March Madness Thursday Betting Preview

The Madness erupts Thursday with the start of the Round of 64. There are the usual 16 games on tap Thursday, and we’ll focus on a game or two from each region.

We’ll start in the South where the top seed in action is the No. 3 Tennessee Volunteers vs the No. 14 Wright State Raiders. At Bovada Sportsbook the Volunteers are 12.5-point favorites. Tennessee hasn’t played in the Big Dance since 2014 when it went 3-1 straight up and 3-0-1 against the spread. Wright State may be a long shot, but that doesn’t mean the Raiders aren’t worth a bet, as they are 17-5 ATS in their last 22 games in March.

In the East region, the No. 1 Villanova Wildcats and No. 6 Florida Gators await their opponents from the First Four. The game to watch should be the No. 8 Virginia Tech Hokies vs the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide as a 2-point favorite. The Hokies were a disappointing 1-3 SU in their last four games this season and have been an UNDER bettor’s dream with nine straight games UNDER the total. Alabama stumbled into the tournament 2-6 SU and 3-5 ATS in its last eight.

Moving to the Midwest, the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks seem fit to tear apart the No. 16 Penn Quakers as 14-point favorites. The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils are massive 19.5-point favorites against the No. 15 Iona Gaels.

It’s a little closer between the No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners and No. 7 Rhode Island Rams, with the Rams a 2-point favorite. Oklahoma got into the tournament despite a pitiful stretch run that saw the team go 2-8 SU and ATS in its last 10. As an underdog, the Sooners have lost five straight SU and ATS. The Rams are also a lame-duck 1-4 ATS in their last five, and 2-10 ATS in their last 12.

Finishing things off in the West, the No. 6 Houston Cougars are only 4-point favorites against the No. 11 San Diego State Aztecs. The Cougars are a solid 9-1 SU and 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 as the favorite, but in postseason play in March they’re a disappointing 1-6 SU and 2-5 ATS in their last seven. San Diego State enters the tournament on a nine-game winning streak at 8-1 ATS. However, in seven games as an underdog this season, the Aztecs were 2-5 SU and 3-4 ATS.

Also worth watching in the West is the No. 4 Gonzaga Bulldogs vs the No. 13 UNC Greensboro Spartans as a 12.5-point favorite. Gonzaga has won nine straight first-round matchups in the tournament but is only 5-4 ATS in those games. When favored by double digits this season, Gonzaga was only 8-12-1 ATS.