March Madness Picks: Best NCAA Tournament Bets From Every Seed Line
By Matt Snyder
No. 12 seeds: Middle Tennessee
The No. 5 vs. No. 12 matchups can make or break your bracket. We still don’t have any teams straight-up favored to win, but Middle Tennessee is a great value pick against Minneosta. My aforementioned computer consensus gives the Blue Raiders a 45.3% chance to win. This has become a near must-have upset pick in your bracket, especially if you play in a pool with upset bonus scoring.
No. 11 seeds: Xavier
There are a number of juicy matchups in the No. 6 vs. No. 11 games this year that it’s almost a shame to just pick one here, but Xavier looks like a pick ’em against Maryland. The computers give them a 49.2% chance of winning making them the best pick from the 11 line. Rhode Island and Kansas State both have 40%+ chances to win as well.
No. 10 seeds: Wichita State
You already know this, but Wichita State is criminally under seeded in this year’s tournament. Not only are they the best No. 10 to pick, they’re a big favorite to win their game. The computers give them a 73.8% chance to beat Dayton. Take the Shockers and run.
No. 9 seeds: Vanderbilt
The eight vs. nine matchups are very close by nature, but Vanderbilt comes out as a slight favorite to win their first round matchup with Northwestern at 53.4% . The Wildcats are a nice story — they’re making their first NCAA Tournament appearance as a program — but they’re a slight underdog to the Vanderbilt Commodores.