Will the Oregon Ducks handle Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game (at least for a half)? Will the Wildcats give Gonzaga a game in a battle of top-10 opponents? Read on for our Saturday Cross-Sport Parlay.
Friday Cross-Sport Parlay Recap
My four-leg cross-sport parlay consisted of the Magic (-3.5) over the 76ers, Army (+5.5) over Tulane in the AAC Championship Game, the over 6.5 in the Blue Jackets-Canucks game and Northwestern (+3.5) to cover against Illinois in college hoops.
Well, Army rolled 35-14 in a game that wasn’t even that close. The Blue Jackets and Canucks combined for seven goals. The Wildcats beat Illinois outright, 70-66…but the Magic lost outright in Philly, killing our parlay. For a second consecutive night, I fell one leg short of a perfect four-leg parlay.
NHL Saturday Cross-Sport Parlay: Washington Capitals -146, 7:10 p.m. ET
I wouldn’t quite call them a wagon, but I’ll treat them as such in certain situations. Tonight is one of those situations. The Caps are only laying -142 on the moneyline in Montreal. Anything under -150 and I have to at least consider the Capitals, who have won seven out of their last 10 games for a ROI of +29.44%. Over that same span, they’re the most profitable team in hockey on the road (77.40% ROI).
On the other side, the Habs have won back-to-back games as underdogs, although they’re usually a dog so when they win, they can plus odds. Still, Washington is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams, so I’m confident the Caps can get it done again tonight despite playing the second game of a back-to-back.
NBA Saturday Cross-Sport Parlay: Phoenix Suns +6, 8:00 p.m. ET
This is one of the few games on Saturday’s NBA slate that isn’t dealing with a big number. In fact, this is the smallest spread number of the seven games played today and tonight in the NBA.
Why the Suns? Because they’re 7-3 both straight up and against the spread, respectively, in their last 10 meetings with the Heat. These two teams faced each other about a month ago in Phoenix and while the Suns didn’t cover the 5-point spread, they did win the game by three. It was the third consecutive time Phoenix has beaten Miami.
The Heat have dropped two of their last three games at the window and three out of their last five ATS. Ultimately, this is just too big of a number to lay with a .500 Miami squad.
CBB Saturday Cross-Sport Parlay: Kentucky Wildcats +6.5, 10:00 p.m. ET
I’m taking the points in one of the biggest games on the college hoops slate. These two teams met a year ago in Lexington and while the Bulldogs covered in a four-point win, they were also the underdog. I like backing good teams coming off losses and that fits UK, which dropped its first game of the season, 70-66 at Clemson earlier this week. They have failed to cover in three consecutive games, but they were also laying 24 points (Western Kentucky) and 31 points (Georgia State), respectively, in two of those three games. The only other time the Wildcats were an underdog this season was when they played at Duke. They won that game outright, 77-72.
There’s no debating Gonzaga is the better team. The Bulldogs have a 19.9 BPI rating at ESPN.com and have one of the highest offensive efficiency ratings in college hoops at 12.2. That said, Kentucky is no slouch. The ‘Cats have a 17.7 overall BPI, with a 10.0 offensive rating and a 7.8 defensive rating (same as Gonzaga). I expect UK to be focused coming off the loss to Clemson and for this game to come down to the wire.
CFB Saturday Cross-Sport Parlay: Oregon Ducks -2.5 (First Half), 8:00 p.m. ET
You’re going to read a bunch of articles from people much smarter than me that will convince you that Penn State is the play in the Big Ten Championship. They’ll have metrics and pie charts and a bunch of other stuff that will making a compelling argument for the Nittany Lions. Cool. I realize this is square. Maybe I’m wrong. Or maybe this is the one lay up this conference championship weekend. Why not take Oregon for the full game? Because I don’t want to deal with the 3.5.
James Franklin hasn’t defeated a top-five opponent since October 2016. Since that point, he’s lost 11 straight games against top-five opponents. I also don’t give a sh*t about the narrative that Oregon doesn’t need this game. That it might use this opportunity to land in the fifth spot of the rankings, which is supposedly more advantageous than owning the No. 1 seed. But what a load of crock. News flash: Head coaches don’t want to play extra games if it can be avoided. Why risk injury just because, in theory, it would be an easier path to the national championship from the fifth spot than No. 1? I’m not buying it.
Here’s what I know: Both teams have excellent defenses. No team has been able to run on Penn State, so Oregon will need to rely on Dillon Gabriel to protect the ball while also being able to move the chains through the air. But Oregon has an outstanding pass rush that’s deep and talented. The Nittany Lions also lack explosiveness at the skill positions, which is something that does not apply to the Ducks.
4-Leg Cross-Sport Parlay Odds: +1062 (Fanduel Sportsbook)