Latest news with #TournamentGuide
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
March Madness: Expert picks, schedule, predictions, odds, upsets, betting lines for NCAA tournament South region
The stat was making the rounds after Auburn didn't make the championship game of the SEC tournament: No team has lost three of its past four games before the NCAA tournament and won a national championship. And yet, Auburn still was a somewhat surprising pick as the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. Auburn stumbled late in a very tough league, which might open things up for the other teams in the South region. Auburn will open the tournament against Alabama State, which took down St. Francis 70-68 on a thrilling final-second layup off a tipped full-court pass in the First Four at Dayton on Tuesday. (We're also waiting to see if San Diego State or North Carolina play Ole Miss on Friday, as well), but here are the rest of the picks for the first round in the South, with all the odds from BetMGM: Midwest region picks | East region picks | West region picks (All times Eastern.) The first game of the first round Thursday is a good one. Louisville seems very under-seeded, but that's part of playing in a bad ACC. Still, since Dec. 14 the Cardinals are 21-2 and one of the losses came to Duke in the ACC tournament. Creighton has been a very good team too, and 7-foot-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner will be a problem for the Cardinals. But I won't hold it against Louisville that the ACC was down. The Cards advance. Alabama State thrilled us with a great NCAA tournament opener, with a last-second shot to win it. But this isn't the type of 16 seed that can scare a 1 seed. Alabama State doesn't have any strength that will keep it in a game against an Auburn team looking to quiet critics who wondered how it got the No. 1 overall seed after losing three of their last four. [Full NCAA tournament bracket revealed | Printable bracket] Yale has become the Ivy's best program, and this season it dominated the league. Yale was 16-1 after Dec. 22. Texas A&M is a good team, but it lives off offensive rebounding (the best offensive rebounding percentage in the nation), and yet Yale is pretty good on the defensive boards. The Ivy League has been pretty good in the first round of the NCAA tournament, going 10-4 against the spread in the first round since 2009 (per Matt Eisenberg's Tournament Guide). Texas A&M could make a run into the second weekend, but this one isn't going to be easy. Ah, the 5 vs. 12 game. We all know by now this is where upsets come from, and UC San Diego is a dangerous 12 seed. had San Diego as the 36th best team in the sport, which is rarified air for a Big West school. That's just one spot below UConn, the reigning champs. San Diego does everything well, and it shoots (and hits) a lot of 3s. The problem is UCSD's size. It doesn't have a regular who is taller than 6-8. Michigan is the rare team with two 7-footers, Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf. If UCSD hits a ton of 3s this could be a fun upset, but this was a really unfortunate matchup for a strong mid-major. [Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem is back: Enter for a shot to win up to $50K] Iowa State looked like it could be a Final Four contender, but the last month was a little rough. Injuries affected the Cyclones. It appears Tamin Lipsey (10.8 ppg) will return from injury, but Keshon Gilbert (13.4 ppg) is out for the season via the Des Moines Register. That lowers the Cyclones' ceiling. Lipscomb has a lot of shooters, which is what you want from a big underdog. If Lipscomb can knock down some of the many 3s it's going to take, this one could be interesting late. Most years, a team that wins in the First Four also wins a first-round game. This isn't just an overreaction to UNC's dominant win over San Diego State; the Tar Heels match up pretty well with Ole Miss. UNC didn't deserve an at-large spot but that never meant it couldn't get hot and win multiple games. If you like guard play, this will be a fun matchup. Marquette's Kam Jones is one of the best players in the country, a Bob Cousy Award finalist for the trophy that goes to the nation's best point guard. New Mexico's Donovan Dent and his 20.6 points per game should get more respect for postseason honors. Marquette won just five of its last 12 games, but there weren't any bad losses. This isn't an easy pick between two similar but flawed teams. Marquette might be happy to not see a Big East foe. Michigan State had a tremendous season. The Spartans were good to bettors too, posting a 22-10-1 mark against the spread via Action Network, one of the best marks in the sport. MSU won't shoot many 3s, won't shoot them well, but can score inside and rebound it well. Bryant is one of the few 15 seeds that actually has some decent size. It has the sixth-tallest team in college basketball, according to The Bulldogs didn't play a tough schedule and against the two best teams they played, St. John's and Grand Canyon, they lost by 22 and 46, respectively. There's no upset concern here, but Bryant might not be a total pushover.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
March Madness picks: Odds, lines, expert predictions, watch times, schedule for NCAA tournament East region; can anyone beat Duke?
