NCAAB · 1 year ago

NCAA March Madness Picks for Friday’s First-Round Night Games

David Connelly

Host · Writer

#12 Grand Canyon vs. #5 Saint Mary's - West Region | Friday, 10:05 p.m. ET | truTV
Saint Mary's is a scary team to be fading, but we truly believe in these Antelopes. They have high-major talent in Tyon Grant-Foster and Duke Brennan, while they boast a top-10 shooting defense and an offense that can get to the line at will.

Get SportsGrid's full West Region Preview, including odds, picks, and analysis.

The Gaels also lack a key player after losing Joshua Jefferson for the remainder of the season, a do-it-all forward that helped round out their starting lineup. That could be enough to get Grand Canyon to the upset here, and we're willing to take them with the points in this spot.

The Pick: Grand Canyon +5.5
#9 Texas A&M vs. #8 Nebraska - South Region | Friday, 6:50 p.m. ET | TNT
While Nebraska is the favored side and higher seed, the Cornhuskers really struggled away from home this season. They were a combined 5-9 in road and neutral games, with their best away win coming at Kansas State back in December. While they are a team that is quite fun to watch, it can be scary to back them away from Pinnacle Bank Arena. As for the Aggies, they should be able to dominate the glass in this one against a smaller Nebraska group outside of Rienk Mast. Back A&M to find a way here.

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The Pick: Texas A&M +1.5
#13 Vermont vs. #4 Duke - South Region | Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET | CBS
Vermont is a name that most will recognize on their brackets, a team that has been in five of the previous seven NCAA Tournaments. Unfortunately, this Catamounts team just doesn't quite hold a candle to those previous editions. The offense feels lacking, and there isn't that superstar, go-to stud who has always been there to get a bucket when needed.

Duke is lightyears ahead of Vermont in the talent department, and we expect them to be able to comfortably outscore one of John Becker's worst offenses of his tenure.

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The Pick: Duke -12.5
#13 Charleston vs. #4 Alabama - West Region | Friday, 7:35 p.m. ET | truTV
We will be fading Alabama every chance we get in this tournament. The Crimson Tide has been an outright disaster on the defensive end all season long, and it has reared its ugly head many times. Look no further than allowing teams to score at least 99 points on four separate occasions over the past six weeks.

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Charleston, on the other hand, is equipped to exploit that. They are an organized, deep, sharpshooting team that could hang with Alabama's efficient scoring and keep this one within the number.

The Pick: Charleston +9.5
#16 Longwood vs. #1 Houston - South Region | Friday, 9:20 p.m. ET | TNT
If we want to be honest with ourselves, it's a borderline miracle that Longwood has even made it this far. After going 6-10 in Big South play, they were able to string together some impressive performances to receive the auto bid, where they now will take on Big 12 champions Houston.

With a plethora of impressive two-way players, the Cougars have embarrassed plenty of opponents with some stunning scores. They regularly pummeled teams ranked outside of KenPom's top 140 this season by an average margin of 35.3 points in those wins.

This number feels incredibly short, even at -23.5, and we will gladly lay it.

Get all your seeding analysis at SportsGrid's March Madness Bracketology page.

The Pick: Houston -23.5
#12 James Madison vs. #5 Wisconsin - South Region | Friday, 9:40 p.m. ET | CBS
This is your perennial, popular 12/5 upset that everybody is talking about. And we are going to ride with it. The Badgers have largely been a shell of themselves since the start of February, outside of a surprising run in the Big Ten Tournament. They wrapped up the regular season losing eight of their last 11 games and might actually be less athletic than this Dukes team.

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It's part of why they were able to keep up with and eventually beat Michigan State on the season's opening night. James Madison enters the matchup on the nation's longest active win streak at 13 games, and we expect that to be extended on Friday night.

The Pick: James Madison +5.5
#9 TCU vs. #8 Utah State - Midwest Region | Friday, 9:55 p.m. ET | TBS
Utah State has been on a serious slump lately. Bart Torvik's T-Rank states that the Aggies have ranked 68th in the nation since the beginning of February. While it looks like they handled business well down the stretch with an 8-4 record, some double-digit losses and narrow wins against lesser opponents have harmed their metrics.

Get SportsGrid's full Midwest Region Preview, including odds, picks, and analysis.

TCU enters as a battle-tested team playing in the most difficult conference in the sport. They have the third-most experienced roster in the country, along with the athleticism and size that could really throw off Utah State.

Back the Horned Frogs as the favorites here.

The Pick: TCU -4.5
#12 Grand Canyon vs. #5 Saint Mary's - West Region | Friday, 10:05 p.m. ET | truTV
Saint Mary's is a scary team to be fading, but we truly believe in these Antelopes. They have high-major talent in Tyon Grant-Foster and Duke Brennan, while they boast a top-10 shooting defense and an offense that can get to the line at will.

Get SportsGrid's full West Region Preview, including odds, picks, and analysis.

The Gaels also lack a key player after losing Joshua Jefferson for the remainder of the season, a do-it-all forward that helped round out their starting lineup. That could be enough to get Grand Canyon to the upset here, and we're willing to take them with the points in this spot.

The Pick: Grand Canyon +5.5
#9 Texas A&M vs. #8 Nebraska - South Region | Friday, 6:50 p.m. ET | TNT
While Nebraska is the favored side and higher seed, the Cornhuskers really struggled away from home this season. They were a combined 5-9 in road and neutral games, with their best away win coming at Kansas State back in December. While they are a team that is quite fun to watch, it can be scary to back them away from Pinnacle Bank Arena. As for the Aggies, they should be able to dominate the glass in this one against a smaller Nebraska group outside of Rienk Mast. Back A&M to find a way here.

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The Pick: Texas A&M +1.5

NCAA March Madness Picks for Friday’s First-Round Night Games

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