March Madness best bets for day 2 featuring Michigan State and Kansas State

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The NCAA Tournament begins today, March 16, as sports fans across the country will be tuned into March Madness. There are a plethora of games today and tomorrow, so make sure to read all of our experts’ March Madness best bets at MLive.com. Our experts are excited to watch the Madness, so they identified two picks for Friday’s slate, which you can bet on if you join FanDuel Sportsbook.

Let’s dive into our experts’ March Madness best bets for Day 2 of the tournament and explain why we anticipate a big win for the Kansas State Wildcats.

Register here for a new FanDuel Sportsbook account to earn $200 worth of bonus bets after signing up and risking $20 on any of our experts’ March Madness best bets.

Our experts have already sent out multiple March Madness predictions, but there are plenty of games to bet on today and tomorrow, so we have a few more. We highlighted the USC vs. Michigan State game in this article, but we think our game total (over/under) pick is worth doubling down on.

Additionally, our experts will cover the Montana State vs. Kansas State matchup that takes place Friday at 9:40 PM ET, so you’ll have multiple March Madness best bets that you can fade or follow if you for a new FanDuel account today.

Let’s dive into our experts’ analysis and explain the reasoning behind their USC vs. Michigan State and Montana State vs. Kansas State predictions.

As we said above, our experts already covered the USC vs. Michigan State game earlier this week, and we highlighted Under 137.5 points as our main prediction. Well, we’re back to tell you how much we love that pick because another one of our March Madness best bets is for there to be Under 64.5 points in the first half (-114 at FanDuel).

Both teams’ defenses can stop what each opposing offense will do on Friday, which will turn points into a premium. The Spartans love to run the pick-and-roll, but the Trojans are in the 87th percentile at defending it. On the other hand, USC loves to push the ball in transition, but the Spartans are one of the best teams in the country at stopping teams in transition.

Michigan State averages 67.8 possessions per game (291st in the country), while USC averages 70.7 (149th in the country). As you can see, there is a large gap between the two squads’ tempo, and we think MSU head coach Tom Izzo will help his team control the pace of the contest. If that happens, we should see very few first-half points.

USC averaged 33.1 first-half points per game this season (165th in the country), while Michigan State averaged 32.7 (184th in the country). Both offenses would have to play to their potential in the opening game Friday, and we don’t see that happening. Anticipate a low-scoring contest to open Friday’s slate, as the first prediction for our experts’ March Madness best bets is Under 64.5 1H points (-114 at FanDuel) for USC vs. Michigan State.

The next game we love tips off at 9:40 PM ET Friday night. The Montana State Bobcats will battle the Kansas State Wildcats, and we think KSU can win big. Montana State won the Big Sky tournament to earn an automatic bid, but they didn’t play their best down the stretch and went 3-6 against the spread in their previous nine contests.

The Bobcats don’t have much experience against NCAA Tournament teams, as they only faced two teams in the Field of 64, which were Grand Canyon and Arizona. Grand Canyon dispatched Montana State 60-54, while the Wildcats won 85-64. While we don’t think Kansas State is as good as Arizona, they have the tools to frustrate Montana State and could jump on them early.

Kansas State was in the top 25 most of the season, but they’ll be disappointed they lost in the first round of the Big 12 tournament to TCU. However, this squad has taken down Baylor (twice), Iowa State, Kansas, TCU, Texas and West Virginia in conference play and dispatched Nevada, who just lost in a First Four matchup to Arizona State. That’s eight NCAA Tournament teams they’ve beaten, indicating the difference between them and the Bobcats.

For upsets to happen, underdogs need to take care of the basketball and hit three-pointers. However, Montana State averaged just 5.6 threes per game (332nd in the country), so we don’t think they’ll be able to knock down shots early. Therefore, we’ll back Kansas State -8.5 (-110 at FanDuel) as another one of our March Madness best bets.

Our experts already highlighted why we love Alabama to cut down the nets this March, so make sure you read their analysis in this article. Essentially, the Crimson Tide have a first-team All-American in Brandon Miller, and they can outshoot anyone in the country if they’re on their A-game.

Not only does Bama possess a perennial star surrounded by players that can shoot from deep, but they are extremely good at stopping their opponents from three. This is extremely valuable come tournament time because upsets can easily stem from an underdog hitting multiple three-pointers in a row to help gain momentum. Alabama held their opponents to 28.1% shooting from deep this season, indicating how much emphasis head coach Nate Oats puts on his team’s perimeter defense.

