Sure Betting Winners for March Madness First Round

With a total of 68 teams participating in 2016 NCAA Tournament, including a number of mid- major programs, the March Madness college basketball lines come with no shortage of options to bet on. As is tradition, the top-seeds have been favored to win their games by as many as 20-plus points, while the majority of the remaining teams are trading in the March Madness odds as single-digit favorites. Hell will probably freeze first before we hear of a first round upset of the top-seeded teams like Kansas and Virginia, so rather than waste our time discussing such obvious wins, our focus here will be on the dicey and potential big-payout matchups that will offer you the best odds of emerging victorious. That being said, here are our select winners for the first round of the 2016 March Madness.

Sure Betting Winners for March Madness First Round

No. 4 California vs. No. 13 Hawaii

After finishing the season 27-5, and hanging with the best in the league (including the three-point loss to Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners), you can be sure that the Rainbow Warriors will be tough test for the Bears, especially if the can keep up with their ball-hawking ways to generate turnovers. Unfortunately for Hawaii, the team can only go as far as Big West Player of the Year Stefan Jankovic, who averaged 15.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season, and Stefan Jankovic (shooting 37 percent from downtown) take them. This is not good news against a California team that has improved greatly in the defense in recent games, often using its extremely physical and well-executed man-to-man scheme to wear down opposing offenses. Not to forget, California boasts of a solid freshman duo in center Ivan Rabb and forward Jaylen Brown, two future NBA picks, who should be more than capable of lifting the Bears for a win. Winning NCAAB Pick: California

No. 7 Oregon State vs. No. 10 VCU, Friday March 18

Virginia Commonwealth has been a pretty decent team this season, no wonder the 2016 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings places them at a No. 35 ranking, which is way better than Oregon State’s ranking at No. 60. In essence, that’s the reason the Beavers, in spite of being seeded higher than VCU (what the hell were the Selection Sunday committee guys smoking?), are placed as underdogs for their Friday matchup. The fact that the Rams are way better than the Beavers in the offensive glass and scoring from near the rim (hitting around 60 percent of itsshots around the bucket) further makes VCU a bad matchup for Oregon State. That said, Oregon State could make this an interesting matchup if Tres Tinkle returns from a foot injury to support Olaf Schaftenaar outside the paint in terms of controlling the perimeter game. Not to forget, Oregon State is equally solid in three-point shooting, which should allow them to hang well with the Rams in a thrilling, but losing, encounter. Winning NCAAB Pick: VCU

No. 7 Iowa v. No. 10 Temple

With five losses in their last six outings, including the quarterfinal exit in the Big Ten tournament at the hands of a weak Illinois team, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why every pundit out there is backing the crestfallen Hawkeyes to fall on their swords in the first round of the Tourney. But even with their struggles, the Hawkeyes are still very talented with some solid pieces all over the field and, if they can shoot well, not even the ball-hounding Temple team will be able to stop them from claiming the win here, followed by a potential good run Tourney. Winning NCAAB Pick: Iowa

No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 St. Joseph’s

The biggest challenge with this game is that it is hard to pick one team without second-guessing yourself if you are right. DeAndre Bembry and Isaiah Miles are proven St Joe’s scorers around the rim, but they will have their work cut out for them against Cincinnati’s solid rim-protection defense. Meanwhile, the Bearcats have struggled all season in their shooting, which plays into the hands of the St. Joe’s team that is good-enough to make some key stops, especially in crunch time. So, in short, you are better off playing rock-paper-scissors to decide this one, rather than banking on my sure (but risky) pick hereafter. Winning NCAAB Pick: St. Joseph’s