Expert Basketball Picks and Previews

The first round always gives bettors a few games where the number feels big, but the matchup is still worth a real look. That is the case here. Wright State comes into Friday’s Midwest Region opener at 23-11 after a strong run through the Horizon League, while Virginia enters 29-5, ranked No. 9 in the AP poll, and carrying the

The NCAA Tournament gets going Friday afternoon with a classic 15-vs-2 matchup, as the Tennessee State Tigers meet the Iowa State Cyclones at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Tipoff is set for 2:50 PM ET on CBS, and the setup is pretty clear from the start. Tennessee State comes in as the Ohio Valley Conference champion at 23-9, while Iowa

The NCAA Tournament opens with a fun stylistic clash in the Midwest Region, as Hofstra meets Alabama on Friday at 3:15 PM ET from Amalie Arena in Tampa on truTV. Hofstra brings a 24-10 record into this first-round game after going 15-6 in CAA play, while Alabama enters 23-9 overall and 13-6 in the SEC, carrying a No. 18 national

The 8 vs 9 line is usually where the bracket gets interesting, and this one feels exactly like that. Utah State heads into Friday’s first-round matchup at Viejas Arena in San Diego with a 28-6 record and real momentum after winning the Mountain West tournament, while Villanova enters at 24-8 after a strong Big East season but also after a

Iowa and Clemson open the South Region with one of the tighter first-round games on the board Friday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Tipoff is set for 6:50 PM ET on TNT, and the market has Iowa laying 2.5 with the total at 129.5. Iowa enters as the 9 seed at 21-12 after an 11-11 run through the Big

Northern Iowa draws one of the tougher first-round assignments on the board Friday night when the Panthers face St. John’s at Viejas Arena in San Diego. Tipoff is set for 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS. Northern Iowa enters at 23-12 out of the Missouri Valley, while St. John’s brings a 28-6 record, a No. 10 AP ranking, and the kind

UCF and UCLA meet Friday night in Philadelphia in one of the tighter first-round games on the board. Tipoff is set for 7:25 PM ET at Xfinity Mobile Arena on TBS, and the bracket gives this one real swing-game energy. UCF arrives as the No. 10 seed out of the Big 12 at 21-11, while UCLA is the No. 7

The West Region opens Friday night in St. Louis with a classic 2 vs 15 matchup as Queens (NC) takes on Purdue at Enterprise Center. Tipoff is set for 7:35 PM ET on truT, and the betting market has made Purdue a massive favorite at -25.5 with the total posted at 163.5. Queens gets here at 21-13 after a strong

California Baptist gets a real shot at bracket chaos on Friday night, but the path is not an easy one. The 13-seed Lancers arrive in San Diego at 25-8 after closing the WAC tournament with a tight 63-61 win over Utah Valley, while 4-seed Kansas enters at 23-10 after getting bounced by Houston in the Big 12 semifinals. Tipoff is