College Basketball Parlay Picks for Wednesday, February 15, 2023

There are several dozen college basketball games this Wednesday night as a good chunk of Division I schools are in action. In that mix, we have three games involving two ranked teams, so we are going to call an audible and look at those games this time rather than trying to find value further down the card. The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide will go on the road to face the No. 10 Tennessee Volunteers, the No. 11 Marquette Golden Eagles will welcome the No. 16 Xavier Musketeers to Wisconsin, and the Big 12 will continue to eat its own children when the No. 19 Iowa State Cyclones host the No. 22 TCU Horned Frogs.

College Basketball Betting Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook

Alabama Crimson Tide at Tennessee Volunteers

The Alabama Crimson Tide took on the mantle of the top team in the country after the Purdue Boilermakers lost two of three games. Freshman Brandon Miller is considered a shoo-in to be a lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft according to the NBA futures odds after his play this season. Miller is one of the most dominant players in the country, averaging 18.8 PPG and 8.2 RPG as a 6’9 forward. He is knocking down 45.5% of his field goals and 42.7% of his threes, and he has fully bought into the Nate Oats system with a whopping 178 three-point attempts.

Fellow freshman Noah Clowney is a fringe lottery pick at this point, and he is averaging 9.8 PPG and 8.0 RPG for one of the top offenses in the country. Clowney is a 6’10 forward that is making 49.1% of his field goals, but he doesn’t have a great three-point touch and isn’t as much of a fit in this system as Miller.

Meanwhile, Tennessee has the best defense in the country according to Ken Pomeroy. The Volunteers rank first nationally in defensive effective field goal percentage too, and they hold opponents to just 24.2% shooting from beyond the arc which is also best in the country.

There is a lot of senior leadership on this team with Santiago Vescovi and Olivier Nkamhoua taking the banner in that regard. However, this Alabama offense has given a lot of teams fits with their size and athleticism, and it should be the same for Tennessee at home in this one.

Xavier Musketeers at Marquette Golden Eagles

Things have gotten a lot tougher for the Xavier Musketeers ever since Zach Freemantle suffered a foot injury that is threatening to keep him out another few weeks. Freemantle has been one of the best big men in the Big East this season, averaging 15.2 PPG and 8.1 RPG while shooting 58.5% from the floor, and the Musketeers have missed him in the interim. They lost a very winnable game to Butler on Friday night as a result of the Freemantle injury, and now they aren’t being given much of a chance to beat Marquette according to the CBB betting odds.

Xavier did win the first game between these teams back on January 15, but Freemantle led the Musketeers in Offensive Rating. He allowed Jack Nunge to go wild on the glass, and Nunge responded with 16 points and 13 rebounds, and he had a whopping eight offensive rebounds in the win. The 7’0 Nunge isn’t nearly as effective without Freemantle pulling people away from the paint, so that doesn’t bode well for Xavier in this game.

Instead, it’s very likely that Marquette gets the win and the cover in what could be a 10+ point victory. The Golden Eagles haven’t lost at home since December 3, and they are the most effective team when it comes to shooting two-point field goals in the country. Marquette is making 60% of its twos on the year, as these guards can drive and get good position on the interior.

Kam Jones is averaging 15.2 PPG while making a whopping 69.4% of his shots inside the perimeter, and big man Oso Ighodaro is averaging 11.6 PPG while making 65.7% of his twos. That kind of efficiency will be very difficult for Xavier to match, so the Musketeers must win the battle on the glass convincingly if they are to pull off the upset.