Ricky Dimon
From now through the end of March Madness, we will be providing a daily update with everything you need to know about the NCAA Tournament. Covering line movements to betting trends, statistics, quotes, and more, we will provide you with everything you need to know about all of happenings in Indiana.
With the First Four underway and less than 24 hours away from the real madness, let’s take our third daily in-depth look at the Big Dance. In addition to helping you fill out your bracket before the festivities begin, we also want to help you make the best possible bets each day during the tournament.
Line movements
Check out our daily in depth line movement analysis, but here is a quick summary:
Move for the favorite
San Diego State -2 to -3 vs. Syracuse
West Virginia -12 to -13 vs. Morehead State
Tennessee -7.5 to -8.5 vs. Oregon State
Colorado -5 to -6.5 vs. Georgetown
Loyola Chicago -2 to -5.5 vs. Georgia Tech
Move for the underdog
Ohio +9.5 to +7.5 vs. Virginia
Liberty +9.5 to +7.5 vs. Oklahoma State
Colgate +10 to +8.5 vs. Arkansas
Missouri +2 to +1 vs. Oklahoma
VCU +6 to +5 vs. Oregon
Move for the over
Villanova-Winthrop total 138.5 to 142.5
Arkansas-Colgate total 157.5 to 161.5
Kansas-Eastern Washington total 142.5 to 146.5
Alabama-Iona total 145.5 to 147
Purdue-North Texas 125 to 126.5
Move for the under
Oklahoma State-Liberty total 142.5 to 139.5
Florida-Virginia Tech total 137.5 to 135.5
Creighton-UCSB total 140.5 to 138.5
Oklahoma-Missouri 141 to 139.5
Virginia-Ohio 132 to 131
Arkansas-Colgate 162 to 161
Illinois-Drexel 144.5 to 143.5
Texas Tech-Utah State 132 to 131
Tennessee-Oregon State 133.5 to 131
North Carolina-Wisconsin 139.5 to 137.5
Public Money
In Wednesday’s March Madness daily update, we noted that bettors like Purdue -7.5 against North Texas. That still hasn’t changed, with 82 percent of the handle and 85 percent of the bets backing the Boilermakers to cover the spread. Even though the money line has increased from -315 to -335, Purdue is still drawing 90 percent of the handle and 92 percent of the wagers for an outright win.
Another Friday game getting plenty of attention is Villanova vs. Winthrop. The Wildcats are without point guard Collin Gillespie, which is a big reason why the Eagles are inspiring 70 percent of the money and 76 percent of the wagers against the spread (+6). Bettors also love the over. A total of 94 percent of the handle despite a more modest 71 percent of the bets are hammering Over 143.
In Thursday’s daily public money update across all sports, we also discussed the public’s enthusiasm for Michigan State. We touched on several other games in our March Madness public money update.
Purdue vs. North Texas preview and picks
Villanova vs. Winthrop preview and picks
Stat of the Day
17.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.6 blocks per game – Moses Wright’s season averages for Georgia Tech
Those numbers earned Wright ACC Player of the Year honors. He helped lead the Yellow Jackets to an improbable ACC Tournament title, but the star big man won’t be around for their first game in the Big Dance. Reportedly due to a positive Covid-19 test, Wright will miss Friday’s contest against Loyola Chicago and he would also be sidelined from a potential second-round date with either Illinois or Drexel.
Loyola Chicago vs. Georgia Tech preview and picks
Georgia Tech owns all of the hardware in the ACC this year 🏆🐝
ACC POY: Moses Wright ✅
ACC DPY: Jose Alvarado ✅
ACC Champions ✅What a great year so far for GT 👏 pic.twitter.com/0TtWA4IhBh
— College Hoops World (@CBBWrld) March 14, 2021
Quote of the Day
“I’m glad we don’t play until Saturday. It gives us some time to kind of recoup, and there’s some grieving that’s going on with this team regarding the loss (to Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament Final) and not winning a championship—which is what we were all set on doing. But we’ll get over that. We’ll give ourselves a day or two and start getting ready for Georgetown.”
— Colorado head coach Tad Boyle
“The task is still the same; there’s nothing different. The only difference is we’re in the NCAA tournament…. Why can we make a run? We believe in ourselves. We have worked hard to get to this point in the season. Anything is possible.”
— Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing
Saturday’s Colorado vs. Georgetown showdown features two teams that advanced to their respective conference tournament finals. As Boyle referenced, the Buffaloes were upset by Oregon State in the Pac-12. Ewing’s Hoyas rolled to an improbable Big East title.
Colorado vs. Georgetown preview and picks
Pickswise is the home of March Madness Predictions. Check out all of our March Madness Picks, including daily March Madness Parlays throughout the NCAA Tournament.
