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NCAA Tournament Same Game Parlays: Round 1 (Friday)

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The 2026 NCAA Tournament is well underway, and we pare down from 48 teams to 32 teams on Friday. We’ll take a look at the best same-game parlays (SGP) for Friday night.

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Friday’s Best NCAA Tournament Same Game Parlays (SGP)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit

Miami (Ohio) Redhawks (+480) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (-690)

  • Leg 1: Miami (Ohio) +10.5 (-102)
  • Leg 2: Over 148.5 Points (-115)
  • Leg 3: Nate Ament 15+ Points (-430)
  • Leg 4: J.P. Estrella 10+ Points (-260)

The Redhawks (32-1) and Volunteers (22-11) meet at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida for a first-round Midwest Region game at 4:25 p.m. ET on TBS.

Miami (Ohio) quieted some critics with an impressive 89-79 victory over SMU on Wednesday night in the First Four at UD Arena in Dayton. While it was more like a home game, with campus just an hour away from Dayton, it was also the first Quad 1 win, or Q1 game, for Miami all season. The Redhawks had a strength of schedule (SOS) of just 292, according to the KenPom rankings, so detractors felt like Miami might not belong after losing in the first-round of the MAC Tournament against a bad UMass team.

The Redhawks showed that they belong in the NCAA Tournament, and they hoisted up 41 3-pointer attempts, hitting 16 of those shots, as SMU had no answers. Eian Elmer went for 23 points against the Mustangs, hitting six times from the perimeter, while Brant Byers had 19 points, with four triples, and Luke Skaljac went for 17 points with three treys. Almar Atlason also had 12 points off the bench, including a pair of 3-pointers. Miami has a handful of guys who can make it from the perimeter, and it will be testing Tennessee early and often.

The Volunteers allowed just 69.5 points per game (PPG) this season, 51st in the nation, while limiting teams to 41.1% from the field, and 30.8% from behind the 3-point line. Each mark was 35th in the nation. That will be the big matchup: Miami’s 3-point shooting vs. Tennessee’s perimeter defense.

I like the Redhawks to stay in the game, mainly because they have a handful of guys who can stroke it from distance, even if one or two players are having an off night. We’ll also go high on the total, but be careful. Tennessee’s defense is fierce, so if you were to bet that straight up, go lightly.

For Tennessee, Nate Ament had a disastrous game last time out against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament. He was just 1-of-13 from the field, and 0-for-5 on 3-pointers, although he still ended up with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds thanks to good work at the free-throw line. I expect Ament to rebound nicely, going for at least 15 points. Also, we’ll take his teammate J.P. Estrella to get to at least 10 points. He has double-digit point totals in four of the past five games, and eight of the previous 10 outings.

Parlay Odds: +423

Furman Paladins (+2000) vs. UConn Huskies (-7000)

  • Leg 1: UConn -11.5 – First Half Spread (-118)
  • Leg 2: UConn -20.5 – Full Game Spread (-105)
  • Leg 3: Tarris Reed Jr. – Over 24.5 Pts+Rebs (-108)
  • Leg 4: Solo Ball – 10+ Points (-310)

The Paladins (22-12) won the SoCon Tournament, which is great news. Their reward is facing an angry No. 2 seed Huskies (29-5) team.

Furman is 0-2 all-time against UConn, although they’ve never met in the NCAA Tournament. The most recent meeting was Nov. 21, 2015, an 83-58 victory by the Huskies as an 18.5-point favorite as the Over (140.5) cashed. While the faces are different, expect a similar result.

UConn was embarrassed by St. John’s in the Big East Tournament final, losing by 20 points, 72-52. You know head coach Dan Hurley has been whipping this team into shape, likely with a lot of running and yelling, and you can expect the Huskies to come out with their collective hair on fire against Furman.

It’s shocking the line is so low, actually. UConn has won the National Championship twice since 2023, and Furman doesn’t figure to be much more than a speed bump. I would have expected this line to be around 25-27 points, so take advantage. UConn has the size advantage, and C Tarris Reed Jr. should be particularly impressive, especially early on. Also, expect Solo Ball to hit double digits in points before he powers it down in the second half, likely as reserves play to finish up a lopsided game.

Parlay Odds: +587

More NCAA Tournament Picks

#1 Duke vs. #16 Siena
#8 Ohio State vs. #9 TCU
#5 St. John’s vs. #12 Northern Iowa
#4 Kansas vs. #13 Cal Baptist
#6 Louisville vs. #11 South Florida
#3 Michigan State vs. #14 North Dakota State
#7 UCLA vs. #10 UCF
#2 UConn vs. #15 Furman

#1 Arizona vs. #16 LIU
#8 Villanova vs. #9 Utah State
#5 Wisconsin vs. #12 High Point
#4 Arkansas vs. #13 Hawai’i
#11 Texas vs. North Carolina State
#3 Gonzaga vs. #14 Kennesaw State
#7 Miami (FL) vs. #10 Missouri
#2 Purdue vs. #15 Queens

#16 UMBC vs. Howard
#8 Georgia vs. #9 Saint Louis
#5 Texas Tech vs. #12 Akron
#4 Alabama vs. #13 Hofstra
#11 Miami OH vs. SMU
#3 Virginia vs. #14 Wright State
#7 Kentucky vs. #10 Santa Clara
#2 Iowa State vs. #15 Tennessee State

#16 Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh
#8 Clemson vs. #9 Iowa
#5 Vanderbilt vs. #12 McNeese
#4 Nebraska vs. #13 Troy
#6 North Carolina vs. #11 VCU
#3 Illinois vs. #14 Penn
#7 Saint Mary’s vs. #10 Texas A&M
#2 Houston vs. #15 Idaho

Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe.


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