Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
By Chris Marler
It was a lackluster start to say the least on day one of the tournament. Not from a games standpoint, but from a picks standpoint.
The games were awesome. Both went down to the wire, one ending with a missed buzzer beater and the other ending with Texas hitting a 19 footer with :01 second left to win their first game of the tournament.
It was wild to see Texas and NC State struggle so much from the field, as both shot under 40 percent and couldn’t seem to buy a bucket in the first half. NC State had four missed layups in the first 20 minutes, and the first bet of the tournament on the over was cooked from jump.
The final score of 68-66 was 134 combined points between the two teams. That was 65 less than the two scored in their first meeting of the year earlier this season. Brutal, just brutal.
SEAN MILLER ALMOST STRANGLED HIS ASSISTANT 😂😂😂
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) March 18, 2026
Best Bets
- Lehigh ML
- SMU -5.5
Let Me Explain
Lehigh is a 3.5 point favorite over Prairie View A&M. I know nothing about either team, I just know that we need a win so we are going to take the easy road of betting the moneyline of the favorite to see which No. 16 seed gets the right to advance into a 40 point loss against Florida in the next round on Friday.
The game I will actually weigh in on with factual information is No. 11 Miami (Ohio) versus No. 11 SMU. The winner will play Tennessee on Friday, and both were on the bubble as the last team in the field on Selection Sunday.
I don’t think either team is necessarily great, and SMU was an eyelash short of being left out of the field entirely instead of 17-16 Auburn. Miami (Ohio) was one of the best storylines of the season this year, as they came just two games shy of entering the tournament undefeated on the season. They finished the regular season 31-0 before losing in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament.
Things got HEATED after the Miami (OH)-Ohio game 😳pic.twitter.com/eXlMhdyMK5
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 7, 2026
They truly are a great story, and I’m happy they made the tournament, but they were running on fumes to finish the season, winning their last three games by two points apiece. What’s most concerning is that they played 32 games this season and not a single one was against a Quad 1 team. That is almost impossible to do. They also finished the year with a strength of schedule ranked No. 296 in the country. Take SMU.
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