2019 March Madness Second Round Betting Favorites

2019 March Madness Second Round Betting Favorites

Written by on March 22, 2019

March Madness, NCAA Basketball Betting News

Okay March Madness betting faithful…with the second round of March Madness set to get underway in just over 24 hours, now is the perfect time to offer up some early picks on a trio of favorites that are all looking good heading into their respective second round matchups.

Now, let’s find out just who these three March Madness national championship hopefuls are.

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2019 March Madness Second Round Betting Favorites

No.6 Maryland (23-10) vs. No. 3 LSU (27-6)

  • When: Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 12:10 PM ET
  • Where: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida
  • TV: CBS
  • 2019 March Madness Odds: LSU -2 / Total: 147

Analysis: No. 6 Maryland had their hands completely full against unheralded Belmont in their first round matchup on Thursday, but the Terps managed to advance by recording a nail-biting 79-77 win as front court big men Jalen Smith scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds while Bruno Fernando added 14 points and 13 boards. The Terps failed to cover the chalk as 3.5-point favorites to fall to 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.

No. 3 LSU also had a tough time on their hands against Yale before escaping with a narrow, 79-74 win as Naz Reid scored 14 points and grabbed 10 boards and Kavell Bigby-Williams added 10 points and 10 rebounds, not to mention four huge blocked shots.

Prediction

While Maryland ranks an encouraging 35th in points allowed (65.4 ppg), the Terrapins also struggle to score and average almost 10 fewer points per game than LSU (81.3 ppg). While LSU has lost just twice in its last 10 games with both defeats coming against SEC rival Florida, Maryland has dropped four of its last eight games while getting held to 62 points or less in each contest.

Maryland is just 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games and 1-7 ATS in their last 8 NCAA Tournament games. Conversely, LSU has gone 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games against teams from the Big Ten while also going 1-5 ATS in their last 16 games against a team with a winning straight up record and 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games vs. a team with a winning percentage above .600. LSU wins another fairly close affair to cover the chalk.

2019 March Madness Pick: LSU 77 Maryland 7

No. 7 Minnesota vs. No. 2 Michigan State

Analysis: Minnesota beat Louisville by five points in each half to record a surprisingly dominant 86-76 win in the first round as Gabe Kalscheur scored a

game-high 24 points and pulled down eight rebounds while Jordan Murphy added18 points and six boards and Amir Coffey also scored 18 points.  The Golden Gophers covered the chalk as 5.5-point underdogs to improve to 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.

Michigan State turned it on in the second half to subdue Bradley 76-65 in their opener, but the Spartans never came close to covering the spread as huge,17.5 point favorites. Point guard Cassius Winston scored a game high 26 points while Xavier Tillman added 16 points and eleven rebounds.

Prediction

I know Michigan State dominated Minnesota Golden 79-55 back on Feb. 9, but that was then and this is now and now I say Minnesota cover the chalk as a double-digit underdog simply because they know the Spartans well and are coming into this matchup with their confidence sky-high.

Michigan State might be 20-7 ATS in their last 27 games following a straight up win, but the Spartans are also a winless 0-4 ATS in their last 4 NCAA Tournament games. On the flip side of the coin, Minnesota has gone 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall.

Forget the fact that the favorite in this Big Ten rivalry has gone 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings and that the Golden Gophers are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings, I like Minnesota and the points college hoops bettors.

2019 March Madness Pick: Michigan State 78 Minnesota 73

No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 4 Kansas

  • When: Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 9:40 PM ET
  • Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • TV: TBS
  • 2019 March Madness Odds: Auburn -1 / Total: 147.5

Analysis: Auburn nearly blew an 8-point lead with two minutes to play before outlasting New Mexico State 78-77 in their opener as Jared Harper scored a team-high 17 points while Chuma Okeke added 13 points and leading scorer Bryce Brown chipped in with 12 points with five assists. The Tigers failed to cover the chalk as a 6-point favorite, but have won nine straight heading into the second round.

Kansas completely throttled overmatched Northeastern en route to a commanding 87-53 blowout win in their opener as Dedric Lawson put up a double-double of 25 points and11 rebounds to lead the way to victory. Devon Dotson added18 points in the win while KJ Lawson and Ochai Agbaji each added 13 points for the Jayhawks.

Prediction

Auburn might have looked fantastic in their opener while Auburn struggled mightily, but I like the Tigers to get their act together for this contest against a Kansas team that has lost three of their last nine games with all three defeats coming by at least a dozen points. Auburn has gone 4-1 ATS in their last five games against teams from the Big 12 while also going 5-2 ATS in their last seven after a straight-up win.  While Kansas has gone 6-2 ATS in their last 8 neutral site games, the Jayhawks are also a discouraging 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games following a straight up win and 0-4 ATS in their last four games following a straight up win of more than 20 points. Auburn wins and covers the chalk in a thriller.

2019 March Madness Pick: Auburn 81 Kansas 75

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