College Football Props of the Week: Week 4
Walter Waddell
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: Oklahoma (ML), Michigan St. (+16.5) (Tipico Sportsbook)
Odds: +149
Leg 1: Texas at Oklahoma (ML)
The Sooners, slashed and cut running through the Big 12 briar patch, are in dire straits. Lon Kruger is desperate to heal the visible wounds inflicted over his club’s recent three-game losing streak. Though ailing at the moment, OU is a talented and balanced team equipped with the necessary ingredients to cook up a multi-round NCAA Tournament run. The Sooners rank top-45 in offensive and defensive efficiency. What’s crushed them in recent battles is pliability in and around the post. Since Feb. 22, they’ve yielded 55.1% inside the arc and landed outside the top-200 in offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. To reverse course, Brady Manek, Kar Karuth and Elijah Harkless must box out the ‘Horns’ bigs. The length of Greg Brown, Kai Jones and Jericho Sims is often highly disruptive. Still, OU’s recent resurgence along the arc — they’ve splashed at least 10 triples in consecutive games — lends some confidence against a Shaka Smart D that’s allowed 35.4% in its past six games. Desperate and at home, Oklahoma stops the bleeding in what should be a hotly contested 40-minute fisticuffs.
Leg 2: Michigan St. (+16.5) at Michigan
Clobbered. Spanked. Suplexed. Illinois, without All-American guard Ayo Dosunum, strutted into Crisler Arena on Tuesday and shocked the basketball world. Its 23-point victory was the widest margin by a visiting team over a No. 2-ranked opponent in 70 years. Do you think Juwan Howard and his Wolverines are looking to release their frustrations? Despite the brief derailment, Michigan is still a national title contender. It slots top-10 in adjusted offensive and adjusted defensive nationally, shares the basketball with a Steve Nash smoothness, commits few turnovers and is often relentless from three. Once barely registering a pulse, Sparty’s heart rate on offense is suddenly racing. Over its past six contests, State has logged 1.123 points per possession, the 47th-best mark in the country. To keep pace with its archnemesis, Tom Izzo and Co. must prevent Hunter Dickinson from establishing his dominance in the post. Blast the glass, stretch their defensive pressure to the perimeter, minimize TOs and splash a fair amount of triples and they’ll prevent a blowout loss. How Aaron Henry, who’s scored 20-plus in three of his last five, and Josh Langford perform will be critical. Bank on both to bring the noise.
Season record: 28-33
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