Top March Madness Betting Games for First Round

The NCAA Tournament has arrived. The big dance is here! There are 68 teams remaining, and we will see 67 games to name a champion. We have two games we want to discuss when it comes to a betting preview. These are both featuring top seeds in the tournament. The first game is the UConn Huskies against the Stetson Hatters, while the second is the Houston Cougars taking on the Longwood Lancers. Let’s see the March Madness Top Betting Games in the First Round:

2024 March Madness Top Betting Games Preview 1st Round: #1 Uconn vs #16 Stetson and #1 Houston vs #16 Longwood | College Basketball Betting Analysis for the NCAA Tournament

UConn Huskies -26.5 vs. Stetson Hatters

The Stetson Hatters, out of DeLand Florida are finally in the big dance. This Atlantic Sun team lost their regular season finale to North Florida. But, a win over Queens, Jacksonville and Austin Peay got them into the big dance. Stetson was really good on the offensive side in the tournament, as they scored 88 points per game. On the season, the Hatters are scoring 77.5 points per game. The man to look for is Jalen Blackmon. The 6’3 guard poured in 43 points in the win over Austin Peay. He has gone seven straight games scoring double digits per game. The Haters are also getting 13.8 per game from Stephan Swenson.

The defending national champions have won seven straight games. That was after a big time loss to Creighton. The Huskies are scoring 81.5 points per game, and making gnarly 50% of their shots on the season. The Huskies have a ton of offensive firepower. The top scorers for UConn include Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer. Those two are combining for nearly 30 points per game. The Huskies appear to be locked and loaded and ready to repeat.

The UConn Huskies are -26.5 in this game. The Huskies are the biggest favorite to win in round 1. The Huskies seem to be locked and loaded, and Coach Hurley is not going to let them have a let down. Their talent is strong. In the end though, the Hatters hit some shots and keep the high betting spread within reach. The Huskies win the game, and win it easily, but Stetson covers +26.5! UConn gets a chance to move to the sound round and take on the winner of Florida Atlantic or Northwestern.

NCAAB Lines: UConn -26.5 vs Stetson | Vegas College Basketball Odds MyBookie Basketball Lines

Houston Cougars -23.5 vs. Longwood Lancers

The Longwood Lancers are 21-13. They finished 5th in the Big South, but took down the conference title with three straight wins. They beat UNC Asheville in the title game by scoring 85 points. During the conference tournament, the Lancers scored 74.5 points per game. The top scorer for the Longwood Lancers has been Walyn Napper. Napper has scored double digits in eight straight games. In the conference title game, he was held to 10, but he had 46 during the event.

The Houston Cougars are looking to come off a blowout loss in the Big 12 title game. Kelvin Sampson’s team won the Big 12 regular season, and was dominant. The Cougars are one of the best defensive teams in the country. Houston’s L.J Cryer, and Jamal Shead are two of the toughest players in the country to guard. Houston has their eyes on the prize, winning two games and getting to travel to Dallas for the sweet 16 and Elite 8.

The Houston Cougars are massive favorites here. Houston is listed at -23.5. Look for the Lancers to hang around awhile, but a struggle in scoring will come late, and the Cougars will run away. Taking Houston -23.5 is the bet to make here, as they bounce back in a big way and head to face either Nebraska or Texas A+M in the second round.

NCAAB Lines: Houston-23.5 vs. Longwood | Vegas College Basketball Odds MyBookie Basketball Lines

There you have it. Those are our Top Betting Games Preview for first round games.