What a first full day of the tournament! Three overtime games, plenty of games down right to the wire, and a day filled with drama. It was a profitable day for me and I’ll be looking to build on it tomorrow with another full slate of games. I love all three of these plays, so let’s keep climbing that Pickswise $10,000 Capper Contest leaderboard!
Make sure you also check out our picks on the side and total for EVERY first-round game for the NCAA Tournament. Let the March Madness continue!
NCAAB🏀 3/19: 5-3 (+4.80u)
Rutgers (-108)✅
Virginia Tech -1 (+105)❌
Texas Tech -3.5 (-110)✅
Villanova -5 (-110) *2U✅
North Texas +7.5 (-110)✅
Georgia Tech +3 (-110)❌
Loyola Chicago -2.5 (-102) *3U✅
San Diego State -2 (-110)❌— Bets By Bob (@BetsByBob) March 20, 2021
Eastern Washington Eagles +10.5 to beat Kansas Jayhawks
The Eagles are dancing in March after winning the Big Sky Conference tournament. Eastern Washington is a high-tempo, efficient offense, and should be able to give Kansas trouble. The Jayhawks are coming into this game battling some COVID-19 issues, and are going to be without the services of Jalen Wilson and Tristan Enaruna. Kansas big man, David McCormack, will be able to play, but will only be able to get one practice under his belt when he was eligible to rejoin the team on Friday. The Jayhawks are talented enough to overcome some of these issues, but the Eagles can take advantage of the depleted Jayhawk squad.
Eastern Washington comes into this one winning 13 of their last 14 games, and are playing like a team oozing with confidence. The Groves brothers are both highly talented, and are surrounded by good shooting guards. I like the Eagles to keep this game as a single-digit affair, and also like their opportunity to pull off the outright upset.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Eastern Washington Eagles vs. Kansas Jayhawks.
After picking Oral Roberts to upset Ohio State, find out who college basketball player expert Rashad Phillips is picking for today’s action!
Grand Canyon Antelopes +14.5 to beat Iowa Hawkeyes
The Antelopes step up to face the Hawkeyes after cruising through the Western Athletic Conference tournament en route to winning the championship. They have a tough task ahead of them, but they have the bigs to be able to slow down the All-American, Luke Garza. Grand Canyon big men, Asbjorn Midtgaard and Alessandro Lever, are going to need to key in on Garza and make Iowa beat them other ways.
The Antelopes play solid defense and should be able to score on a Hawkeye team that lacks discipline on the defensive end at times. I am not sure that they can pull the outright upset here, but I do think they keep it close.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Grand Canyon Antelopes vs. Iowa Hawkeyes.
Check out college basketball analyst and insider Jon Rothstein’s best picks for today’s action!
UConn Huskies -3 to beat Maryland Terrapins
Anyone who has followed me this season already knows my love affair for this Huskies team. I backed them more than any other team this year, and am going back to the well here. Everyone by now knows about what a special talent James Bouknight is, but the difference maker here is going to be inside with Adama Sanogo. The Huskies play their best when they can work inside out, and if they can get Sanogo going early, they should be able to open up the rest of their offense against a good Maryland defense. This should be a great game, but I give the edge here to the Huskies.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Maryland Terrapins vs. Connecticut Huskies.
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