2021 NCAA Tournament odds, lines: College basketball analyst makes parlay picks for Friday's games

Friday's first round of the NCAA Tournament features 16 games, and the biggest favorite on Friday is the South's No. 1 seed, Baylor. William Hill Sportsbook lists the Bears as a 26-point favorite in the latest Baylor vs. Hartford odds. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. ET.

Before you make any NCAA Tournament or college basketball picks, you NEED to see what red-hot SportsLine senior analyst Larry Hartstein has to say.

A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach. Over the past two seasons, he is 223-180 against the spread with his college basketball picks, returning $2,435 to $100 players. In addition, on the SportsLine's Early Edge podcast last week he gave out one futures bet for the conference tournaments -- Georgia Tech to win the ACC -- and that wager successfully cashed at 10-1.

Anyone who has consistently followed him is WAY UP!

Now, Hartstein has crunched the numbers for Friday's NCAA Tournament games and has posted his three best bets. Parlaying his three selections will pay 6-1.

We can tell you he's picking 16th-seeded Hartford (+26) to cover against No. 1 seed Baylor. "Baylor knows it has a difficult matchup on deck, against the winner of North Carolina and Wisconsin," Hartstein says. "The Bears should be happy to win by 20 and preserve themselves a bit for that bigtime matchup."

Hartstein also has found a key x-factor that has him all over a double-digit seed to not only cover but win on Friday. You ABSOLUTELY need to see what he's picking before you make any plays of your own.

So what double-digit seed covers and wins on Friday? And what other team is a MUST-BACK on Friday in your three-team parlay? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Larry Hartstein's NCAA Tournament picks for Friday, all from the expert who's up more $2,400 on his college basketball picks!