Wednesday college basketball parlay: This DraftKings Sportsbook parlay with Rutgers, Butler, LSU pays +595

The first week of college basketball season continues on Wednesday, and while we won't see any high-profile power conference matchups, several notable programs will start their seasons. Rutgers will open its season at 6 p.m. ET against Rider as Steve Pikiell looks to put a disastrous year behind him after the Scarlet Knights failed to make the NCAA Tournament with two top-five NBA Draft picks on his roster. At 7 p.m. ET, Butler will host Southern Indiana as Thad Matta seeks the program's first NCAA Tournament bid since 2018. At 8 p.m. ET, LSU hosts Tarleton State with Matt McMahon hoping for a fourth-year turnaround. Rutgers (-20.5), Butler (-21.5) and LSU (-18.5) are all sizable favorites at home in the latest college basketball odds from DraftKings Sportsbook and the SportsLine Projection Model is backing all three favorites for its Wednesday college basketball parlay.

The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It finished last season on a 229-169 roll (+1805) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. This model also ranks in the 99.5th percentile in a major bracket contest after correctly calling every Elite Eight and Final Four team last year. Anyone following its college basketball betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.

Three CBB betting picks for Wednesday, Nov. 5 (odds subject to change): 

• Rutgers (-20.5) vs. Rider
• Butler (-21.5) vs. Southern Indiana
• LSU (-18.5) vs. Tarleton State

Combining the model's three picks into a CBB parlay at DraftKings would result in a payout of +595 (risk $100 to win $595).

Rutgers -20.5 vs. Rider (-112, DraftKings)

Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey are gone and Rutgers fans will always wonder how they squandered a season with two five-star talents on the roster. However, Pikiell has led the Scarlet Knights to a pair of NCAA Tournament bids during his tenure with a more grassroots roster and he's worked the transfer portal hard to restore that feeling this season. Tariq Francis (NJIT) and Darren Buchanan (George Washington) both have averaged more than 15 points per game at previous stops and Baye Fall (Kansas State) was a former five-star recruit who is looking for a career reset. Against a Rider squad that won 14 games last season and was hammered 87-53 by Virginia on Monday, the model has Rutgers covering in 56% of simulations.

Butler -21.5 vs. Southern Indiana (-110, DraftKings)

There are only four returnees on Thad Matta's roster and 12 new players have entered the fold, but that's probably a good thing coming off a 15-20 campaign. Finley Bizjack averaged 10.3 points per game last season and is the lone returning starter. The Bulldogs did manage to sign four top-150 recruits in the Class of 2025 and added five transfers who have averaged double-digits scoring at some point in their collegiate careers. Meanwhile, Southern Indiana has only managed 18 wins in two years and only returns 10% of its scoring. Butler covers in 68% of the model's simulations.

LSU -18.5 vs. Tarleton State (-108, DraftKings)

McMahon is 45-53 in three seasons with the Tigers and it's probably now or never for the former Murray State head coach. This roster was also stripped down to the studs (fitting the theme of this college basketball parlay) but McMahon did manage to sign several notable transfers, led by UNLV guard Dedan Thomas Jr. (15.6 ppg last season) and Northeastern forward Rashad King (18.1 ppg last season). Meanwhile, Tarleton State turned in an incredibly disappointing 12-win season last year after winning 25 games the season before. The Texans began their season by giving up 96 points to SMU on Monday and the model has LSU covering in 61% of simulations.