Saturday’s March Madness action marks the beginning of the second round, and I’ve built a three-leg parlay with spots to the Sweet 16 on the line.
The pregame narrative: The backbone of this +320 wager has the Wisconsin Badgers beating the BYU Cougars in a pick’em. I’ve also teased the UCLA Bruins and Creighton Bluejays up as underdogs.
Check out my March Madness parlay predictions for NCAA basketball action on March 22.
March Madness parlay predictions
Parlay: Wisconsin moneyline | UCLA +7.5 | Creighton +12 (+355)
Wisconsin moneyline (-112): If you’ve been reading our March Madness content, you’ll know my colleague Jordan Horrobin is bullish on Wisconsin’s national title hopes — and that’s rubbed off on me.
The Badgers are a veteran team with strong offensive fundamentals:
- Wisconsin has the best throw percentage in the country (82.7%) and ranks 17th in offensive turnover rate (14.2%), per KenPom.com.
- The roster’s 2.60 years of average D-1 experience ranks 45th in the nation.
One knock on Wisconsin’s game would be that it relies too heavily on the 3 ball. But this is a perfect matchup for Greg Gard’s team to let it fly, as BYU ranks a pitiful 249th in 3-point defence.
The Cougars have a great offence with most of their damage being done inside the arc. Fortunately for us, the Badgers rank 31st in 2-point defence.
College basketball parlay picks
UCLA +7.5 (-182): UCLA looked like a juggernaut on Thursday, smashing the No. 10 Utah State Aggies by 25 points in a game which was never close.
The Bruins started their first year of Big 10 conference play on a four-game losing streak (three of which were East Coast road games) but are peaking at the right time.
- UCLA won 11 of its last 15 games to close the regular season.
- The Bruins are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games.
UCLA’s defence is large and extremely disruptive and I expect it to go blow-for-blow against a Tennessee team which also places defence first.
Rick Barnes led the Volunteers to the final four last year but the squad has been winning by the skin of its teeth lately.
Tennesse is 3-7 vs. this number in its last 10 games. The outlying wins came by eight, nine and 10 points.
Creighton +12 (-182): Auburn beat the wheels off No. 16 Alabama State in its tournament opener which was expected.
But I’m putting the Tigers on upset watch for Saturday’s game against the No. 9 Bluejays.
Auburn lost three of its last four games heading into the tournament and narrowly scraped by the Ole Miss Rebels in its SEC tournament quarterfinal win.
Creighton has an impressive 7-6 Quad 1 record and has covered this number in 11 of those games. Its offence can catch fire and its defence is anchored by four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner.
I don’t anticipate a sweat with this number.
March Madness parlay predictions made at 1:58 p.m. ET 03/21/2025
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.