Most observers agree, this year’s NCAA Tournament owns the haves and the have nots. There are the true power teams, the four 1-seeds. Then a slight drop off to the 2-seeds. And then it’s a bathtub of flawed schools all swimming around looking for a rubber duck to save them from drowning. With that in mind, fans are looking for decent opportunities to spot the early upsets for March Madness betting. Let’s take a look at some potential upset delights in the first round.
14 Yale over 3 LSU
This one has “NCAA violations distraction” written all over it. The Bulldogs are a trendy pick to pull the upset because of the stink of the FBI investigation is surrounding the Tigers. LSU has lost its coach, Will Wade, who is suspended after being wiretapped by the feds. The Tigers lost their first game of the SEC tourney to 8th seeded Florida. Historically, teams that lose in the first game of their conference tournament but make an at-large bid fare extremely poorly. Watch out for the smog of the FBI to take down the Tigers.
12 Murray State over 5 Marquette
Everyone is hearing about the most exciting player in the tourney not named Zion. Murray State’s Ja Morant does it all and will be a top 3 lottery pick in the NBA Draft. He’s a highlight waiting to happen everytime he touches it. Marquette can also be sloppy with the ball, averaging 15 turnover/game over its last four in the regular season. You can just envision Morant slamming over a Marquette defender and screaming in the One Shining Moment montage.
14 Northern Kentucky over 3 Texas Tech
When you lose your first game in the conference tourney, you’re on watch. The Raiders were the two-seed in the Big 12 and yet lost to the 10th-seeded Mountaineers 79-74. Yes, Texas Tech won 9 straight to end the regular season. But NKU is the best shooting team from deep in the Horizon, so can’t you just see them knocking down some deep threes late to steal a Cinderella win?
12 Liberty over 5 Mississippi State
There’s not a lot to love about Liberty except this: Back in December¬† they took out UCLA in impressive fashion, which led to Steve Alford getting canned. Can they do it again to a power conference team? MSU is turnover prone and Auburn is their best SEC victory. Liberty from downtown…. BANG!
