Free NCAA College Basketball Picks, Best Bets, and Parlays for 3/20/22

We are down to 24 teams as the field is dwindling after three full days of basketball. By the end of today the field of sixteen will be set for next Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It will be hard to top yesterday, but there are 8 potentially great games on tap for today and it should be fun.

Our Best Bets were a wash yesterday as we watched hated Michigan take down a Tennessee team that choked, but bounced back with a Providence cover over Richmond. Our Best Bet of the Day record is now 56-34 since January 1st.

We had another decent showing as we went 5-3 betting the MoneyLine. Our record now stands at 661-147 (82%) for 2022.

There were 8 games involving Top-25 teams and we went 5-3 picking winners and 4-4 betting the spreads. Our record betting the spread on games involving Top-25 teams is 131-97.

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.

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Papa Dudes Best Bets for College Basketball Today

#6 Texas 21-12 vs. #3 Purdue 28-7 (-3.5): Texas played well in their first round game against Virginia Tech, especially on offense, as they shot the ball very effectively. Will they be able to duplicate that against Purdue? The Boilermakers took care of Yale by 20 like they were supposed too. In games like this throughout the season, Texas has not been up to the task and have come out on the losing end. You can say the same thing about Purdue. I just think the the Boilermakers are better and can cover what amounts to a reasonable spread. PAPA DUDES BEST BET: Purdue -3.5

GAMES INVOLVING TOP-25 TEAMS:

#5 Houston 30-5 (-4.5) vs. #4 Illinois 23-9: I will make no bones about it. Houston is my team and who I am rooting for in this tournament. They are playing as well as they have all season at exactly the right time. They always play great defensively and they are the best rebounding team in the country. They have been getting great offensive production in recent games and that makes them a nightmare for anyone. On the other hand, Illinois is lucky to still be playing and to get some lucky bounces to escape a very good Chattanooga team. But I’m giving them a ton of credit for winning when they were struggling like they were. This will be a great game and I can’t go against the Coogs. PAPA DUDES PICK: Houston -4.5

#7 Ohio State 20-11 vs. #2 Villanova 27-7 (-5.5): I haven’t liked Ohio State all year but they are a team that can play well at times. They didn’t have much trouble with a Loyola team that was terrible in the first round. Today they are taking on a different animal. Villanova is playing on a consistent level at the right time and they are familiar with what you have to do to win these types of games. If they shoot the 3-ball effectively they shouldn’t have much trouble with the Buckeyes. PAPA DUDES PICK: Villanova -5.5

#7 Michigan State 23-12 vs. #2 Duke 29-6 (-6.5): Here are two teams that I don’t have a lot of confidence in. The Spartans have been up and down all season and barely escaped their first round matchup with Davidson. They are playing better of late and they are capable of pulling off a win against Duke. The Blue Devils are not the powerhouse their record would indicate and they do some stupid things to keep games close. They aren’t as hard-nosed as so many Duke teams have been. Still, they are going to be a tough out for anybody in this tournament. PAPA DUDES PICK: Duke -6.5

#11 Iowa State 21-12 vs. #3 Wisconsin 25-7 (-4.5): I don’t like Iowa State to play well offensively two weeks in a row. Plus, Wisconsin has the advantage of playing in Milwaukee, which is only an hour from Madison. They are going to use the home crowd to pull them through and should be able to handle an Iowa State team that deserves a lot of credit for a great turnaround season. PAPA DUDES PICK: Wisconsin -4.5

#9 TCU 21-12 vs. #1 Arizona 32-3 (-10): TCU kicked Seton Hall around like they were a JV team on Friday. They don’t get much respect but they are a tough, hard-nosed bunch and are well-coached. They will show up and play in this one. All three #1 seeds were taken to the wire yesterday with Kansas and Gonzaga surviving major scares. Baylor wasn’t so lucky as they were taken down in overtime by North Carolina. Arizona sat and watched what transpired and they have to be nervous. And, to make matters worse, they are the last game of the day and don’t tip off until 6:40 in San Diego. I think they will win, but 10 points is proving to be a lot to cover. PAPA DUDES PICK: TCU +10

#10 Miami 24-10 vs. #2 Auburn 28-5 (-7.5): Miami doesn’t get much respect because everyone has decided the ACC wasn’t very good this year. They are a solid team that beat a very good USC team to advance to this round. They are well-coached and provide matchup problems with their style of play and small lineup. Auburn has struggled down the stretch and while they handled their first round opponent fairly easily, they weren’t that impressive. I’m sticking with the Canes to keep this one close. PAPA DUDES PICK: Miami +7.5

#11 Notre Dame 24-10 vs #11 Texas Tech 26-9 (-8): Notre Dame is another ACC team, that got very little respect from the tournament committee, and had to win a play-in game just to get into the tournament. Then they took down Alabama in the first round and here they are today. They are going to be a handful and they are trending in the right direction. Texas Tech plays the same every night and were very impressive in their win over Montana State. The key for them is how well they shoot the ball. I like the Raiders to win, but I’d be scared if I was them. PAPA DUDES PICK: Notre Dame +8