Duke played most of the ACC tournament without Cooper Flagg, the consensus national player of the year favorite and a near-lock to be the first pick of the NBA Draft, and still won that title. With Flagg likely to return for the NCAA tournament, who can stop Duke in the East region? It's hard to see it happening though the Blue Devils will be tested at some point. Maybe. The hunt to knock off Duke starts with the first round, and some intriguing matchups in that quadrant of the bracket. Here are the picks for most of the first-round games from the East region (we're waiting on the Duke first-round opponent from the American vs. Mount St. Mary's First Four game) odds from BetMGM: South region picks | Midwest region picks | West region picks All times Eastern. If you're a casual college basketball fan, you might not recognize Wisconsin. The Badgers regularly scored in the 80s, reaching 100 against Arizona and Iowa. But the Big Ten championship featured old, offensively challenged Wisconsin, as a tired Badgers team scored 53 points in a loss to Michigan. John Tonje, Wisconsin's All-America candidate, was particularly bad, shooting 1-of-14. Was that a one-off for the Badgers, or a precursor to an offensive slump and an early tournament exit? Playing in Denver won't help the fatigue. Montana has been playing well lately, though the Big Sky is usually not a good tourney bet (3-10-1 against the spread in the first round since 2009, according to Matt Eisenberg's Tournament Guide). This just seems like too many points, even against a Wisconsin team that can score. [Full NCAA tournament bracket revealed | Printable bracket] It's never fun when two teams you liked going into the tournament get matched up against each other. Such is the case with this game, as a red-hot BYU team faces VCU, which has a lot of experience and a strong defense. Since Feb. 11, BYU ranks as the fifth-best team in college basketball, according to The Cougars also get a nice travel edge, heading to Denver. It's a shorter trip and they're far more accustomed to the elevation. It is hard to pick against VCU, which has the ability to get to the second weekend despite being a No. 11 seed, but BYU has been too good lately. This could end up being the best game of the first round. Baylor's season started with a 101-63 loss to Gonzaga, and while the Bears ended up being a solid team, that loss set the tone for a fairly disappointing season. Baylor has talent, including projected NBA lottery pick VJ Edgecombe, but the Bears haven't won more than two games in a row since December. They were simply underwhelming. Mississippi State hasn't had more than a two-game winning streak since early January either. In fact, it's 7-11 since a 14-1 start. This is an 8 vs. 9 game between two teams that are very unlikely to challenge Duke in the second round. We'll take the SEC team but not with much confidence. [Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem is back: Enter for a shot to win up to $50K] Of the more than 350 NCAA Division I men's basketball teams, which one had the best record against the spread this season? That would be Robert Morris, which went 26-7, according to Action Network. ATS standings aren't necessarily predictive, but it's worth noting. Alabama is good enough that it won at Auburn in the regular-season finale. It is going to push the pace, which helps those bettors who are rooting for a blowout. We'll trust Robert Morris, which has shown it can cover spreads, to keep this from being a total laugher. Duke isn't in danger of being upset. It might be the best team in the field. But there isn't much reason to run it up on Mount St. Mary's. Duke might want to take it easy and do enough to win conformably, but St. Mary's covers a huge number. One good metric to judge college basketball teams on is road record. We know it's much easier to win at home, so winning away from a friendly environment is telling. St. Mary's was 9-1 on the road and Vanderbilt was 3-7. It's tougher to win on the road in the SEC than the West Coast Conference, but St. Mary's had a much better record in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games (10-5 for St. Mary's vs. 9-12 for Vanderbilt). St. Mary's is simply the better team and should pull away for the cover. Arizona is going to be a hard team to bet on or against this tournament. Bettors are at the whims of its shooting, which can be inconsistent. But the Wildcats are a good team that was a little unlucky during a 4-5 start but got some great wins in conference play. One key in this game could be Arizona's 7-foot big man Henri Veesaar, who averaged 9.5 points per game. Akron is one of the shortest teams in the tournament. The Zips are a good team though. They will play fast and shoot a lot of 3s, and if they shoot it OK, it will help keep the game close. Akron dominated the MAC all season. Akron should be good enough to cover a big spread, though it will depend on whether Arizona's shots are falling. Liberty, Liberty, Liberty! When looking for a double-digit seed that can win a game, the first thing to check out is if it can shoot. Well, Liberty was second in college basketball in effective field-goal percentage, fueled by being fifth in 3-point percentage via Oregon is a good team that won eight in a row before losing to Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament. The Ducks also have a huge travel edge, as this game will be in Seattle. That's an important factor. Still, Liberty's shooting makes it a good pick and a perfectly reasonable 5 vs. 12 upset selection for your bracket.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
