The best time of the year is upon us as the NCAA Tournament tips off on Thursday, and we make our March Madness upset predictions for the first round based on the best March Madness odds.
Upsets in the first few days of March Madness are usually fairly prevalent, increasing the overall excitement and intrigue. The Kansas Jayhawks announced Kevin McCullar Jr. will miss the NCAA Tournament, which makes their opening-round game against the Samford Bulldogs all the more challenging.
Additional teams with upset potential are the NC State Wolfpack, Morehead State Eagles, McNeese Cowboys, and Oregon Ducks. So, which ones will advance to the second round?
To help with your March Madness bracket, here are our best March Madness upset predictions for Thursday (odds via our best March Madness betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Thursday's top NCAA Tournament upset predictions
- Samford ML (13) vs. Kansas (4) (+260 via BetMGM) ???
- McNeese ML (12) vs. Gonzaga (5) (+230 via bet365) ???
- NC State ML (11) vs. Texas Tech (6) (+180 via bet365) ????
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Best odds: +260 via BetMGM
Game info: Thursday at 9:55 p.m. ET at Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
On the same day McCullar was named an All-American, he was also announced as out for the NCAA Tournament. McCullar played in just six games since Feb. 1, and the Jayhawks were 2-3 in five games without him, with two of their three losses coming by 20 or more points.
The Bulldogs enter this game as the seventh-highest-scoring team in the nation, averaging 84.3 points per game. They haven't played anyone of note outside of their conference since they lost to the Purdue Boilermakers by 53 points in the season opener. However, they still have four players who score more than 10 points per game, and 10 players average more than 10 minutes per game.
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The Bulldogs are deep for a mid-major, and the Jayhawks are on their last legs. Look for the Bulldogs to shoot their way to the second round.
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Best odds: +230 via bet365
Game info: Thursday at 7:25 p.m. ET at Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
No matter who you play, getting to 30 wins in college basketball is an incredible task. To get to 30, the Cowboys lost just one game in conference play and two of their three losses were by three or fewer points.
The Cowboys average 78.4 points per game, so while the Bulldogs are still the higher-scoring team in this matchup, the Cowboys won't panic if they fall behind early.
Additionally, for how good their offense is, the Cowboys are no slouch defensively either. They're 10th in the nation in points allowed, holding opponents to 64 per game.
The Bulldogs have some great wins this season, but they've also struggled with lesser opponents in a way we haven't seen in recent years. If they let the Cowboys hang around, they're going to be in a lot of trouble.
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Best odds: +180 via bet365
Game info: Thursday at 9:40 p.m. ET at PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Penn.
The ACC had a down year, but what the Wolfpack did in the ACC Tournament should not be taken for granted. They defeated three NCAA Tournament teams, including a No. 1 seed to earn a spot in the Big Dance.
The Red Raiders have huge wins over the Baylor Bears, Kansas Jayhawks, and BYU Cougars, but they also have some questionable losses. They lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats at home, and they lost to the Butler Bulldogs, UCF Knights, and Villanova Wildcats, who all had down years.
DJ Horne and DJ Burns Jr. have been playing incredibly well of late for the Wolfpack. If they continue to produce, the Wolfpack will be the better team in this matchup.
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