There are 16 games scheduled for Friday in the 2017 March Madness first round. There are chances for several upsets. And there are other games where the favorites only need to show up to win and advance.
Without a doubt, the clashes between Oklahoma State and Miami early on Friday and later between Marquette and South Carolina are the two best meetings on the day.
Let’s do a quick review of the matchups on Friday in the first round of March Madness. Let’s give some predictions as well:
(10) Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. (7) Michigan Wolverines
- Game Time: 12:15 PM ET
- Spread: Michigan -2.5
The Wolverines are coming off an unexpected Big Ten championship. They are favored by the pay per head sportsbook by 2.5-points. The Wolverines are 4-1 ATS in their last five games as a favorite and 6-0 ATS in their last six neutral site games.
On the contrary, the Cowboys are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Friday games and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 NCAA Tournament games.
March Madness Prediction: Michigan -2.5.
(14) New Mexico State Aggies vs. (3) Baylor Bears
- Game Time: 12:40 PM ET
- Spread: Baylor -12.5
An opponent from the WAC shouldn’t be a problem for a Big 12 favorite like Baylor. The Bears jumps as favorites by 12.5 points according to the pay per head sites. The Bears are 5-2 ATS in their last seven neutral site games. The Aggies are 3-7 ATS in their last ten games as an underdog.
March Madness Prediction: Baylor -12.5
(9) Seton Hall Pirates vs. (8) Arkansas Razorbacks
- Game Time: 12:30 PM ET
- Spread: Arkansas -1
Seton Hall is a dangerous team. Those teams from the Big East are sneaky good. The Pirates are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 Friday games, 4-0 ATS in their last four games vs. a team with a winning straight up record and 19-7 ATS in their last 26 games as an underdog.
The Razorbacks are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Friday games and 1-7 ATS in their last 8 NCAA Tournament games.
March Madness Prediction: Seton Hall +1.
(14) Iona Gaels vs. (3) Oregon Ducks
- Game Time: 2:00 PM ET
- Spread: Oregon -15
This is one of the most one-sided teams in the first round of the tournament. Oregon is a 15-point favorite, and this number could go up by Friday. The Ducks are 13-6 ATS in their last 19 games as a favorite and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 NCAA Tournament games.
Ione is one of those teams only the pay per head bookies know about. The Gaels, however, are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 NCAA Tournament games as an underdog.
March Madness Prediction: Oregon -15.
(15) Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs. (2) Louisville Cardinals
- Game Time: 2:45 PM ET
- Spread: Louisville -20
You know Rick Pitino’s teams won’t allow any room for an upset. Louisville should win this game comfortably. But 20 points is too big of a spread for my taste. The Cardinals are 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall. The Gamecocks are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games vs. a team with a winning {c44f53148ca15068631231900821c84f41217af0237910c947d4979ff2d91aa8} above .600 and 6-0 ATS in their last six neutral site games.
March Madness Prediction: Jacksonville State +20.
(16) Texas Southern Tigers vs. (1) North Carolina Tar Heels
- Game Time: 4:00 PM ET
- Spread: North Carolina -27
This is the bully against the weaker side. North Carolina can’t be more of a favorite. The pph sportsbooks set them up at 27-points. The Tar Heels are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 NCAA Tournament games, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite and 19-6-2 ATS in their last 27 neutral site games as a favorite.
The Tigers are 0-4 ATS in their last four games overall and 0-4 ATS in their last four neutral site games.
March Madness Prediction: North Carolina -27.
(11) Rhode Island Rams vs. (6) Creighton Bluejays
- Game Time: 4:30 PM ET
- Spread: Even
Creighton went to the Big East Final, which lost to Villanova. But the in the path to the final they took down Providence and Xavier; both good enough teams.
Rhode Island is a physical team who will give some problems. But in the end, you need to go for the sure thing. And this case is the Big East team.
March Madness Prediction: Creighton.
(16) UC Davis vs. (1) Kansas Jayhawks
- Game Time: 6:50 PM ET
Kansas won’t play any games with these lesser teams. They will end it quickly. The Jayhawks are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 neutral site games and 11-5 ATS in their last 16 neutral site games as a favorite.
March Madness Prediction: Kansas.
(10) Wichita State Shockers vs. (7) Dayton Flyers
- Game Time: 7:10 PM ET
- Spread: Wichita State -6
We have been Wichita State fans for a while now. The Shockers are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games as a favorite and 9-4 ATS in their last 13 NCAA Tournament games. The Flyers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven neutral site games.
March Madness Predictions: Wichita.
(9) Michigan State Spartans vs. (8) Miami Hurricanes
- Game Time: 9:20 PM ET
- Spread: Miami -2
The Hurricanes were one of the worst teams against the spread this season with 13-16-1 ATS. Michigan State, on the contrary, posted an 18-13-1 ATS record when facing the price per head sportsbook.
The Spartans are 36-17-1 ATS in their last 54 games following a straight up loss. The Hurricanes are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Friday games.
March Madness Prediction: Michigan State +2.
(10) Marquette Golden Eagles vs. (7) South Carolina Gamecocks
- Game Time: 9:50 PM ET
- Spread: South Carolina -1.5
Friday Night will close with one of the best game of the first round when Marquette takes on South Carolina. The Golden Eagles can create shots and score plenty of points. The Gamecocks can’t do the same.
The Golden Eagles are 5-2 ATS in their last seven neutral site games as an underdog. The Gamecocks are 1-8 ATS in their last nine games as a favorite and 1-7 ATS in their last eight games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
March Madness Prediction: Marquette +1.5.