March Madness picks: Odds, lines, expert predictions, watch times, schedule for NCAA tournament Midwest region
Houston has become one of college basketball's most recognizable programs. There was some skepticism whether the Cougars could dominate the Big 12 like they dominated the American Athletic Conference, but that has been no problem. The only thing keeping Houston from an even higher standing during March Madness is a national title. The Cougars have a shot at it this year, though they're just the fifth most-bet team to win it all at BetMGM, the lowest among the No. 1 seeds. Houston is also the fourth-most popular pick to win it at all at Yahoo's Bracket Challenge, with the other three No. 1 seeds ahead of the Cougars. But make no mistake, Houston is good enough to win it all this season. Here are most of the matchups for the Midwest region (we'll get Illinois' first-round opponent after Texas and Xavier meet in the First Four) with all odds from BetMGM: South region picks | East region picks | West Region picks All times Eastern High Point will be a popular pick among those looking to brag about the mid-major they identified as an upset special. High Point has won 14 in a row, the second-longest winning streak in college basketball. The issue is the level of competition, as High Point played zero Quad 1 games and just one Quad 2 game. The Big South also hasn't been great in the NCAA tournament, going 5-9 against the spread in the first round since 2009, according to Matt Eisenberg's Tournament Guide. Purdue is good yet again. But this is a bit funny: After last year's Zach Edey-led march to the title game, the Boilermakers won't overwhelm anyone with their size, not even High Point. They hardly ever block shots, which had to be a relief for Boilermakers opponents who were sick of seeing Edey in the paint. In that way it's as good of a matchup as High Point could have hoped for. Maybe refrain from moving High Point ahead in your bracket, but it can keep this game close. [Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem is back: Enter for a shot to win up to $50K] Houston has become a machine under Kelvin Sampson. It's tough as always, can destroy anyone on the offensive glass, and now it can shoot too. The Cougars hit 39.8% of their 3-point shots, the fourth-best mark in college basketball. It's a scary team that has lost once since the end of November. Some 16 seeds can provide some hope to cover a massive spread, but SIUE probably isn't that team. Welcome to a 12 over 5 upset you're going to see in a lot of brackets. McNeese didn't score any huge upsets this season, but it lost by just eight points at Alabama and by three against Mississippi State. The Cowboys also dominated the Southland Conference. They went 22-1 since mid-December. McNeese also got some NCAA tournament experience last season, though it lost by 21 to Gonzaga. Clemson had a good record, but what does that really say in this year's down ACC? You might not need the points in this one. McNeese can pull an upset. [Full NCAA tournament bracket revealed | Printable bracket] By now most college basketball fans know about which became part of the sport's lexicon for its efficiency-based rankings. Every year in the NCAA tournament some team has great predictive metrics at but its resume doesn't match it, leading to a mismatched seed. This season it's Gonzaga, which is ninth in but a No. 8 seed. No other team seeded No. 7 or lower is in the top 20. It's not like oddsmakers don't understand how that works, which is why Gonzaga is a pretty healthy favorite in a No. 8 vs. 9 game. Georgia has some really good wins over St. John's, Florida and Kentucky, and it's not like you're getting any discount on Gonzaga. There's some danger in going against a Gonzaga team that is better than its seed, but Georgia won't be intimidated after playing an SEC schedule. Ah, the Rick Barnes conundrum. Barnes is doing great things at Tennessee, but he has historically struggled to cover the spread in the NCAA tournament. Tennessee did cover last season with a 34-point blowout of St. Peter's, but it's still hard to ignore the history. Wofford isn't a particularly strong 15 seed. It played one game against a top-100 team all season and lost 86-35 to Duke. The Vols really shouldn't have any trouble in this one, regardless of Barnes' first-round history. UCLA has to travel to Lexington, Kentucky, which means Bruins coach Mick Cronin will probably complain about it. Jokes aside, UCLA is a solid team that doesn't have a lot of weaknesses. Utah State started 16-1 but lost some steam, going 10-6 the rest of the way. Utah State is a good offensive team but not as strong on defense, so give the Bruins a slight edge. Troy is a weird matchup. The Trojans will press a lot and play plenty of zone, which makes them a difficult team to prepare for. Troy's biggest weakness is it turns it over way too often, but Kentucky doesn't force many turnovers. Troy also has a senior guard in Tayton Conerway, who played very well in the Sun Belt tournament. Kentucky's Lamont Butler is supposed to play in this game, though his shoulder injury hasn't gone away. This Kentucky team won't overwhelm anyone with talent, though it is cohesive on offense and very well coached. If Troy can force some misses — its defense is good at that — then this can be a close game. Illinois has the talent to make a deep run. The Illini also was so inconsistent that a first-round no-show can't be ruled out. Xavier is a good, well-coached team that had a good comeback win over Texas in the First Four, but we'll trust Illinois to rise to the occasion.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
