A trio of 9 p.m. ET matchups involving ranked teams has my attention for Tuesday’s college basketball parlay predictions.
The pregame narrative: The No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide play a ton of high-scoring games, and I’m calling for another one tonight against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. I’m also backing alt spreads with the LSU Tigers and the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers to round out this +244 ticket.
Check out my NCAA basketball predictions for Feb. 25.
NCAA basketball predictions
Full college basketball betting markets
Parlay: Miss. St./Alabama o167.5 points | LSU +14.5 | Wisconsin -9.5 (+244)
Mississippi State/Alabama over 167.5 points (-182): Four weeks ago, Mississippi State and Alabama totalled 172 points in a matchup in Starkville. They’ve got the tools for a similarly high-scoring battle tonight.
- Alabama has the 5th-shortest average possession length, per KenPom.com, and ranks 1st in scoring (90.8 PPG).
- Mississippi State has the 75th-shortest average possession length and ranks 60th in scoring (79.3 PPG).
The Tide play in a lot of track meets, with a proven ability to push the pace against other willing opponents.
Against fellow SEC schools that rank in the top 75 in possession length — Mississippi State included — Alabama has cleared this point total in six of seven games.
Overs are also 3-0 in Mississippi State’s road games this month.
Other parlay picks
LSU +14.5 (-190): The No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers are tourney-bound, and LSU is not. But I don’t expect the Vols to cover this number on the road.
- LSU is 10-6 ATS at home, covering a +14.5 spread in all but one of those games.
- Tennessee is 3-6 ATS on the road, covering a -14.5 spread in only one of those games.
Tennessee’s defence is arguably the best in the country, but its primary strength is defending the 3-point shot. LSU does its best work in the paint, so that shouldn’t be much of a clash for its style.
On the flip side, the Tigers are a respectable defensive team that ranks 30th in NCAA Division I in effective field goal percentage.
Buckets likely won’t come easy for a Tennessee squad playing on the road for the fourth time in five games.
Wisconsin -9.5 (-225): Let’s wrap this up with some Big Ten ball, riding with a Badgers squad that will be eager to bounce back after a collapse on Saturday.
Wisconsin allowed a 16-2 run against Oregon in the final five minutes and lost in overtime. But prior to that, the Badgers had been buzzing.
Greg Gard’s squad is 11-5 in Big Ten play, covering a -9.5 spread in nine of 14 games since the new year.
Overall, Wisconsin is 17-9-1 ATS this year — and 8-2 in its past 10.
Washington ranks outside the top 150 in eFG% on offence and defence. It’s just not a very good team.
KenPom projects a 16-point win for the Badgers, while BartTorvik.com projects an 18-point win.
Picks made at 1:35 p.m. ET 02/25/2025
Looking to get started? Sign up here.
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.