Sweet 16 lottery ticket parlay: Backing four teams to make a run at +45993

The first two days of March Madness, to me, are the cream of the crop on the annual sporting calendar. I set aside most of my other responsibilities to get couch and beverage bound for 48 straight hours. I say goodbye to my wife on Thursday and go camp out at a friend's place until Saturday. It's just what I do.

With that important disclaimer out of the way, you may or may not have noticed that you can parlay tournament outcomes on FanDuel (teams to make Sweet 16, Elite Eight, win region, etc.). This is no doubt a dangerous game, but it does offer up some really exciting betting opportunities to have in the pocket.

I've got four underdogs that I've been drawn to this week to make runs to the Sweet 16. If by some chance, all four win their first games, we start to open up hedging opportunities, because I likely buried the lede here: This is a $10 to win $4.6K parlay. I've opted to use FanDuel's sweat-free college basketball wager on this lotto, so buckle up and let me paint you a picture.

Four teams to make Sweet 16 (+45993 FanDuel)

BYU (+152)

I've become completely enamored of BYU. I'm a sucker for teams who can get hot from three-point land, and this Cougars team seems to be just that, ranking second in threes attempted.

Not only do they chuck them up, it seems they can stretch the floor with five shooters, which could make life difficult for opponents. The Cougars also come in as a strong rebounding team, so if they can get some second chances off those three-point heaves, all the better.

All indications from smarter people than me suggest that BYU would be a tough matchup for Illinois in the second round, as the Illini struggle to slow down the three-point shot. That is, if the Cougars get past Duquesne in the opening frame.

BYU is by far the highest-rated KenPom No. 6 seed in the tourney, coming in at 16th overall.

Drake (+570)

I'll be honest, I did not even blink at Drake when I first looked at my bracket, putting Washington State through. Did I not already establish how little I know?

The growing appeal that came out of Drake is the presence of Tucker DeVries, a star player who can take over games. Drake also sports a strong balance of rebounding (no. 1 defensive rebounding team in the country), and three-point shooting. 

The Bulldogs are currently 1.5-point favorites over No. 7 Washington State, and would likely face an Iowa State team in the second round that is fresh off an emotional run through the Big 12 that may drain them on a deep run.

New Mexico (+250)

The last few weeks I've read and heard about how strong of a conference the Mountain West is, and here we have the Mountain West champs sitting pretty as an 11-seed that is currently favored over an up-and-down Clemson team.

Am I suddenly backing a conference champion in the Lobos after just dismissing Iowa State who did the same thing? You better believe it.

The funny thing is I blindly put New Mexico in my Elite Eight on the first pass just to read a ton of people who know way more than me discuss the Lobos as a potential bracket buster. I said "OK" and put them in my Final Four instead, so a Sweet 16 berth seems quite reasonable in comparison.

I love that the Lobos seem to be so guard-driven, so often a recipe for March success.

James Madison (+680)

Bringing up the rear is the JMU Dukes, sitting at 31-3 on the season. JMU seems like a solid upset choice here over Wisconsin, as the Dukes' identity appears to be the three-ball, while Wisconsin's biggest defensive vulnerability is guarding the long-range shot.

Say no more. After the Badgers, JMU would most likely face Duke, which despite being ranked highly on KenPom, not many college basketball experts seem to be sold on due to so-so depth. This is most definitely the longest shot of the foursome we've brought forth, but that's what gives us the juice we need.

Well that does it. Feel stupider? Smarter? Right in the middle? Let's mess around and win a moonshot this weekend. Also: go build your own ridiculous lotto! I may have to make another, just to be safe. Enjoy this week's action!