Top 2019 March Madness Saturday Predictions for the Second Round

The first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament provided plenty of excitement — and the first major upset of the bracket, as 12-seed Murray State delivered a 19-point shellacking of 5-seed Marquette. New Mexico State, also a 12-seed, came within a single point of knocking off 5-seed Auburn, falling 78-77. 11-seed Belmont, who beat Temple in a First Four play-in to take on Maryland, lost, 79-77. Yale, a 14-seed, game within five points of eliminating a 3-seed LSU team that beat Tennessee this year. Minnesota, a 10-seed, knocked out 7-seed Louisville, as Golden Gophers coach Richard Pitino eliminated the team where his father, Rick Pitino, had such a lengthy career. We have three quality 2019 March Madness betting picks from the first day of the tournament’s second round, set for Saturday.

Top 2019 March Madness Saturday Predictions for the Second Round

🚨 SATURDAY TIP TIMES 🚨

👉 https://t.co/li2VpY0axi pic.twitter.com/QLCpNjouWq — NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) 22 de marzo de 2019

Murray State vs Florida State (-6) (6:10pm ET, TNT)

• XL Center, Hartford

Florida State narrowly escaped an upset-minded Vermont team in their opening-round game, but for the season, the Seminoles average a +7.7 point differential per game, shooting 44.1 percent from the floor. Mfiondu Kabengele leads the team with 12.9 points and 5.7 boards per game, and Terance Mann (11.2) is the team’s other double-figure scorer. The Seminoles aren’t great from downtown (33.4%), but they do pull down 37.3 boards per game. Away from Tallahassee, they have won seven of their last nine. When you read about Murray State, you expect to see the name Ja Morant, and he does lead the team with 24.6 points and 10 assists per game, but Shaq Buchanan and Tevin Brown also score in double figures, and Darnell Cowart leads the team with 6.5 boards per game. The Racers have a stout perimeter defense, permitting just 28.2 percent shooting from downtown. Perhaps most interestingly, the Racers have won seven straight games away from home. Can the Racers pull off another upset and make the Sweet Sixteen? Yes, they can. 2019 March Madness Prediction: Murray State 82, Florida State 77

Minnesota vs Michigan State (-11) (7:45pm ET, CBS)

• Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA

Conference rivals Michigan State and Minnesota meet in the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The Spartans needed a big second half to put down a plucky Bradley team in the first round, winning 76-65 but failing to cover a 17.5-point spread. Bradley knocked down nine threes to keep things close, but Michigan went 25 for 26 from the free throw line. Cassius Winston led the way with 26 points, three steals and four assists, and Xavier Tillman put up 16 points and 11 rebounds. Matt McQuaid also had ten points. Minnesota entered their tournament opener as a 5.5-point underdog but ended up beating Louisville by ten, 86-76. The Golden Gophers nailed 11 shots from downtown, and Gabe Kalscheur led the way with 24 points and eight boards. Jordan Murphy put up 18 points and six rebounds, and Amir Coffey also had 18 points. Daniel Oturu and Dupree McBrayer each scored 13 points in the win. While Michigan State should win, they haven’t covered in any of their last four March Madness contests, and this conference rivalry should motivate Minnesota to stay close. 2019 March Madness Prediction: Michigan State 74, Minnesota 71

Purdue (-3) vs Villanova (8:40pm ET, TNT)

• XL Center, Hartford

Purdue will face Villanova in the second round of the tournament after rolling by Old Dominion in their opener. The Boilermakers average 76.2 points per game, led by Carsen Edwards’ 23 points per contest. Ryan Cline (11.9) is Purdue’s other scorer in double figures. Matt Haarms leads the team with 5.4 rebounds pre game, and Nojel Eastern dishes out 2.5 assists per contest. They have won seven of their last 10 away from West Lafayette. Now they take on a Wildcats team that has been wildly inconsistent this season, losing to the likes of Penn and Furman in the early going and to Georgetown in Big East play. They almost got trapped by St. Mary’s slowdown defense in their tournament opener but survived to take on Purdue. Villanova is led by Phil Booth’s 18.6 points per game, and Eric Paschall and Collin Gillespie also score in double figures. Paschall also leads the team in rebounds, with 6.2 per game. Given the inconsistency Villanova has shown this season, though, I see Purdue coming away with the win here. 2019 March Madness Prediction: Purdue 70, Villanova 64