NCAA Tournament odds have been available since Sunday night, giving bettors plenty of opportunities to find value while also shaping the latest March Madness lines.
The Action Network’s PRO betting tools have been ingesting all of this market activity, including updated NCAA Tournament odds movement, smart money indicators, historically-profitable strategies and expert picks to determine the smartest March Madness predictions for every first round game.
With this in mind, let’s leverage these real-time betting tools to identify Thursday’s three best NCAA Tournament picks, including:
- Howard vs. Kansas (2 p.m. ET)
- Oral Roberts vs. Duke (7:10 p.m. ET)
- Louisiana vs. Tennessee (9:40 p.m. ET)
NCAA Tournament Odds, Picks
Howard vs. Kansas Pick
2 p.m. ET | TBS
Howard vs. Kansas is a prime example of good old sharp action taking a big position and forcing a significant adjustment from oddsmakers.
Let me explain.
This total initially hit the market at 149.5 before pro bettors pounced on the Howard vs. Kansas under, driving the line down to 146 (click here for live college basketball odds) as of the time of writing.
In fact, Action Labs’ Bet Signals are reporting four separate steam moves on the under, leaving little doubt regarding the sharp side of the Howard vs. Kansas total on Thursday afternoon.
PRO pick: Under 146
_InlineAdBlock
Oral Roberts vs. Duke Pick
7:10 p.m. ET | CBS
Oral Roberts has been one of the most popular bets among the wiseguys since odds opened earlier this week.
Smart money has pushed the Golden Eagles down from +7.5 to +6.5 already this week, though the Action Network’s College Basketball PRO Projections are still finding value even after the line movement.
Our model projects this spread at Oral Roberts +3.5, meaning there’s still plenty of meat left on this bone heading into Thursday night’s matchup.
PRO Pick: Oral Roberts +6.5 |
_InlineAdBlock
Louisiana vs. Tennessee
9:40 p.m. ET | CBS
While the underdog appears to be the smart side of Oral Roberts vs. Duke, it’s the Louisiana vs. Tennessee favorite that is garnering the attention of respected bettors.
The Volunteers were available at -10.5 as recently as Tuesday morning, but that’s when wiseguys action flooded the market and inspired a move to Tennessee -11 in reaction.
PRO pick: Tennessee -11
_InlineAdBlock