NCAA Tournament First Round Picks for Thursday (Archive)
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, we’ve added two best bets for the early slate for March 17. Both selections are upsets per the bracket. Will you ride with us? Below, we’ll break down the college basketball odds and share two winning picks!
South Dakota State Jackrabbits vs. Providence Friars
Thursday, March 17, 2022 – 12:40 PM EDT at KeyBank Center
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits will take on the Providence Friars in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Despite the Jackrabbits being a 13-seed, South Dakota State is only a 2.5 point underdog against Providence.
The Jackrabbits are the best shooting team in the nation, shooting a 59.7% effective field goal percentage. To do that, the Jackrabbits have shot 44.2% from deep and 56.3% from inside the arc while also hitting 76% of foul shots. Offensive rebounds will be hard to come by but overall, if South Dakota State is on-point shooting, Providence’s luck can run out.
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Providence, on the other hand, should be able to put up points too. The Friars are shooting 34.3% from deep and 49.6% from inside the arc. However, Providence will mostly score at the foul line and that’s an area where South Dakota State has been good in. They’ve limited fouls throughout the season at a very high rate.
If South Dakota State continues to limit turnovers on the offensive end and continues to dominate the glass on the defensive end while not fouling at a high rate, South Dakota State could pull off the upset. And at just -2.5, it’s not that big of an upset after all!
NCAAB Pick: South Dakota State +2.5 (-112) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Michigan Wolverines vs. Colorado State Rams
Thursday, March 17, 2022 – 12:15 PM EDT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Everyone is down on Michigan right now. It was an awful second half of the season with its head coach getting suspended and a first-game exit against the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big 10 Tournament.
But we can’t forget how talented this team is. Michigan was a projected top-five team earlier this year and still has that in them. The Wolverines are one of the best offenses in the nation, shooting an effective field goal percentage of 52.3% while hitting 34% from deep and 53% from inside the arc.
Michigan is also limiting turnovers to 17.1% while earning 31.2% offensive rebounds. The offensive rebounds will be hard but scoring inside won’t be against Colorado State, as the Rams allow 50.5% from inside this season.
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On the offensive end, the Rams are shooting 55.2% effective field goal percentage but only earn 21.8% turnovers. Once the Rams have to face a Big 10 defense, shots won’t fall as they did against Mountain West teams.
When those shots aren’t falling, Colorado State won’t get second chance opportunities and therefore will not be able to score enough points to win this game.
For my college basketball pick, I like Michigan as an 11-seed to win outright against Colorado State as a favorite, despite the bracket stating otherwise.
NCAAB Pick: Michigan ML (-130) with Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.