Close
Help
Settings
2019 March Madness First Round Betting Favorites

2019 March Madness First Round Betting Favorites

Written by on March 20, 2019

March Madness Trends, Rumors & News, NCAA Basketball Betting News

If you’re making preparations for your 2019 March Madness betting campaign and you’re looking for some value-packed favorites that look like they’re going to have a great chance to cover the chalk in the first round, then look no further. Thanks to the expert college basketball betting insight that you’re about to get, you’re going to have a great idea of just which favorites look like great picks to win and cover the chalk in their respective openers.

Download Our Exclusive 2019 March Madness Bracket now!

2019 March Madness First Round Betting Favorites

Florida State vs. Vermont

Florida State has only lost twice in its last 10 games and those defeats came against two teams that have earned No. 1 seeds in Duke and North Carolina. The Seminoles also beat another No. 1 seed by taking out Virginia 69-59 in the ACC Championship tournament.

It’s nice for Vermont that the Catamounts are back in the Big Dance for the second time in three years after taking down UMBC in the America East Championship Game, but I’m completely expecting Florida State to have their way in this opener while covering the chalk with room to spare as 9-point favorites.

Vermont has gone 13-27-2 ATS in their last 42 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 NCAA Tournament games. Florida State is -0-1 ATS in their last 4 NCAA Tournament games and 8-2-2 ATS in their last 12 neutral site games.

Cincinnati vs. Iowa

The Cincinnati Bearcats won three straight games to claim the AAC conference championship while beating nationally-ranked Houston 69-57 in Sunday’s championship game. Iowa has lost five of their last six games including an emphatic 74-53 blowout against Michigan the last time out. The Iowa Hawkeyes probably shouldn’t even be in the Big Dance and I believe Cincy is the super-easy pick in Round 1.

While the Bearcats have gone 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 non-conference games, the Hawkeyes are an uninspiring 1-7 ATS in their last 8 NCAA Tournament games and woeful 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games overall. Yeah…Cincy looks like a lock to cover the spread to me.

No. 8 Utah State vs. No. 9 Washington

  • When: Friday, March 22, 2019 at 6:50 PM ET
  • Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
  • 2019 March Madness Odds: Utah State -3 / Total: 135

Washington might have won the PAC-12 regular-season title but the Huskies also dropped three of their final seven games including their completely humbling 68-48 blowout loss against Oregon in the PAC-12 championship tournament last weekend.

Unfortunately for Washington, they’re going to be taking on a Utah State squad that has ripped off 10 straight wins and 17 in their last 18 games overall while winning the Mountain West Conference championship tournament by beating San Diego State 64-57 in the title game the last time out.

More importantly, the Aggies are elite at both ends of the floor in averaging 79.2 points per game (38th) while limiting the opposition to just 66.8 points per game defensively (56th). While Washington has gone 1-4 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall, Utah State has gone 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games against a team with a winning straight up record, 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS win and 7-2 ATS in their last nine games overall. Utah State is offering a ton of value in this one college basketball bettors.

2019 March Madness Expert Betting News

Help Center