March Madness: Expert picks, predictions, schedule, odds, upsets, betting lines for NCAA tournament South region
The stat was making the rounds after Auburn didn't make the championship game of the SEC tournament: No team has lost three of its past four games before the NCAA tournament and won a national championship. And yet, Auburn still was a somewhat surprising pick as the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. Auburn stumbled late in a very tough league, which might open things up for the other teams in the South region. Auburn will open the tournament against Alabama State, which took down St. Francis 70-68 on a thrilling final-second layup off a tipped full-court pass in the First Four at Dayton on Tuesday. (We're also waiting to see if San Diego State or North Carolina play Ole Miss on Friday, as well), but here are the rest of the picks for the first round in the South, with all the odds from BetMGM: Midwest region picks | East region picks | West region picks (All times Eastern.) The first game of the first round Thursday is a good one. Louisville seems very under-seeded, but that's part of playing in a bad ACC. Still, since Dec. 14 the Cardinals are 21-2 and one of the losses came to Duke in the ACC tournament. Creighton has been a very good team too, and 7-foot-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner will be a problem for the Cardinals. But I won't hold it against Louisville that the ACC was down. The Cards advance. Alabama State thrilled us with a great NCAA tournament opener, with a last-second shot to win it. But this isn't the type of 16 seed that can scare a 1 seed. Alabama State doesn't have any strength that will keep it in a game against an Auburn team looking to quiet critics who wondered how it got the No. 1 overall seed after losing three of their last four. [Full NCAA tournament bracket revealed | Printable bracket] Yale has become the Ivy's best program, and this season it dominated the league. Yale was 16-1 after Dec. 22. Texas A&M is a good team, but it lives off offensive rebounding (the best offensive rebounding percentage in the nation), and yet Yale is pretty good on the defensive boards. The Ivy League has been pretty good in the first round of the NCAA tournament, going 10-4 against the spread in the first round since 2009 (per Matt Eisenberg's Tournament Guide). Texas A&M could make a run into the second weekend, but this one isn't going to be easy. Ah, the 5 vs. 12 game. We all know by now this is where upsets come from, and UC San Diego is a dangerous 12 seed. had San Diego as the 36th best team in the sport, which is rarified air for a Big West school. That's just one spot below UConn, the reigning champs. San Diego does everything well, and it shoots (and hits) a lot of 3s. The problem is UCSD's size. It doesn't have a regular who is taller than 6-8. Michigan is the rare team with two 7-footers, Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf. If UCSD hits a ton of 3s this could be a fun upset, but this was a really unfortunate matchup for a strong mid-major. [Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem is back: Enter for a shot to win up to $50K] Iowa State looked like it could be a Final Four contender, but the last month was a little rough. Injuries affected the Cyclones. It appears Tamin Lipsey (10.8 ppg) will return from injury, but Keshon Gilbert (13.4 ppg) is out for the season via the Des Moines Register. That lowers the Cyclones' ceiling. Lipscomb has a lot of shooters, which is what you want from a big underdog. If Lipscomb can knock down some of the many 3s it's going to take, this one could be interesting late. Most years, a team that wins in the First Four also wins a first-round game. This isn't just an overreaction to UNC's dominant win over San Diego State; the Tar Heels match up pretty well with Ole Miss. UNC didn't deserve an at-large spot but that never meant it couldn't get hot and win multiple games. If you like guard play, this will be a fun matchup. Marquette's Kam Jones is one of the best players in the country, a Bob Cousy Award finalist for the trophy that goes to the nation's best point guard. New Mexico's Donovan Dent and his 20.6 points per game should get more respect for postseason honors. Marquette won just five of its last 12 games, but there weren't any bad losses. This isn't an easy pick between two similar but flawed teams. Marquette might be happy to not see a Big East foe. Michigan State had a tremendous season. The Spartans were good to bettors too, posting a 22-10-1 mark against the spread via Action Network, one of the best marks in the sport. MSU won't shoot many 3s, won't shoot them well, but can score inside and rebound it well. Bryant is one of the few 15 seeds that actually has some decent size. It has the sixth-tallest team in college basketball, according to The Bulldogs didn't play a tough schedule and against the two best teams they played, St. John's and Grand Canyon, they lost by 22 and 46, respectively. There's no upset concern here, but Bryant might not be a total pushover.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
March Madness picks: Odds, lines, expert predictions, schedule for NCAA tournament Midwest region; could Kentucky make a run?
