Top NCAA Basketball Betting Picks of the Week – March 12th

It’s March Madness! The NCAA men’s basketball tournament gets underway this week, with the First Four games set for Tuesday and Wednesday and the round of 64 rolling out Thursday and Friday. We’ve got lots of content for the Big Dance coming to you this week, starting with this March Madness betting preview of some of the first round games.

Top NCAA Basketball Betting Picks of the Week – March 12th

The Bracket: https://t.co/Jr1kdnP4HV #SelectionSunday pic.twitter.com/ynxB0hfOso

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 11, 2018

Thursday, March 15

(5) Kentucky (-6) vs (12) Davidson (7:10pm ET, CBS)

Kentucky is just fresh off a win in the SEC Tournament — and John Calipari is already complaining. It’s true that his team has to travel to Boise and play on a Thursday. Davidson had a 21-11 record, which was a nice turnaround from their 5-7 start. They clinched their bid in the Big Dance with a 58-57 win in their conference tournament, with Kellan Grady leading the way with 17 points. Davidson has beaten the spread in each of their last four games. Kentucky took down Tennessee in a 77-72 thriller in the SEC tournament championship. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up 29 points, seven boards, three assists and two steals, and Kevin Knox chipped in 18 points and seven boards. Kentucky is peaking at just the right time, showing a commitment to defense that they missed for the first two thirds of the season. They have beaten the spread in seven of their last eight games overall and in 15 of their last 22 neutral-site games. Both of these teams have finished much stronger than they started, but I don’t think Davidson can score with Kentucky. NCAA Basketball Betting Prediction: Kentucky 78, Davidson 70

(6) Houston (+3.5) vs (11) San Diego State (7:20pm ET, TBS)

The Houston Cougars made it all the way to the finals of the American Athletic Conference, where they lost by a single point to Cincinnati, with the game coming down to a backbreaking Houston turnover. Houston got 17 points and five rebounds from Rob Gray, although he went just 6 for 22 on the day. Corey Davis Jr. added 15 points and three assists, and Devin Davis scored 13 points with five assists. San Diego State won the Mountain West Conference championship, taking down New Mexico in an 82-75 win in the title game. Trey Kell went 10 for 16, putting up 28 points on the day. Malik Pope added 16 points and five rebounds, sinking six of eight free throw attempts. Devin Watson also hit double figures with a dozen points and five assists. So why is San Diego State the favorite here? Houston had a solid season in the American Athletic Conference, but there are a lot of doubters thanks to performances in recent years, and San Diego State did have a hot finish to their season. NCAA Basketball Betting Prediction: San Diego State 70, Houston 66

Friday, March 16

(7) Nevada (-1) vs (10) Texas (4:30pm ET, TBS)

Texas is limping into the tournament a bit, having dropped two of four, including their loss to Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament. They did get 29 points out of Jacob Young in the setback, although Dylan Osetkowski leads the Longhorns with 13.6 points per game on the season. He’s a threat in the post as well as from behind the arc. Mohamed Bamba has averaged 12.9 points and 10.4 boards per game as well. The Wolfpack come in with a 27-7 record, although they are stumbling now too, having dropped two of three, both to San Diego State. They got 25 points out of Jordan Carolina in their loss in the conference tournament. Caleb Martin leads Nevada with 19.1 points per game, and Cody Martin and Kendall Stephens, along with Carolina, all average double figures as well. While Texas has played well at times in the Big 12, Nevada has the better resume. NCAA Basketball Betting Prediction: Nevada 71, Texas 66