Previous Betting News

The opening round of the tournament always delivers a few mismatches, especially when you have the top seeds going against the #15 and #16 seeds. We rarely, if ever, see upsets in those games, but what we can get is an opportunity to bet against the spread. Very often, those top seeds will have a spread assigned that is very much on the large side of things. What can happen there is that they can put in bench guys later in the game, once it’s safely put away, which can often mean that their chances of covering takes a hit. The fact is that all they really care about is moving on as opposed to money bettors might have on them covering. We have a double-digit spread in this one, with Marquette favored by 11 over Vermont. The point total for this game is set at 144 ½. Let’s take a look at the NCAA basketball odds, so you can prepare your betting strategies for this special game.

#15 Vermont Catamounts Vs #2 Marquette Golden Eagles Game Info | March Madness Lines

When: Thursday, March 17 at 2:45 PM EST
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus
TV: TNT

Why bet on the Vermont Catamounts

The lower seeds in the bracket very often come into the tournament feeling less pressure than their higher seeded opponents. After all, the expectation is that they will lose, so why not just go out, play loose, and hopefully get the higher seed into a tough spot. Vermont come into the tournament on an absolute high, so this will not be a team suffering from some crisis of confidence. They won the regular season America East Conference in some considerable style, and then went on to win the conference tournament, which has them coming into March Madness on a 15-game winning streak. They are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 6 overall and 7-0 ATS in the month of March. That’s all great, but there are some negatives, too, such as going 1-10 SU in their last 11 versus the Big East and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 as the underdog.

Why bet on the Marquette Golden Eagles

We have another conference champion here, with Marquette closing out the season by winning the regular season Big East crown, as well as the conference tournament. They, too, are on a bit of a roll and come in on a 9-game win streak that took them to 28-6 on the season. They have had zero issues with teams from the America East Conference, as they have won 7 in a row against those teams, including a 91-81 win over Vermont the last time they faced them. Marquette has gone 13-7 ATS in their last 20 games overall, as well as 9-2 ATS in their last 11 Friday games and 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games starting as the favorite. In terms of the point total, the Golden Eagles have seen the UNDER hit in 4 of their last 5 games.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

I have been reading a lot about March Madness and have seen several people list this one as a potential upset alert. I don’t really see that happening, as I do like Marquette to move on, but covering might be a little tougher. I am playing the OVER here. Vermont Catamounts 73 Marquette Golden Eagles 83

Previous Betting News

With Michigan State playing its third game of the season and Duke looking to build on its season-opening win on Saturday, let’s find out which team is looking like the better pick against the value-packed College Basketball odds in this highly-anticipated affair on Tuesday night. 

NCAAB Betting Preview – No. 13 Michigan State at Duke Odds and Picks

Champions Classic records, history

The Champions Classic is in its 10th season after beginning in 2011. Here is each team’s record in the event through the first nine years:

Duke: 6-3 
Kentucky: 5-4 
Kansas: 4-5 
Michigan State: 3-6 

Why Bet On No. 13 Michigan State 

After routing overmatched Eastern Michigan 83-76 on Nov. 28 in their regular season opener, Michigan State convincingly took out Notre Dame 80-70 on Saturday to cover the chalk as an 8.5-point home favorite. Junior forward Aaron Henry scored a team-high 14 points while adding eight boards and four blocked shots after withdrawing from the NBA Draft to return to Michigan State for another year. 

“Aaron Henry is playing some of his best basketball,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. “He’s starting to become a complete player. I’m really proud of Aaron and how he’s handled everything.”

Sophomore guard Rocket Watts added 13 points and six assist to help the Spartans get the win. Michigan State harassed the Fighting Irish offense into a 35.1 percent shooting mark in their season-opening win. The Spartans closed the first half with a 17-0 run and opened the second half by scoring the nine points. Still, the only school that hasn’t beaten one of the other three schools in the Champions Classic tournament is Michigan State, which has gone 0-3 against Duke. Michigan State is averaging 81.5 points per game so far this season while allowing 68.5 points per contest.