Not only do we love Alabama’s squad, but their path to the Final Four isn’t too difficult. Alabama has +150 odds to win the South Region, and the next three teams with the shortest odds at Arizona (+350), Baylor (+600) and Creighton (+850). The Crimson Tide wouldn’t play any of those teams until the Elite 8, which is a major plus.

Overall, Alabama is the most complete team in the country outside of Houston, and the injury to Houston’s Marcus Sasser is the major reason why we’re staying off the Cougars. Our experts’ March Madness outright winner prediction is on Alabama (+750 at FanDuel).

If you want to fade or follow any of our experts’ March Madness best bets, make sure you activate a new FanDuel account today. If you do, you can earn 10x your initial bet in bonus bets. So, if you sign up and risk $10, you’ll receive $100 worth of bonus bets, or you can risk the maximum amount of $20 to unlock $200 worth of bet credits.

The best part about this welcome bonus is that you don’t even need a promo code. Whether you want to bet on USC vs. Michigan State, Montana State vs. Kansas State or an outright winner future, make sure you become a FanDuel member to earn up to $200 worth of bonus bets for March Madness.

The NCAA Tournament officially gets underway on Thursday, and there are plenty of games to watch and bet on at FanDuel Sportsbook. Here is the entire schedule for the first two days:

South Region:

Thursday, March 16:

• #8 Maryland vs. #9 West Virginia - 12:15 PM ET, CBS
• #4 Virginia vs. #13 Furman - 12:40 PM ET, truTV
• #7 Missouri vs. #10 Utah State - 1:40 PM ET, TNT
• #1 Alabama vs. #16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - 2:45 PM ET, CBS
• #5 SDSU vs. # 12 Charleston - 3:10 PM, truTV
• #2 Arizona vs. #15 Princeton - 4:10 PM ET, TNT

Friday, March 17

• #3 Baylor vs. #14 USCB - 1:30 PM ET, TNT
• #6 Creighton vs. #11 NC State - 4 PM ET, TNT

East Region:

Thursday, March 16:

• #5 Duke vs. #12 Oral Roberts - 7:10 PM ET, CBS
• #4 Tennessee vs. #13 Louisiana - 9:40 PM ET, CBS

Friday, March 17

• #7 Michigan State vs. #10 USC - 12:15 PM ET, CBS
• #2 Marquette vs. #15 Vermont - 2:45 PM ET
• #1 Purdue vs. #16 TxSou/FDU - 6:50 PM ET, TNT
• #6 Kentucky vs. #11 Providence - 7:10 PM ET, CBS
• #8 Memphis vs. #9 Florida Atlantic - 9:20 PM ET, TNT
• #3 Kansas State vs. #14 Montana State - 9:40 PM ET, CBS

Midwest Region:

Thursday, March 16:

• #8 Iowa vs. #9 Auburn - 6:50 PM ET, TNT
• #2 Texas vs. #15 Colgate - 7:25 PM ET, TBS
• #1 Houston vs. #16 N. Kentucky - 9:20 PM ET, TNT
• #7 Texas A&M vs. #10 Penn State - 9:55 PM ET, TBS

Friday, March 17

• #3 Xavier vs. #14 Kennesaw State - 12:40 PM ET, truTV
• #6 Iowa State vs. #11 Pittsburgh - 3:10 PM ET, truTV
• #5 Miami (FL) vs. #12 Drake - 7:25 PM ET, TBS
• #4 Indiana vs. #13 Kent State - 9:55 PM ET, TBS

West Region:

Thursday, March 16:

• #1 Kansas vs. #16 Howard - 2 PM ET, TBS
• #8 Arkansas vs. #9 Illinois - 4:30 PM ET, TBS
• #7 Northwestern vs. #10 Boise State - 7:35 PM ET, truTV
• #2 UCLA vs. #15 N.C. Asheville - 10:05 PM ET, truTV

Friday, March 17

• #5 St. Mary’s vs. #12 VCU - 2 PM ET, TBS
• #4 UCONN vs. #13 Iona - 4:30 PM ET, TBS
• #3 Gonzaga vs. #14 Grand Canyon - 7:35 PM ET, truTV
• #6 TCU vs. #11 ASU/Nevada - 10:05 PM ET, truTV

No matter which game you want to bet on today and tomorrow, make sure you for a new FanDuel account to make the most of our experts’ March Madness best bets. Remember, you can earn $200 worth of bonus bets without needing a promo code if you join FanDuel today.

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