Saturday, March 23 NCAA Tournament Parlay Picks

The first day of the first round of the NCAA Tournament was just another example of why the event is called March Madness. There were some upsets, none bigger than the 14-seed Oakland Golden Grizzlies beating No. 3 Kentucky as a 13.5-point underdog on the college basketball betting line. In all five lower seeded teams won their games on Thursday, including three No. 11 seeds setting up some quality matchups for our college basketball Tournament parlay for Saturday, March 23 at Caesars Sportsbook.

The games had barely concluded when college basketball betting odds were released. The biggest favorite on the board is No. 3 seed Illinois laying 10.5 points to Duquesne. The 11-seeded Dukes beat BYU, 71-67 as a 9-point dog. There were a few teams that impressed me in the first round including the North Carolina Tar Heels, who blasted the Wagner Seahawks, 90-62. A 25.5-point NCAA betting odds favorite, the Heels earned the payout and a matchup with the Michigan State Spartans in a battle of bluebloods. UNC opened as a 4-point favorite. Surprisingly no game had an opening line of less than 4-points. Oddsmakers also anticipate the matchup between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Kansas Jayhawks to be the closest.

Bet on the NCAA Tournament at Caesars Sportsbook

NCAA Tournament Parlay Picks for Saturday, March 23

Oakland +5.5 vs. NC State

North Carolina -4 vs. Michigan State

Gonzaga -4 vs. Kansas

Bet $100 to Win $600 On This college basketball Parlay at Caesars sportsbook

Now that they have everybody’s attention after their first round upset, including that of their next opponent North Carolina State, Oakland won’t be sneaking up on anyone. And how the Golden Grizzlies beat Kentucky was impressive. They missed 12 of their first 13 shots but outhustled the more talented Wildcats staying close until the triples started falling. They led for nearly the entire second half

A March celebrity was born in Jack Gohlke, who made 10 of Oakland’s 15 three-pointers in the game, and since most of us have no clue, Gohlke has done that all season. It’s the second time he’s made 10 threes in a game and his average of nearly four a game ranks him second nationally. Oakland has embraced the underdog role and will be catching points again opening as a 5.5-point underdog. They are an impressive 10-3 as a NCAAB pick against the spread when getting points, and I’m all about the underdog in the Tournament.

I said I was impressed with UNC so I better back them to show just how much. The Heels bounced back in a big way from their loss to rival NC State in the ACC tournament, routing 16-seed Wagner, 90-62, and covering the massive 24.5-point NCAAB point spread. Armando Bacot had 20 points and 15 rebounds against the undersized opponent, but he does that against everybody so it’s not a big deal.

RJ Davis added 22 points and the Heels got a major contribution from Jae’Lyn Withers, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes. That’s the kind of effort the Heels will need against a much better opponent in Michigan State. Better, yes, but not great. The Spartans have struggled with consistency and their loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament was their fifth in seven games. I don’t see Sparty having the depth or overall talent to hang against the ACC regular season champs making the Heels my college basketball betting pick.

I hit a winning four-team parlay on Thursday with Gonzaga and Kansas involved in my picks. I had the Zags covering the college basketball betting line against McNeese State, which they did in their 86-65 win. And I went against the Jayhawks, who won, 93-89, but failed to cover the 7.5-point spread. This isn’t your typical KU squad with depth issues now that Kevin McCullar Jr. is on the shelf. That’s not the only problem, though. The Jayhawks had their highest point total since a pair of body bag games in November, but overall they’ve struggled to score over the last months and they are just 1-5 against the college basketball point spread in their last six outings.