NCAAB March Madness Round of 64 underdog picks!

Who let the dogs out? [Who, who, who, who?!] Who let the dogs out? [Who, who, who, who?!] Who let the dogs out? [[who, who, who, who?!] Who let the dogs out? – Baha Men The dogs will be coming out of the yard when the first round (now officially labeled as the second round) of the 2016 NCAA March Madness national championship tournament gets underway in earnest on Thursday. You see, thanks to the triumvirate of opening round picks that you’re about to get on three underdogs that all have a chance of pulling off either outright March Madness odds win or ATS cover at the very least, you’re going to have a great chance to get your current March Madness betting campaign off to a stellar start. Okay, with that said and game day for all three matchups quickly approaching, let’s get started.

March Madness Round of 64 Underdog Picks

East Region

#MarchMadness is here! #LetsDance #Badgers pic.twitter.com/a0fMQYDdBJ

— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers) March 13, 2016

No. 10 Pittsburgh +1.5 over No. 7 Wisconsin

When: March 18, 7:50 PM Where: Scottrade Center Analysis: Wisconsin (20-12 SU, 16-16 ATS) may be favored in this match up, but simply put, they probably shouldn’t be, seeing as how Pittsburgh (21-11 SU, 12-17 ATS) averages just over seven points per game more than the Badgers while giving up just 3.3 more points per game defensively. Pittsburgh has the edge in offensive and defensive rebounding, not to mention field goal and free throw shooting. Wisconsin’s 70-58 smackdown loss against mediocre Nebraska the last time out leads me to believe the Badgers are in trouble despite the fact that analytics say Wisconsin has a 63 percent chance of winning outright. The Pick: Pittsburgh 78 Wisconsin 68

No. 8 Texas Tech +2.5 over No. 9 Butler

When: March 17, 1:40 PM Where: PNC Arena Analysis: Some analytics-based websites like fivethirtyeight.com have given No. 8 Texas Tech (19-12 SU, 15-13 ATS) just a 33 percent chance of pulling off the upset over No. 9 Butler (21-10 SU, 16-14-1 ATS) but I say their chances are a lot closer to a more realistic 50-50. Sure, the Red Raiders have lost three of their last four games, but two of those losses came against elite, nationally-ranked ballclubs in Kansas and West Virginia. Still, this is a team that beat nationally-ranked rivals in Oklahoma, Baylor, and Iowa State. Texas Tech has won six of its last nine games overall while going 6-3 ATS along the way. Make no mistake about it college hoops betting enthusiasts, Butler is a very good team, but the Bulldogs’ recent losses to Xavier, Villanova and most recently, Providence, leads me to believe the Dogs are a prime candidate to get upset in this matchup. Butler has the edge in scoring, but Texas Tech is far more athletic and has the better defense – and as we all know – defense wins championships. The Pick: Texas Tech 74 Butler 73

No. 10 Temple +7 Over No. 7 Iowa

When: March 18, 4:10 PM Where: Barclays Center Analysis: No. 10 Temple (21-11 SU, 17-13 ATS) is being given just a 28 percent chance of beating Iowa to advance to the third round, but the fact of the matter is that the Owls look pretty damn good to me as a seven-point underdog against an Iowa (21-10 SU, 14-14 ATS) ball club that has lost four of its last five games, though two of those losses came against nationally-ranked opponents. Temple has won four of its last five before getting smacked around by UConn in the A-10 tournament and should be able to cover this spread while pushing the Hawkeyes for the outright win. 69 percent of public bettors likes Temple to cover and I say rightfully so! The Pick: Iowa 71 Temple 68