March Madness Second Round Best Bets

March Madness Second Round Best Bets 

The NCAA Tournament moves into round two on Saturday, when highly coveted spots in the Sweet 16 will be handed out. As usual, first-round action on Thursday gave us a little bit of everything – unexpected results (High Point over Wisconsin), historic comebacks (VCU over North Carolina), top-seeded scares (Duke against Siena), and absolute blowouts (especially Saint Louis over Georgia).

What will the second round do for an encore? Let’s take a look at some of the best bets to make for Saturday's action. 

NCAA Tournament Predictions: Round of 32

• Pick #1 - Duke vs. TCU Under 139.5 Total Points (-112) 
• Pick #2 - VCU +10.5 (-102) vs. Illinois 
• Pick #3 - Vanderbilt -2.5 (-110) vs. Nebraska 



PICK #1: Duke vs. TCU Under 139.5 Total Points (-112) 

Duke came out flat, and that’s an understatement, in its No. 1 vs. No 16 matchup with Siena on Thursday afternoon. The Blue Devils trailed by 11 points at halftime before making a late charge to prevail 71-65. Afterward, they admitted to thinking that the game would be a cakewalk. Head coach Jon Scheyer certainly isn’t as fiery as Mike Krzyzewski, but you can be darn sure that Scheyer is going to light a fire under his guys following their lackluster performance in round one.

Duke is normally one of the best defensive teams in college basketball, and you can expect it to restore order and play like it on Saturday. In fact, the Devils boast arguably the best defense in the business. They rank third in points per game allowed (63.2) and fifth in opponent shooting percentage (39.2%). TCU is also coming off a low-scoring tournament opener (66-64 over Ohio State), and another slow, methodical slog is likely in the cards. 

PICK #2: VCU +10.5 (-102) vs. Illinois

VCU was a trendy upset pick in round one. There is no reason for anyone to get off the bandwagon following the Rams’ performance against North Carolina. They staged the largest comeback in the history of the first round, recovering from a 19-point deficit to triumph 82-78 in overtime. Terrence Hill Jr. went wild with 34 points on 13-of-23 shooting (7-of-10 from three-point range) to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Thus continues an eye-popping hot streak for head coach Phil Martelli Jr.’s crew, which is 17-1 in its last 18 games, a stretch that features the Atlantic 10 Tournament title.

Even though Hill was a borderline one-man show on Thursday night, he generally doesn’t have to do it alone. In fact, VCU often goes 10 deep, and seven different guys are averaging at least 7.2 points per game. As for Illinois, it clobbered Penn in round one but is still a disappointing 5-5 in its last 10 outings.  

PICK #3: Vanderbilt -2.5 (-110) vs. Nebraska

As a No. 4 seed in March Madness, Nebraska certainly isn’t going to be satisfied simply with advancing one round. That said, there is something to be said for a program that just won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in history (76-47 over Troy on Thursday). Following up such an important moment with another stellar performance just two days later is not an easy task. Making things even more difficult for the Cornhuskers is that Vanderbilt is playing awesome basketball.

The Commodores recently advanced to the SEC Tournament final, knocking off Tennessee and Florida before falling to Arkansas. After taking care of McNeese 78-68 in the Round of 64, they are 5-1 in their last six contests with a trio of top-25 victories during this stretch. Tyler Tanner has scored at least 20 points in four of the last six games, including 25 or more on three of those occasions.