I’d love to be going into this with some momentum, but Tottenham had other ideas. My Leicester play (+225 when it finally kicked off) appeared a stroke of brilliance, but it wound up in ashes when Spurs found two goals in three minutes, turning a 2-1 lead for the Foxes into a 3-2 defeat. Elsewhere, it was just a weird night all around, with Loyola finally losing in Baltimore, Bucknell completely failing to do its share of the scoring and Iowa — yes, Iowa — losing a 48-46 game at Rutgers. When the Hawkeyes play a game where both teams fail to break 50, it’s just a strange day.
Fortunately, there’s one thing you can almost always count on, and that’s Georgia Tech not putting the ball in the basket. The Yellow Jackets (and, inadvertently, Rutgers) prevented the day from being a complete washout, so we’re in position to get back on track here. It’s parlay day, and we have plenty of options. Here are my best plays for January 20.
BLACK AND/OR GOLD PARLAY: PROVIDENCE -11.5, PENGUINS ML, GOLDEN KNIGHTS ML, +235
Providence is at home and has a perfect 10-0 mark at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, while Georgetown is 0-3 ATS in the Big East and has looked like road kill against the lesser half of the league. The Penguins have won 21 of their past 26 meetings with Ottawa in the PPG Paints Arena, and I have a feeling the Golden Knights are looking to drop the hammer on the hapless Habs after Montreal stole Vegas’ Stanley Cup Finals appearance last year. If you want to play conservative, you could just take the Friars ML and make this parlay for even money, but I think Providence will be just fine.
BIG SKY PARLAY: WEBER STATE -16.5, MONTANA-PORTLAND STATE U133.5, EASTERN WASHINGTON ML, +370
Idaho State already failed to get the job done against Weber State once this week, and that was in Pocatello. Now the Bengals have to head down I-15 to Ogden, and they’ve lost by 20 or more in three of their past four trips to the Dee Events Center. Montana and Portland State played out two grinders last year, and the Vikings’ weak offense should send this game under the number. Finally, I don’t trust Eastern Washington with a spread right now, but the Eagles have won 13 of 14 against Sacramento State, so I’ll take them to grab the win.
FADING BAD TEAMS PARLAY: LOYOLA MARYMOUNT -10.5, OAKLAND -7.5, DIXIE STATE -7.5, +510
I’ll be honest: I’ve got nothing here theme-wise, so I’m just going to fade three teams that suck and hope for the best on this one. Pepperdine has become an absolute wreck in 2022, failing to cover in any of its four games (and despite getting 30 points against Gonzaga) since the calendar turned and losing them all by double digits. Oakland already drilled Milwaukee earlier this year and shouldn’t have a problem with the Panthers, and Dixie State is facing an awful Lamar squad that’s 2-16. It’s a risk, but it’s a calculated one.
