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Miami vs. Houston: NCAA Tournament Same Game Parlay Picks (3/24)

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There are few who thought the Miami Hurricanes would make the Sweet 16. They were favored by just a basket over the Drake Bulldogs. Then, they were underdogs in their second-round game against the Indiana Hoosiers. Once again, few are expecting them to move on, as they take on the No. 1 seed in the Midwest.

The Houston Cougars had a whole week to get key players like Marcus Sasser and Jamal Shead healthy. Will that be all they need to pull off the win?

Here is the best Miami vs. Houston same-game parlay for Friday, March 24th.

Also, take a look at our other best bets for Friday:

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Miami vs. Houston: Same Game Parlay

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook

Miami +7.5 (-120)

This is a game the Hurricanes can absolutely win. It won’t be easy, but they have the talent to stick with the Cougars. Ultimately, the Cougars’ defense should be what prevents Miami from coming away victorious, but this spread is too large.

The Hurricanes have been an undervalued team all tournament, and if you have taken them against the spread, you are 2-0. This is a different matchup from their first two contests, but they are healthy and playing very good basketball right now. They have lost just one game this season by more than seven points. They’re battle-tested, and they’re going to hang around for a full 40 minutes tonight.

Under 138.5 (-125)

When you look at Miami’s defensive stats, you may be surprised to see that the Hurricanes are only allowing 62.5 points per game. While the Hurricanes have been spoken about as an offensive-minded team all year long, the fact is, they play very good defense too.

Everyone knows how good the Cougars’ defense is. With Marcus Sasser in the lineup, they have held 14 consecutive opponents to fewer than 70 points. The Hurricanes’ offense scores nearly 80 per game. They’re not going to have similar success tonight against a team that is allowing 58.0 points per game. 

Marcus Sasser Over 17.5 Points (-105)

Sasser looked really good in his 31 minutes against the Auburn Tigers. He scored 22 points on 5/9 shooting from beyond the arc. The Hurricanes play a lot of help defense, which means there are going to be numerous opportunities for Sasser to hit wide-open three-pointers. 

He averages nearly seven three-point attempts per game, and he should increase that average tonight against the Hurricanes. It will just be a matter of his knocking down enough to go over the point total set by oddsmakers. We think that as long as he is healthy enough to play his usual minutes, he should go for 20+ in this game, even if his team only scores in the mid-60s.

Parlay: +750

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Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.