MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 7/24)
Josh Gross
Multiple times each week, FTN Bets’ resident college basketball junkie, Brad Evans, will attempt to posterize the ‘books with his favorite selections, whether sides, totals, teasers or parlays. As always, fade or follow Brad’s picks — fading is encouraged — that’s up to you.
2-leg alternative line parlay play: Baylor (-3.5), Arkansas (+4.5) (Tipico Sportsbook)
Odds: +142
Leg 1: Wisconsin vs. Baylor (-3.5)
Among the biggest surprises in a wild NCAA Tournament already filled with unpredictability was the Badgers’ complete demolition of North Carolina. Cutting and backdooring Roy Williams’ bigs to death, Wisconsin dissected the No. 8 seed’s defense with surgical precision. To pull off another stunner, D’Mitrik Trice and Co., a jumpshot-centered squad, will have to unleash from three. Over their last seven games, they’ve netted 38.1% from outside. Baylor is clearly the better team whether visually or on paper. Its phenomenal stable of guards — Jared Butler, Macio Teague, Davion Mitchell and Adam Flagler — can pour in buckets from distance (41.4 3PT%, No. 1 in the country). Also highly active on the offensive glass due in large part to the efforts of Mark Vital and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, they should slice and dice Wisconsin’s defense in variable ways.
Leg 2: Texas Tech vs. Arkansas (+4.5)
Prior to Arkansas’ opening-round matchup against Colgate, a projected deathtrap by many prognosticators, head coach Eric Musselman motivated his team with a speech punctuated by him squeezing out toothpaste onto the locker room floor. Though the Raiders raced out to a 10-point first half lead, the Razorbacks erased the Fighting Fluorides in the second frame, finishing the contest 22-for-29 from the free throw line while holding their opponent to just 0.87 points per possession. Downhill when in attack mode, effective from three and sensational defensively (No. 13 in D efficiency), they have the length, athleticism and guarding ability to “upset” a Texas Tech squad the algos unfailingly love. The Red Raiders defend the interior brilliantly, but their exploitability along the perimeter (No. 219 in 3PT% D) is a fatal flaw. If Moses Moody and JD Notae can rev the engine outside and Justin Smith continues to clean up around the tin, the Hogs, 11-3 ATS in their last 14 games, should survive and advance.
Season record: 35-38
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