College Basketball Parlay Picks Saturday, February 19th (2022)

Feb 19, 2022 - 2:48 PM

We made it! It’s Saturday, and we once again have another jam-packed slate of games to feast on. My selections for this slate be are chock-full of power six teams and critical matchups, so why not pad your bankroll with a parlay of games you’ll already be watching. So, without further ado, let’s dive in.

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Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

No.2 Auburn vs. Florida (2 PM ET tip)

This Auburn team has been on a spectacular run, and it is for a good reason, they have all the makings of being a special team. However, this Tigers team is built on defense for all the offensive firepower that the projected lottery pick Jabari Smith brings to the table. They are ninth in adjusted defensive efficiency and eleventh in effective field goal percentage. They will be facing a Florida Gators’ team that is mediocre on offense as they only have one true weapon, Colin Castleton. Not to knock on Castleton as he is an excellent big man, the issue is the Tigers have the perfect answer for him in Walker Kessler, who has become perhaps the nation’s most feared big man.

On the other end of the court, the Gators have been a very stout defense in their own right as they rank 56th in adjusted defensive efficiency. However, the Tigers have so many weapons to contend with on the offensive end that they are hard to contain for long. That has come to fruition many times this year as Auburn seems to shift into another gear in the second half and put a lot of their opponents away. They should do the same here.

Pick: Auburn -3

No. 12 Illinois vs. No. 19 Michigan State (Noon ET tip)

The Fighting Illini are finally beginning to get the recognition they deserve in the AP poll. It took the press long enough to realize that the team with arguably the best player in the country deserves to be moved up, but I digress. This Illinois team is far more than Kofi Cockburn, who has been a man amongst men this season. They possess a trio of guards who are capable of shooting the lights out at any given moment. While the numbers may show that the Spartans are a solid defensive team, their sample size against elite offenses tells a different story. Michigan State surrendered 87 points to Kansas and 75 points to Baylor early in the season. They did see the Fighting Illini, too, but that meeting was very different as Cock burn was out with a concussion.

As for Michigan State on offense, they possess Illinois’ kryptonite, the three-ball. Sparty is ninth in the country in three-point percentage, and the Fighting Illini allows the fifth-highest three-point distribution. This one has all the components of a barnburner, so let’s sit back and watch the scoreboard light up.

Pick: Over 139

LSU vs. South Carolina (3:30 PM ET tip)

Contrary to the pick before where we had two talented offenses facing off, we have two stout defenses set to battle. The LSU Tigers are one of the best defensive teams in the nation and even rode their defense to a top-ranking earlier in the year before the injury bug set them back. The Tigers metrics are riddles with single digits as they are top ten in adjusted efficiency, effective field goal percentage, two and three-point percentage, blocks, and steals. Put all that up against a Gamecocks offense that is 198th in adjusted offensive efficiency, and you have a tough day at the office for Frank Martin.

Though the Gamecocks will have the opportunity to hang around in this matchup because of their own defense, South Carolina is 32nd in adjusted defensive efficiency and in the top 100 in every major defensive metric. KenPom projects them to be just six-point underdogs, but I am more interested in his total projection of 128, which gives us plenty of room for an under here.

Pick: Under:139

Parlay odds: +595

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