KSR's MyBookie Bets For Every First-Round Game

Last year, KSR made one bet for every game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, sponsored by our friends at MyBookie. We went 10-5-1 on Thursday, then 7-8-1 on Friday for an overall record of 17-13-2. With that success rate, let’s try it again in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, but first, a message from MyBookie:

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Now, let’s get this bread…

THURSDAY, MARCH 16

50/50 game as I see it. I have scribbles all over this game on my bracket to prove it. I’ll take the two points.

The Bet: Maryland +2

Furman is one of the country’s highest-scoring teams, and the Paladins will see Virginia’s pack line defense in Orlando. Furman doesn’t typically rely on 3-point shooting, which Virginia encourages, but it will make the ones it takes at a good clip and put up enough points to keep this one tight until the end. So we’re going with the point total in a trendy upset pick game.

The Bet: Over 132 pts

This will be a fun game because both teams like to get up and down and score a lot of points. Mizzou can get hot, too. We Kentucky fans know that as well as anyone, unfortunately.

The Bet: Over 155

Is Bill Self OK? And does anyone remember anything about Kentucky’s game versus Howard to open the year? It was Howard, right? Let’s get whacky with a first-half bet.

The Bet: Kansas -13 1H

Alabama beat regular Texas A&M by 19 on a neutral court at the SEC Tournament, so Alabama should be able to blow out Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by even more. I expect Nate Oats’ villains to embrace the bad boy image and make an early statement in the first afternoon session of the tournament.

The Bet: Alabama -13.5 1H

Ah, a 5-12 matchup with a trendy Cinderella pick in Charleston for its uptempo offense–though fun, San Diego State has the defense to slow things down and make it physical, and I trust the Aztecs to make it that type of game.

The Bet: Under 141.5

Arizona covers the 14.5, but let’s make one of those first-half bets again to get that money back in the account faster for a head start on betting on the Thursday evening games.

The Bet: Arizona -8 1H

We don’t know which Arkansas will show up in Des Moines. The Razorbacks could lose to Illinois in the first round or beat Kansas in the second. With two Elite Eights in the last two years, Musselman should have them ready. I’ll side with the team that has two top-10 draft picks in this one.

The Bet: Arkansas -1.5

Auburn’s guards are too hot-and-cold for me ever to put money behind, but for the sake of this exercise, I hope KD Johnson and Wendell Green’s shots are falling. Johnson will undoubtedly let everyone in the building know if his do. Need a big Johni Broome game.

The Bet: Auburn -1

Maybe the most popular upset pick in all bracket challenges, No. 12 seed Oral Roberts is getting six points in its opening round game versus ACC Tournament champ Duke in the East’s 5/12 game. I think the Blue Devils will survive, but I’ll take the six points due to youth. Duke’s freshmen may feel the pressure if this one is close in the second half.

The Bet: Oral Roberts +6

I have Texas playing in the national championship game, so let’s put that optimism behind the Longhorns early with a first-round cover versus Colgate—one small concern: Colgate can get hot from 3.

The Bet: Texas -13.5

I’m already tired of seeing the Northwestern kid, so go Boise State. We have to get Northwestern out of the tournament.

The Bet: Boise State +1

Houston gives the Norse too many points in the South’s No. 1 vs. 16 game. NKU will slow it down, zone, and make Houston hit shots. Houston doesn’t need to show its best stuff to advance. The Cougars win big but not big enough in a low-scoring finish in Birmingham.

The Bet: Northern Kentucky +20

Tennessee crawled out of the regular season with six losses in the last ten games, then failed to reach the weekend at the SEC Tournament (not that we’re judging). So unless Rick Barnes has a magic tweak to reignite that offense without its point guard, give me Louisiana to keep it within the 12.

The Bet: Louisiana +12

Texas A&M is (and should be) pissed off about the seven next to its name on the bracket. On top of that, the Aggies are probably still mad at the committee from last season when A&M was one of the tournament’s biggest snubs. So what happens when A&M is livid in the tournament? I don’t know. It’s the first one under Buzz Williams. We’ll all find out together. That defense trying to stop All-American Jalen Pickett is a big matchup.

The Bet: Texas A&M -3

Asheville’s seventh-best player will hit a meaningless 3-pointer to backdoor cover, making his only three points in the game very meaningful to some, like us.

The Bet: UNC Asheville +17.5

FRIDAY, MARCH 17

Izzo in March! You’ve heard it a lot this week. He’ll spend this one at the beach once USC sends the Spartans home in the first round.

The Bet: USC +2

These are too high-scoring teams, and Kennesaw might be good enough to keep up. Shall we get Friday rolling with a high over to go with our upset of Mr. March? Let’s do it.

The Bet: Over 154

Baylor is so excited to see a team other than Iowa State. And those Baylor guards are good.

The Bet: Baylor -11

I like Saint Mary’s, but with a total of 122.5, I have to take the over here. Show me a free-throw contest at the end to get us there.

The Bet: Over 122.5

Vermont had a fantastic turnaround from 8-10 to start the season to 15 straight wins from there, only to run into Marquette, my pick to win the East, in the first round of the Big Dance. The win streak ends at 15, but the Catamounts go down clawing.

The Bet: Vermont +11

Iowa State is so upset to see a team other than Baylor. And Pittsburgh can fill it up.

The Bet: Pittsburgh +4

Both teams got bounced from their conference tournaments in blowout fashion. Neither team is getting embarrassed again. They trade daggers until the end.

The Bet: NC State +5.5

Rick Pitino is due for a promotion in the coaching ranks, and here’s a chance to freshen up his resume. UConn wins. Gaels cover.

The Bet: Iona +9.5

Awaiting play-in opponent and betting lines.

The Bet: —-

Kentucky is a flawed team, but the Wildcats aren’t going out with three consecutive losses on Senior Night, in the SEC quarterfinals, and then in the tournament’s first round. Not after last year. The universe isn’t designed to handle that kind of collapse. Cats refuse to lose in the first round and win comfortably.

The Bet: Kentucky -3.5

This is the only game I still need to fill out on my bracket because the outcome likely relies on the playing status of Miami star Norchad Omier, who is day-to-day with an ankle injury. I guess he plays, in which case, the Hurricanes advance. But if he doesn’t or is limited, Drake wins outright.

The Bet: Miami -2

Gonzaga’s in my Final Four out of the most challenging region.

The Bet: Gonzaga -15

Memphis is a top-20 team in KenPom, the 2023 AAC Tournament champion, and its only losses since New Year’s Day were in double-overtime, overtime, and against Houston.

The Bet: Memphis -2

Jerome Tang’s first NCAA Tournament as a head coach, in his first year as a head coach, two tournaments since he was Scott Drew’s associate head coach at Baylor when Baylor won it all in 2021. He knows the right things to say and do here.

The Bet: Kansas State -8.5

Indiana is on upset alert. The Hoosiers struggle outside Assembly Hall, and Kent State won’t be intimidated by a brand of college basketball that died with Chi-Chi’s restaurants and the VCR. Trayce Jackson-Davis is good, though. Guard him.

The Bet: Kent State +4

Awaiting play-in opponent and betting lines