Why Bet On No. 9 Duke 

Ninth-ranked Duke took out Copping State 81-71 in its season-opening matchup on Saturday despite failing to cover the spread as a whopping 39.5-point favorite. 6-2 freshman point guard guard DJ Stewart had a team-high 24 points on 10 of 18 shooting while adding nine rebounds. 6-9 freshman forward Jalen Johnson added 19 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks in the win. 

“There was a lot of game pressure on our team today,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “It’s such an unusual atmosphere.”

The Blue Devils were set to face Gardner-Webb on Wednesday but that game was postponed due to coronavirus problems surrounding the Runnin’ Bulldogs program. Now, the young ACC title hopefuls face a big test in their second game together.  

Expert Analysis and Prediction 

While Duke is brimming with young talent and at least two likely one-and-done freshmen, I like Michigan State’s better team balance and the fact that they have some nice experience in returning guards Foster Loyer, Rocket Watts and Joshua Langford, not to mention an added dose of experience in the form of Marquette transfer Joey Hauser.

Both teams lost some important players from last yeas title-hopeful teams with Duke’s Tre Jones and Vernon Carey Jr. off to the NBA and Michigan State losing floor leader Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman. Still, I think experience will reign in this early season meeting, though Duke looks like it will be a lot better as the season moves forward and the young team starts to find its new identity. 

Michigan State has won seven straight dating back to last season while going 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. While Duke has gone  perfect 4-0 ATS in its last four home games, the Blue Devils have dropped three of its last 14 games dating back to a year ago while going an uninspiring 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Tuesday games. With the Underdog and road team in this rivalry going a perfect 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings, I like the Michigan State Spartans to cover the spread – by winning outright!

Pick: Michigan State 

Previous Betting News

Technically, No. 7 Virginia is the defending national champion because the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled. The Wahoos will be back in the Big Dance and among the NCAAB favorites again next month, but struggling Duke shockingly could miss the tournament barring a late-season surge. UVA will be favored at Duke on Saturday.

How to Bet Virginia at Duke NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Saturday, 8 PM ET
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN app
Opening NCAAB Lines: TBA (Virginia will be favored)

Last Meeting

This is the only scheduled meeting this season and last year, they played just once and Virginia won 52-50 at home when Duke was No. 7 and UVA unranked. After Mamadi Diakite made a short, go-ahead jumper with 37 seconds left, the Cavs’ Jay Huff blocked Vernon Carey Jr.’s shot under the basket with 3.7 remaining and ripped the ball away, preserving Virginia’s upset. Huff remains a key player this year. Tre Jones tried an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer, but missed for Duke, which was Mamudi 18 for 59 (31%) and 4 for 17 on 3-pointers. Jones is now in the NBA.

Why Bet on Virginia? | 2021 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis

“If you want a chance to beat a team of this caliber, or that is playing at this level in this setting, you can’t be sometimes really good defensively,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “You’ve got to be all the time good in the areas that you have control over. You can’t control if they can make the big-time shot or an acrobatic play, but we can control if our defense is set, if we’re active on the ball, if we’re in position and not committing some lapse in judgment.”

This is the 12th season at UVA for Bennett, who came into this game with a 9-9 record against the Seminoles. In each of those 18 meetings, the Hoos had held FSU to fewer than 70 points, but they broke down repeatedly on defense Monday. Virginia entered allowing just 58.8 points per game.

“If you want a chance to beat a team of this caliber, or that is playing at this level in this setting, you can’t be sometimes really good defensively. You’ve got to be all the time good in the areas that you have control over,” Bennett said.

The Cavaliers came out strong in the second half, sparked by 10 points from Clark. UVA opened the second half with a 16-3 run to cut it to seven, 48-41, at the 14:24 mark. FSU came back with a 17-0 run to take its largest lead of the game.

