FREE NCAA TOURNAMENT BETTING PICKS TODAY: Best 2022 March Madness Predictions | Thursday 3/17/22

The NCAA Tournament and 2022 March Madness have finally arrived. Today’s slate features the full 16 games on the first Thursday of March Madness. This piece will analyze the best NCAA Tournament betting picks today and go over some of the best 2022 March Madness predictions for tonight’s games.

College basketball betting is LIVE NOW on OddsShopper. Use the OddsShopper NCAAB betting tool to find the best 2022 March Madness picks, NCAA Tournament betting odds and player props. Be sure to check out all of Matt’s expert NCAA Tournament betting picks every day on the OddsShopper YouTube channel. Every day, he will give you his Top 3 March Madness predictions and picks against the spread and NCAAB picks and parlays in 5 minutes or LESS!

FREE NCAA Tournament Betting Picks & Predictions

Best NCAAB Picks Today: South Dakota State +2.5

After a 30-4 regular season, South Dakota State faces Providence in one of Thursday’s hottest matchups. The Jackrabbits have the top 3-point shooting offense in the country, keeping them live in any matchup. This team scored 88 on Alabama and 74 on Washington State in their toughest Power Five matchups. Providence, meanwhile, has limped into the tournament after running hot all season. The Friars finished the regular season 25-5, but their field goal percentage ranks 204th in the country. Generally settling for tougher shots, Providence’s shot quality record is just 17-13, meaning this team is due for some severe negative regression. Making matters worse, A.J. Reeves is questionable and Al Durham has been battling a sports hernia over the last month. With South Dakota State’s firepower, taking the points here makes sense.


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Best NCAAB Picks Today: North Carolina -3.5

After struggling to start the year, North Carolina finished strong and managed to climb to third in the ACC behind Duke and Notre Dame. The Tar Heels draw Marquette here, who has faltered after a strong start. Looking into the stylistics, North Carolina has a major edge in the frontcourt. North Carolina ranks 24th in effective height, while Marquette checks in at 111th. North Carolina is also 13th in rebounding, and Marquette at 178th. The Golden Eagles typically win with their chaotic defense and forcing turnovers, but North Carolina is 49th best in turnovers per game. With Armando Bacot and Brady Manek dominating the frontcourt, North Carolina is the play in this spot.

Best NCAAB Picks Today: Murray State -2.5

Winner of the Ohio Valley Conference, Murray State drew San Francisco in their opening round of the NCAA Tournament. This line hovered around a pick-em through most of the week until it was announced that San Francisco’s big man Yauhen Massalski will not be available for this game. Murray State plays primarily through the 6-foot-10 K.J. Williams. Now without Massalski on the floor, San Francisco will turn to a rotation big man in Patrick Tape. Not only does Tape cede size to Williams, but he has one of the highest foul rates in the country. On top of that, San Francisco ranks 196th in offensive turnovers and has the 83rd-highest foul rate. Murray State generates the 62nd-most turnovers while drawing a fair number of fouls behind Williams. Without Massalski, this matchup is just too difficult for San Francisco to overcome.

More College Basketball Picks Today

For more action on today’s college basketball slate, take a look at the Awesemo CBB DFS page. All of Matt’s CBB picks for daily fantasy college basketball are there, as are CBB DFS Cheat Sheets for DraftKings and FanDuel.

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Author
Matt Gajewski graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in Economics. Matt has worked in the fantasy industry for the past four years, focusing on DFS and Sports Betting. Matt specializes in NFL, College Football, College Basketball, XFL, and MMA. With GPP victories across the major sports, Matt also qualified for the DraftKings 2020 Sports Betting Championship and won a seat to the College Basketball Tourney Mania final.

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