First Four Betting Preview
March Madness officially begins Tuesday with the tipoff of the First Four.
The opening First Four game is the Prairie View A&M Panthers vs the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. At Bovada Sportsbook, the Knights are a slim 1.5-point favorite.
The Knights head into the Madness on an eight-game winning streak after they won the Northeast Conference tournament. During their winning streak, the Knights are 7-1 against the spread and this season when favored they were 10-7 ATS.
The Panthers won the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament by upsetting the Texas Southern Tigers 92-86 as a 2-point underdog in the final. The Panthers have won 11 straight at 8-3 ATS and this season went 7-6-2 ATS as an underdog.
The Knights and Panthers have met up twice before, with both sides picking up a win. In their last matchup in 2012, the Knights won 84-70 in a game that had no odds.
Belmont favored over Temple
In the other Tuesday matchup, the Belmont Bruins face the Temple Owls as a 3.5-point favorite.
Belmont had a 14-game winning streak snapped in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament when they lost to the Murray State Racers 77-65 as a 2-point favorite. During their 14-game winning streak, the Bruins were 10-2-2 ATS.
The Owls bowed out of the American Athletic Conference tournament early with an 80-74 loss to the Wichita State Shockers as a 1.5-point favorite. That loss dropped Temple to 6-2 SU and 5-3 ATS in its last eight games. This season as an underdog, the Owls were a solid 6-3-1 ATS.
Eagles 8-1-1 ATS in last 10 games
Looking ahead to Wednesday’s First Four games, first up is the North Dakota State Bison vs the North Carolina Central Eagles as a 5.5-point favorite.
The Bison won the Summit League conference tournament after upsetting the Omaha Mavericks 73-63 as a 3.5-point underdog in the final. The Bison have won four straight at 3-1 ATS, and during the season they were 11-8 ATS when favored.
The Eagles won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament, defeating the Norfolk State Spartans 50-47 as a 4.5-point underdog in the final. The Eagles have been a strong bet lately at 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10, which includes four wins SU as an underdog.
The Bison and Eagles met up back in 2007 and it was a bad day for the Eagles as the Bison dominated in a 104-51 rout.
St. John’s had stormy end to season
The last game on the First Four schedule is the Arizona State Sun Devils vs the St. John’s Red Storm as a 1-point favorite.
The Sun Devils fell to the Oregon Ducks 79-75 as a 2.5-point underdog in the SEC tournament. With that loss, they dropped to 6-2 SU and 5-3 ATS in their last eight.
St. John’s also bowed out of the Big East tournament early, falling 86-54 to the Marquette Golden Eagles as a 3.5-point underdog. St. John’s has struggled down the stretch this season at 1-4 SU and ATS in its last five.
The Sun Devils and Red Storm have split a pair of previous matchups both SU and ATS. They last met up in 2017 when Arizona State won 82-70 as a 5-point favorite.