NCAAB March Madness South Region Round 1 Best Bets & Odds

How about some Madness everybody? The NCAA men’s college basketball championship tournament, aka March Madness, began this week. And we’ve already had a few doozies. Will the tournament proper, which gets underway on Thursday, March 19, live up to the hype as well?

This is the third in a series of betting guides we’ve put together for each of the four regions in the tournament. Here, we take a look at the South Region, where the defending NCAA champion Florida Gators sit atop the bracket as the No. 1 seed. Read on for our best bets for those wanting to put money down on a favorite, an underdog, and an over. And of course we’ve got you covered with March Madness betting odds for all eight games in the South Region.

NCAA Basketball March Madness South Region First Round Betting Odds & Best Bets - March 19-20

All odds provided by Betway.

Favorite (Spread)	Favorite Moneyline	Underdog	Underdog Moneyline	Total	Game Time
No. 1 Florida (-35.5)	-100,000	No. 16 Prairie View A&M	+3,300	O/U 155.5	9:25PM on 03/20
No. 2 Houston (-23.5)	-10,000	No. 15 Idaho	+1,600	O/U 138.0	10:10PM on on 3/19
No. 3 Illinois (-25.0)	-10,000	No. 14 Pennsylvania	+1,600	O/U 151.0	9:25PM on 03/19
No. 4 Nebraska (-13.0)	-1,000	No. 13 Troy	+575	O/U 137.5	12:40PM on 03/19
No. 5 Vanderbilt (-11.0)	-750	No. 12 McNeese State	+450	O/U 149.5	3:15PM on 03/19
No. 6 North Carolina (-2.5)	-150	No. 11 VCU	+120	O/U 152.5	6:50PM on 03/19
No. 7 Saint Mary’s (-3.0)	-165	No. 10 Texas A&M	+135	O/U 147.0	7:35PM on 03/19
No. 9 Iowa (-2.0)	-135	No. 8 Clemson	+112	O/U 129.0	6:50PM on 3/20

Best Bet on a Favourite: No. 4 Nebraska (-13.0) over No. 13 Troy

Nebraska has their flaws, but we think the positives outweigh the negatives here. They are also the best team in this strong region without a 20+ point spread. We’ll just never be able to wrap our heads around a spread that massive. Nebraska is favored by a mild 13 points, and they should be.

They’re excellent defensively, and they score inside or outside—but especially outside. Their top player, Pryce Sandfort, is shooting the triple at a 40 percent clip while knocking down 3.5 treys a game. Troy is streaky as they come as well, and streaky teams generally struggle against sound defensive teams like the Cornhuskers.

Best Bet on an Underdog: No. 11 VCU (+120) upsets No. 7 North Carolina

There wasn’t a lot to choose from in this Region, which is why our best upset bet is on a team that is only a 2.5-point dog. But UNC is without a doubt the team most likely to be upset in the South and that’s for one simple reason: they don’t have their best player. Freshman Caleb Wilson is still out, and it will be tough for the Tar Heels to make a deep run without him. We think VCU will send them home early with their efficient offense and excellent free throw shooting.

Best Bet to Hit the Over: No. 7 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 10 Texas A&M (Over 147.0)

This pick is all about Texas A&M. Saint Mary’s is pretty average when it comes to both scoring and defense, but Texas A&M offensively is insane. Their 87.7 points per game are ninth in the nation and their 76.0 possessions are ninth. But they are also allowing a hair under 80 points per game.

The total for this game is set at just 147.0 points, which is very intriguing considering zero games the Aggies were involved with this season went below 140 points. They have had a suspicious amount of games finish on 146 points, but we’re going to push past our superstitions on this one.