Houston has become one of college basketball's most recognizable programs. There was some skepticism whether the Cougars could dominate the Big 12 like they dominated the American Athletic Conference, but that has been no problem. The only thing keeping Houston from an even higher standing during March Madness is a national title. The Cougars have a shot at it this year, though they're just the fifth most-bet team to win it all at BetMGM, the lowest among the No. 1 seeds. Houston is also the fourth-most popular pick to win it at all at Yahoo's Bracket Challenge, with the other three No. 1 seeds ahead of the Cougars. But make no mistake, Houston is good enough to win it all this season. Here are most of the matchups for the Midwest region (we'll get Illinois' first-round opponent after Texas and Xavier meet in the First Four) with all odds from BetMGM: South region picks | East region picks | West Region picks All times Eastern High Point will be a popular pick among those looking to brag about the mid-major they identified as an upset special. High Point has won 14 in a row, the second-longest winning streak in college basketball. The issue is the level of competition, as High Point played zero Quad 1 games and just one Quad 2 game. The Big South also hasn't been great in the NCAA tournament, going 5-9 against the spread in the first round since 2009, according to Matt Eisenberg's Tournament Guide. Purdue is good yet again. But this is a bit funny: After last year's Zach Edey-led march to the title game, the Boilermakers won't overwhelm anyone with their size, not even High Point. They hardly ever block shots, which had to be a relief for Boilermakers opponents who were sick of seeing Edey in the paint. In that way it's as good of a matchup as High Point could have hoped for. Maybe refrain from moving High Point ahead in your bracket, but it can keep this game close. [Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem is back: Enter for a shot to win up to $50K] Houston has become a machine under Kelvin Sampson. It's tough as always, can destroy anyone on the offensive glass, and now it can shoot too. The Cougars hit 39.8% of their 3-point shots, the fourth-best mark in college basketball. It's a scary team that has lost once since the end of November. Some 16 seeds can provide some hope to cover a massive spread, but SIUE probably isn't that team. Welcome to a 12 over 5 upset you're going to see in a lot of brackets. McNeese didn't score any huge upsets this season, but it lost by just eight points at Alabama and by three against Mississippi State. The Cowboys also dominated the Southland Conference. They went 22-1 since mid-December. McNeese also got some NCAA tournament experience last season, though it lost by 21 to Gonzaga. Clemson had a good record, but what does that really say in this year's down ACC? You might not need the points in this one. McNeese can pull an upset. [Full NCAA tournament bracket revealed | Printable bracket] By now most college basketball fans know about which became part of the sport's lexicon for its efficiency-based rankings. Every year in the NCAA tournament some team has great predictive metrics at but its resume doesn't match it, leading to a mismatched seed. This season it's Gonzaga, which is ninth in but a No. 8 seed. No other team seeded No. 7 or lower is in the top 20. It's not like oddsmakers don't understand how that works, which is why Gonzaga is a pretty healthy favorite in a No. 8 vs. 9 game. Georgia has some really good wins over St. John's, Florida and Kentucky, and it's not like you're getting any discount on Gonzaga. There's some danger in going against a Gonzaga team that is better than its seed, but Georgia won't be intimidated after playing an SEC schedule. Ah, the Rick Barnes conundrum. Barnes is doing great things at Tennessee, but he has historically struggled to cover the spread in the NCAA tournament. Tennessee did cover last season with a 34-point blowout of St. Peter's, but it's still hard to ignore the history. Wofford isn't a particularly strong 15 seed. It played one game against a top-100 team all season and lost 86-35 to Duke. The Vols really shouldn't have any trouble in this one, regardless of Barnes' first-round history. UCLA has to travel to Lexington, Kentucky, which means Bruins coach Mick Cronin will probably complain about it. Jokes aside, UCLA is a solid team that doesn't have a lot of weaknesses. Utah State started 16-1 but lost some steam, going 10-6 the rest of the way. Utah State is a good offensive team but not as strong on defense, so give the Bruins a slight edge. Troy is a weird matchup. The Trojans will press a lot and play plenty of zone, which makes them a difficult team to prepare for. Troy's biggest weakness is it turns it over way too often, but Kentucky doesn't force many turnovers. Troy also has a senior guard in Tayton Conerway, who played very well in the Sun Belt tournament. Kentucky's Lamont Butler is supposed to play in this game, though his shoulder injury hasn't gone away. This Kentucky team won't overwhelm anyone with talent, though it is cohesive on offense and very well coached. If Troy can force some misses — its defense is good at that — then this can be a close game. Illinois has the talent to make a deep run. The Illini also was so inconsistent that a first-round no-show can't be ruled out. Xavier is a good, well-coached team that had a good comeback win over Texas in the First Four, but we'll trust Illinois to rise to the occasion.
