Top 2018 March Madness Betting Predictions for the First Round

If your March Madness betting radar perked up this past weekend, that’s no doubt to the release of the bracket for the 2018 edition — the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. We have the First Four play-in games Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by the first round of the tournament on Friday and Saturday. Take a look at some of our predictions for how your bracket might go — or how it might bust — starting with the opening round.

Top 2018 March Madness Betting Predictions for the First Round

The Bracket: https://t.co/Jr1kdnP4HV #SelectionSunday pic.twitter.com/ynxB0hfOso

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 11, 2018

Georgia State should cover against Cincinnati

The Cincinnati Bearcats hold a 2-seed and enter this game as 14-point favorites over Georgia State. However, while they did win the American Athletic Conference tournament, it was a hard fight the whole way, as they only beat SMU by 10 in the quarterfinals and only won by a single point against Houston in the finals. When Cincinnati can’t hit their jump shots, they can’t do much at all on offense, and there are no brighter lights than the ones that shine in March. Cincinnati plays a Georgia State team that packs it in with a 2-3 zone and dares you to shoot your way over them. This is also the same Georgia State team that knocked out Baylor in the first round back in 2015. D’Marcus Simonds puts up 20.9 points per game and can explode to the basket through tentative defenses. Cincinnati did play well down the stretch, but this is the team that will give coach Mick Cronin that panicked look he gets when things start to go south for the Bearcats.

Loyola-Chicago won’t bounce Miami in the first round

Yes, it’s been 33 years since the Ramblers found themselves in the men’s tournament, but Miami has a balanced offense led by freshman guard Lonnie Walker IV who should be on a lot of NBA teams’ radar when it comes draft time. The Hurricanes are playing without sophomore Bruce Brown, who went down with a stress fracture in his foot in January. Loyola-Chicago boasts Clayton Custer, the player of the year in the Missouri Valley Conference, but Custer had a hard time in his conference tournament. Can he regain his mojo in the Big Dance? I don’t see Miami having a lot of problems in this opener.

Watch out for the Thundering Herd

Wichita State comes in as a four-seed, but they lost in conference play to Houston twice (once on the road and once in the AAC Tournament), SMU and Cincinnati at home, and Temple on the road. They showed signs of struggle against teams who like to push the pace and crash the rim, and Marshall is a team that plays fast and furious. Only two teams in the nation have less time per offensive possession, which speaks to the Herd’s tempo, and they take almost 46 percent of their shots from downtown. That’s a style that Wichita State doesn’t see often — but they struggled with it against SMU and Temple. Wichita State will have to put the clamps on Marshall, who should cover against that 12-point spread.

Don’t be fooled by Oklahoma

Yes, the Sooners have an incredibly talented freshman in Trae Young. However, he has shown tremendous fatigue in his shooting, particularly in the second half of conference play. Oklahoma went 8-10 in the Big 12 and had a six-game losing streak at one point. Young can be almost impossible to guard, but he’s not nailing his open looks, and he hasn’t been in weeks. Some people like the Sooners to heat up and move into the Sweet Sixteen (which likely makes for a win over Duke in the second round), but the Sooners went out in the first round of the Big 12 tournament, losing to Oklahoma State, and haven’t shown any reason for optimism since January. Don’t make them your Cinderella — because you’ll be left with an old pumpkin and a handful of mice.