers have struggled in non-shootout games and the gameplan for the Owls should be to slow this game down and make it as ugly as possible. Expect them to execute that game plan to a T as this game comes in well under that hefty 161 total.

Basketball Parlay Pick: UNDER 161

Houston Rockets vs New York Knicks (Over/Under – 227) – 7:30pm EST

Despite missing two of their 3 star players, the Rockets have been able to tread water in their absence due in large part to the otherworldly play of James Harden. With the exception of their last outing against the Sixers, the Rockets have been scoring buckets in spades behind Harden’s historic scoring run.

Meanwhile, the Knicks are a struggling basketball team and are actively trying to tank basketball games to hopefully land superstar prospect Zion Williamson. Although they can occasionally find themselves playing oddly competitive basketball, on the vast majority of nights they are simply no match for any NBA team outside of the Bulls or Suns.

What do you get when you combine one of the most potent offenses in the league going up against a defensively inept Knicks squad? An over, that’s what. The Rockets could and should put up 140 on the Knicks, so as long as the Knicks can muster up something close to 100 points, the over should easily clear.

Basketball Parlay Pick: OVER 227

Total Payout: +1230 (varies from book to book)

Check back in tomorrow for another edition of the “Basketball Parlay of the Day” series on Fantasy CPR!