Four players finished in double figures for Virginia. Trey Murphy III led the team with 13 points and five rebounds. Kihei Clark and Tomas Woldetensae each added 12 points and Sam Hauser had 11.

Of UVA’s four losses, three have been by double-digit margins to ranked opponents: Gonzaga, Virginia Tech and Florida State.

Why Bet on Duke? | 2021 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis

“I thought Duke came in and played an outstanding game in all aspects,” Wake coach Steve Forbes said. “I could tell from the tip that they were ready to go. They had great pace on offense, they were defending, they were very physical. I think they knew coming in we were going to run motion so they were physical on the cuts and on the screens. They knocked us off our path and did a good job of making it hard for us to run our offense in the half-court. I did not feel like they felt us at all defensively. I felt like they were just getting whatever they wanted.”

Sophomore Matthew Hurt scored 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Over his last two games, Hurt has averaged 23.5 points, while shooting 16-of-19 from the field and 9-of-11 from three-point range. Hurt scored 14 straight for Duke – the final three of the first half and the first 11 of the second half. It marked his 12th career 20-point game – eighth this season.

Freshman DJ Steward scored 16 points – his 14th double-figure game this season. He has reached double-digits in eight consecutive games and in 13 of the last 14.

Duke finished with 17 assists against just six turnovers, its second consecutive game with 17 assists. Duke’s six turnovers were a season low – the previous low was eight at Notre Dame. Duke is averaging 18.3 assists over its last four game.

Duke has won back-to-back games following a three-game skid in which the Blue Devils allowed 83.7 points per game. They held N.C. State to its season-low 53 points last Saturday and limited Wake Forest to just 39% shooting Wednesday.

Johnson, meanwhile, opted out of the rest of the season Monday. The 6-foot-9 small forward, a projected lottery pick in the 2021 NBA draft, averaged 11.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 13 games for Duke.

Expert College Basketball Prediction

Virginia 65, Duke 63

Previous Betting News

Florida State lost to Duke in the ACC Tournament Championship. The Seminoles believe the loss should set them up well for a deep NCAA Tournament run. The hopeful run starts on Thursday, March 21 as a 4-seed versus the Vermont Catamounts.

Vermont vs Florida State 2019 March Madness Lines & Game Preview

When: Thursday, March 21 at 2:00 pm ET
Where: XL Center, Hartford, CT
TV: TBS
ATS Odds: Florida State -10.5
Over/Under Total Odds: 133.5

Why #13 Vermont Catamounts are a good bet +10.5?

The American East Tournament Champions, Vermont went 27-6 during the regular season. They were very good in their final 10 games, only losing to UMBC 56-65 on Feb. 21.

Vermont dominated their other opponents, going 3-1 ATS in their final 4 games. They’ve got an excellent defense that only allows 62.6 points per game. The Catamounts will use that defense to push Florida State into a half court game. If FSU must play in the half court, Vermont can cover.

Why #4 Florida State Seminoles are a good bet -10.5?

Florida State might have lost by 10 points to Duke, 63-73, in the ACC Tournament Championship, but in a lot of ways that was a victory. Florida State needed to prove that they could hang with the Blue Devils.

Earlier in the ACC Tournament, the Seminoles beat the Virginia Cavaliers 69-59. They are most definitely a team to deal with in the NCAA Tournament. They should have no trouble dominating Vermont on Thursday.

#Vermont vs Florida State Final March Madness Betting Analysis

Vermont’s a decent basketball team, but Florida State plays at a different speed than Vermont’s seen in this season. The Catamounts aren’t used to a team that can run up and down the court, shoot threes, and dunk the rock the way FSU can.

The Seminoles played Duke tough until the late stages in their loss to the Blue Devils. They should have learned something from that battle. Vermont won’t know what hit them on March 21. Florida State rolls to an easy win and cover.

2019 March Madness Betting Pick: Florida State -10.5