Free NCAA College Basketball Picks, Best Bets, and Parlays For 3/18/22

Wow, what a first day and night of March Madness!! Raise your hand if you had to throw away your bracket, after Kentucky got taken down by the Peacocks of St.Peter’s? I’m holding mine up with the middle finger extended into the air. Another bracket killer for me, was the Richmond Brown Recluses beating Iowa. Those two upsets were brutal. Let’s move on to the games today and tonight.

There were some bright sides as we cashed on our Best Bet, with Akron taking UCLA to the wire, before losing 57-53 to the 13.5-point favored Bruins. That raised our Best Bet of the Day record to 55-32 since January 1st.

We had another decent showing as went 9-3 betting the MoneyLine. Our record now stands at 647-141 (82%) for 2022.

There were 12 games involving Top-25 teams and we went 8-4 picking winners and 7-5 betting the spreads. Our record betting the spread on games involving Top-25 teams is 121-88.

Today and tonight there are 11 games involving Top-25 teams and there will be other great games as well. Let’s get after it and hope the last shot is made by our team.

Make sure to check out all our NCAA Basketball FREE PICKS HERE

Papa Dudes Best Bet for College Basketball Today

#11 Iowa State 20-12 vs. #6 LSU 22-11 (-4): The Cyclones are coming into the tournament having finished the season on a 7-11 downward trend. That’s not how you want to be playing entering this big stage. LSU has problems of their own, with allegations of wrongdoing leading to the dismissal of their head coach. Still, they are a better team and should be able to defend Iowa State which is already offensively challenged. Give me the Tigers and the points in this one. PAPA DUDES BEST BET: LSU -4

GAMES INVOLVING TOP-25 TEAMS:

#15 Jacksonville St. 21-10 vs. #2 Auburn 27-5 (-15.5): Is this another one of those games that a highly seeded team struggles to win? Auburn has played very average for the last 3 weeks and that’s usually not a good sign coming into this tournament. Jacksonville St. backed into the Big Dance, and actually lost the conference tournament to Bellarmine, but they weren’t eligible to get selected. I don’t like Auburn but they should cover. PAPA DUDES PICK: Auburn -15.5

#14 Montana State 27-7 vs. #3 Texas Tech 25-9 (-15): Here is another game featuring a large point spread. Montana State has won 27 games and they can’t be overlooked. Texas Tech is a team that controls the tempo and plays at a slow pace. They don’t play very many high-scoring games and that makes it difficult, feeling comfortable with picking them to cover this large a spread. I think they win the game but the Bobcats can stay within the spread. PAPA DUDES PICK: Montana State +15

#14 Yale 19-11 vs. #3 Purdue 27-7 (-16): Now, we have three games in a row with huge point spreads. This game has the Yale Bulldogs against a very good Purdue team from a tough conference. On paper, this shouldn’t be close, but the spread is pretty substantial. I think Purdue covers. PAPA DUDES PICK: Purdue -16

#15 Delaware 22-12 vs. #2 Villanova 26-7 (-15.5): Delaware made a good run to win the CAA conference tournament, but they should be no match for Villanova who won the Big East tournament. The Wildcats are playing well coming into this game and if they are focused, they should cover the spread. PAPA DUDES PICK: Villanova -(15.5)

#10 Miami 23-10 vs. #7 USC 26-7 (-1.5): I think the Trojans are underrated and don’t get much respect. They have lost 7 games this season with 4 of those losses coming against Arizona and UCLA, both worthy opponents. I like Miami as well and they are probably better than a 10-seed. This should be a slugfest between these two teams and if USC can make some shots I think they can cover this small spread. PAPA DUDES PICK: USC -1.5

#11 Virginia Tech 23-12 vs. #6 Texas 21-11 (-1): Tech enters the tournament on a hot streak and Texas is coming off a poor showing in Kansas City. I’m not high on this bunch of Longhorns and I’m not sure they are worthy of a 6 seed. If Virginia Tech can amp it up like they did in the ACC tournament I think they can pull off an upset in this one. PAPA DUDES PICK: Virginia Tech +1

#13 Chattanooga 27-7 vs. #4 Illinois 22-9 (-8)): A lot of people are picking the Mocs to upset Illinois in this game. I like Chattanooga a lot, and I think they will give Illinois fits. We have seen Richmond knock off Iowa and St.Mary’s slaughter Indiana, and the Big Ten could lose their regular season champion today. I just don’t have the guts to pick Illinois to lose but I don’t think they cover this spread. PAPA DUDES PICK: Chattanooga +8

#15 CSU-Fullerton 21-10 vs. #2 Duke 28-6 (-18.5): I’m not high on this Duke team and I’ve seen them give up a lot of points in several games this year. I’m not sure the Titans are very good but I think they can hang around and beat this spread. PAPA DUDES PICK: CSU-Fullerton +18.5

#16 Wright State 22-13 vs. #1 Arizona 31-3 (-21.5): I am so tired of trying to pick these games with such huge spreads. Wright State won on Wednesday night to get the honor of playing, maybe, the best team in the country. This game won’t get any of my money but I will do the usual and bet the underdog to beat the spread. PAPA DUDES PICK: Wright State +21.5

#12 UAB 27-7 vs. #5 Houston 29-5 (-8.5): It is no secret that I love the Houston Cougars but this game scares me. The Blazers of UAB are a very dangerous first round draw. I’m hoping we are done with all the 5-12 upsets and the Cougars can get through this one. I think they will squeak out a win but fail to cover. PAPA DUDES PICK: UAB +8.5

#14 Colgate 23-11 vs. #3 Wisconsin 24-7 (-7.5): The Badgers get a break playing their first two games in nearby Milwaukee. That is a big advantage. They aren’t playing very well coming into the tournament and Colgate could give them fits. Still, I like them to cover this relatively small spread. PAPA DUDES PICK: Wisconsin -7.5

OTHER GAMES OF THE DAY

#10 Loyola over #7 Ohio State

#11 Notre Dame 23-10 over #6 Alabama 19-13

#7 Michigan State over #10 Davidson 27-6

#8 Seton Hall over #9 TCU

3-TEAM PARLAY:

We are banking on 2 soft favorites and a logical upset tonight.

LEG 1: Notre Dame vs. Alabama (-4): Bet the MoneyLine on Notre Dame +155

LEG 2: Iowa State vs. LSU (-4): Bet the MoneyLine on LSU -180

LEG 3: Davidson vs. Michigan State: Bet the MoneyLine on Michigan State -115