College football fans will know of MACtion already, and we've got some on the hardwood Friday night.
The pregame narrative: The No. 23 Miami (OH) RedHawks put their perfect record on the line in a rivalry showdown against the Ohio Bobcats, while the Akron Zips look to make a statement against the UMass Minutemen. Both Miami and Akron are hefty favourites at home.
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Check out my college basketball parlay Feb. 13 predictions, featuring a moneyline pick for the HBCU Classic at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
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College basketball parlay picks
Parlay: Miami (OH) -9.5 | Akron -9.5 | Hampton ML (+348)
Miami (OH) -9.5 (-125): It pains me to say this as an Ohio University graduate, but tonight's "Battle of the Bricks" rivalry game should be pretty one-sided in Miami's favour.
It's been a dream season for the RedHawks, who are ranked for the first time since the 1998-99 season (Wally Szczerbiak's senior year). At 24-0, they are the lone unbeaten program left in NCAA Division I hoops.
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The Ohio Bobcats, meanwhile, are a long way from perfect. Jeff Boals' bunch is 2-6 ATS in its past eight games, with a pair of outright losses as the favourite in that span.
Also, Ohio has gone 1-4 ATS in its past five road games.
Miami is 15-6 ATS against D-I schools and has covered this number 12 times. Playing at home, the RedHawks should snag their 25th win comfortably in front of what's expected to be a sellout crowd.
College basketball ATS pick
Akron -9.5 (-210): Miami is the top MAC school in the standings, but Akron is the analytical darling of the conference.
The Zips are ranked 65th on KenPom.com — well ahead of Miami at 83rd — thanks to their genuinely elite offence.
Akron sits in the top 20 in D-I in 3PT% and 2PT%, which has led to the ninth-best effective field goal percentage (58.5%). The team play fast, shoots plenty of 3s, and does well at the free-throw line, too (76.0 FT%).
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Those are huge problems for the visitors from UMass, who commit 20.8 fouls per game (13th-most out of 365 D-I schools). I can see Akron getting to the line at will in this matchup.
Akron has covered this spread in all 12 of its home games this year, winning those by an average of 24.0 points.
Also, UMass is 2-7 ATS in its past nine games.
HBCU Classic prediction
Hampton moneyline (-148): You might've been wondering why teams from Virginia and North Carolina are playing a February neutral-site game in SoCal. It's a special HBCU showcase as part of the NBA's all-star festivities.
But if they played this game on Mars, I'd be buying in on the Pirates.
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Hampton has won three in a row against the North Carolina A&T Aggies, including a 21-point beatdown last month.
The Pirates are also coming off their best win of the season over William & Mary (KenPom's 120th-ranked team).
NC A&T is 2-10 since Dec. 29. Its only wins in that span came at home.
Neither of these teams is destined for March Madness, but there's still a clear divide between them.
College basketball parlay picks made at 10:45 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2026.
