Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament Betting
March Madness is officially here! Upsets, Cinderella stories, and surprises are the name of the game. The early parts of the tournament are also prime opportunities to cash in and capitalize on some unique odds. DJ and Kelcey from High Low Sports and Brian from the Third and Ten Podcast have some of our early March Madness Best Bets.
DJ’s March Madness Best Bets
University of Montana vs Wisconsin Over 151.5, -110
The University of Montana does not play a whole lot of defense, they won the Big Sky Conference to secure a spot in the tournament by putting up buckets in bunches. Wisconsin is ranked decently offensively and defensively but isn’t known as a lockdown defense. I expect either a back-and-forth shootout or a Wisconsin rout where they crack 100 themselves and win comfortably.
Tennessee to cover -18.5, -120
The Tennessee Volunteers are outstanding, ranking in the top 3 defensively, top 15 offensively, and did this while top 6 in strength of schedule. Don’t let the loss to Florida in the SEC championship game fool you, Tennessee is a legit title contender with a suffocating defense that Wofford is going to struggle to crack. This is one of my favorite March Madness best bets.
Drake to cover +6.5, -110
Drake is very good at controlling the tempo of the game and playing in the half-court. Missouri had a resurgent start to the season but did not end on a strong note. I still anticipate Missouri will find a way to win, but Drake will hang in the game until the bitter end.
St. Johns vs Nebraska Omaha, Under 147.5, -100
Rick Pitino is one of the best college basketball coaches of all time, and St. John’s is a top defensive team in the nation. I expect Nebraska Omaha to keep it oddly close early on before St. John’s cranks it up a notch defensively and begins to pull away in a low-scoring affair.
If you are bold and parlay all the March Madness best bets together, you are looking at +1177 odds.
Kelcey’s Upset Specials
Kelcey is known for picking upsets, almost better than when he picks favorites. The first round of March Madness is a prime opportunity to hit on some upset picks, and Kelcey has a few to look out for.
12 Mcneese State moneyline over 5 Clemson, +240
12 Colorado State moneyline over 5 Memphis, -125
11 VCU moneyline over 6 BYU, +136
Brian’s Big Swing
Brian Germinaro rounds out our March Madness best bets breakdown with one of his big swings to shake things up. Keep an eye out for the 12 Liberty Flames to upset 5 Oregon. Liberty is a great 3-point shooting team and very good at defending other team’s 3-point shots. Look for the Ducks to have difficulty keeping up if the shots start falling early for the Flames.
Be sure to follow Brian at Third and Ten Podcast and find DJ and Kelcey at High Low Sports!
