Free NCAA College Basketball Picks, Best Bets, and Parlays for 3/19/22

We are down to 32 teams as the field has been cut in half after two full days of basketball. By, Sunday night we will have 16 teams left after this 4-day marathon. There are 8 potentially great games on tap for today and it should be fun.

Our Best Bet was a flop yesterday as LSU and Iowa State played, what arguably might have been the poorest played game of the tournament. The Cyclones hung in there and pulled off a 59-54 win and that lowered our Best Bet of the Day record to 55-33 since January 1st.

We had another decent showing as we went 9-3 betting the MoneyLine. Our record now stands at 656-144 (82%) for 2022.

There were 11 games involving Top-25 teams and we went 9-2 picking winners and 6-5 betting the spreads. Our record betting the spread on games involving Top-25 teams is 127-93.

Today and tonight there are 8 games and all of them involve Top-25 team. Let’s get after it and hope our team can pull out a bunch of wins.

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

Papa Dudes Best Bets for College Basketball Today

#11 Michigan 18-14 vs. #3 Tennessee 27-7 (-6): The Wolverines are one of those strange teams that play really well when they aren’t expected too. Today, they take on one of the hottest teams in the country and that form just might continue. Tennessee is on a roll and they have won 8 in a row and 15 out of 17. They didn’t have any trouble in their first round game and they are obviously playing at a high level. I can’t get past the fact that Michigan has lost 14 games. That shows me they have plenty of flaws. If Tennessee is at their best, they should win this game and cover. PAPA DUDES BEST BET: Tennessee -6

#12 Richmond 24-12 vs. Providence 26-5 (-2.5): The Spiders are playing very well and suddenly are everyone’s sleeper team, despite being out of the tournament a week ago. They have made a spectacular run, winning the A-10 tournament, and then knocking off a red-hot Iowa team in the first round. As usual, Providence isn’t getting much respect from the oddsmakers and are only a 2.5-point favorite. This will be close, but I’m going with the Friars to survive and move on to the next round. PAPA DUDES BEST BET: Providence -2.5

GAMES INVOLVING TOP-25 TEAMS:

#8 North Carolina 25-9 vs. #1 Baylor 27-6 (-5.5): I will say upfront, I wouldn’t want to have to beat North Carolina in this tournament. They have so much tradition and they are the underdog and can play with nothing to lose. I think this is a very dangerous game for the Bears and they better be ready. They get a break that the game is in Fort Worth and they will have the majority of the crowd behind them. And, more importantly, they are the better team. So, I am going to stick with Baylor and hope they cover. . PAPA DUDES PICK: Baylor -5.5

#9 Creighton 23-11 vs. #1 Kansas 29-6 (-12): Here is another game featuring a large point spread. Creighton is a pretty good team from the Big East conference, and they are coming into this game, after a huge comeback win against San Diego State on Thursday. But, the downside of that win was the loss of their big man inside. Kansas is playing at a high level but this is a tough round for a #1 seed to get past.The Jayhawks are probably going to win but I don’t think they cover. PAPA DUDES PICK: Creighton +12

#5 St.Mary’s 26-7 vs. #4 UCLA 26-7 (-3): St.Mary’s comes into this 2nd round game after humiliating Indiana, and showing the rest of this region that they are a handful. On the other hand, UCLA got all they wanted from Akron ,before winning late. Because of those results we have a very small spread favoring the Bruins. I look for UCLA to play much better on Saturday and move on, but the Gaels are going to be very difficult to take down. This will be fun to watch. PAPA DUDES PICK: UCLA -3

#15 St.Peter’s 20-11 vs. #7 Murray State 31-2 (-8.5): The Blue Racers survived their first round game to advance to the Round of 32. They were expecting a game with the big, bad Kentucky Wildcats in the next round. Instead, St.Peter’s shocked the world, and went toe-to-toe with the Wildcats and beat them in overtime. The question becomes, what will they do for an encore? I don’t think there is any way the Peacocks can play as well as they did on Thursday. But, Murray State is not as good as Kentucky. I’m rooting hard for the Racers and I think they win and cover. PAPA DUDES PICK: Murray State -8.5

#12 New Mexico State 27-6 vs. Arkansas 26-8 (-6.5): Can New Mexico State knock off their 2nd straight highly seeded team and advance to the Sweet Sixteen? A lot of people think they have a chance to do it. Arkansas struggled to get past Vermont in the first round and they appear to be vulnerable. It is true the Hogs aren’t playing as well as they were a couple of weeks ago, but I think they are still better than the Aggies. The problem I have is; this in-between spread. I hate it and I’m not wasting my money on this game, but I’ll give you a pick. PAPA DUDES PICK: New Mexico State +6.5

#9 Memphis 22-10 vs. #1 Gonzaga 27-3 (-10): Memphis looked good on Thursday in their win over Boise State and they have talent that is worthy of beating Gonzaga. However, if the Zags are hitting on all cylinders they are much too classy to lose this game. The key is; will they relax and play better than they did on Thursday. I’m saying yes. PAPA DUDES PICK: Gonzaga -10