Welcome to March Madness!
There are 16 games Thursday as the first round of the NCAA Tournament tips off. Three No. 1 seeds (Alabama, Houston and Kansas) are in action, and all of them are heavily favored.
We’ll be following the action from all the games. Refresh this blog throughout the day to track bad beats, buzzer beaters, bracket busters, ATS results and more.
UPDATES
10:40 a.m.: Second-half line: Virginia -1½, total 69½.
10:38 a.m.: They are about to get underway in Sacramento. It appears that Missouri will be without team captain Tre Gomillion.
No. 10 Utah State (-1½, 155½, -120) vs. No. 7 Missouri (Even), 10:40 a.m.
10:31 a.m.: HALFTIME. Virginia 32, Furman 27. The Cavaliers never trailed and covered as 3-point favorites when a late 3-point attempt by Furman clanked off. Tough beat for bettors with an over 59½ ticket, too. Furman missed a free throw with 44 seconds, and Virginia committed a turnover to give the Paladins a final possession.
10:19 a.m.: Now seeing 71½ for Maryland-West Virginia second-half total.
10:12 a.m.: Second-half line: West Virginia -2½, total 72.
10:10 a.m.: HALFTIME: Maryland 32, West Virginia 30. The Terrapins recovered from a frigid start, and Patrick Emilien’s turnaround jumper with 36 seconds left gave Maryland the first-half cover as 1½-point underdogs and +115 on the money line. Maryland missed a shot at the buzzer that would have sent the total over 62½.
Maryland ends the half on a 26-11 run to take the lead 🔥#MarchMadness @TerrapinHoops pic.twitter.com/Ltu94AyJrR
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 16, 2023
10:01 a.m.: Furman was a trendy underdog with bettors, but Virginia is off to a 17-10 lead at halfway mark of the first half. The Cavaliers are -450 on the live line (Furman +340), spread -8½, total 125½.
9:52 a.m.: Maryland has recovered from its slow start and leads West Virginia 22-21 with 6 minutes left in the first half. It’s a 16-2 run for the Terrapins. West Virginia is -135 on the live line (Maryland +105), spread -1½, total 137½.
9:45 a.m.: Virginia is out to an early 11-3 lead and cashes the first team to 10 points prop at -155.
9:42 a.m.: Maryland fnally breaks a scoring drought that lasted nearly 8 minutes of game time. West Virginia leads 19-6 midway through the first half and is -550 on the live line (Maryland +375), spread -8½, total 131½.
9:38 a.m.: The next game is about to begin.
No. 13 Furman (+200) vs. No. 4 Virginia (-5½, 130½, -240), 9:40 a.m.
9:23 a.m.: Westgate SuperBook has props on the first team to score 10 points in a game. West Virginia cashes at -120 and leads Maryland 11-4 with 15:12 left in the first half. The Terrapins are out of sorts early against West Virginia’s pressure with five early turnovers.
9:12 a.m.: The first game is about to tip off. Last chance to make any changes to your bracket. Glgl, everyone.
No. 9 West Virginia (-2½, 136½, -145) vs. No. 8 Maryland (+125), 9:15 a.m.
9:05 a.m.: Some notable line movement this morning:
— San Diego State to -5½ from -5
— Virginia to -5½ from -6
— Tennessee to -11 from -11½
— Alabama to -24½ from -24
— West Virginia to -2½ from -3
— Northwestern to -2 from -1½
8:30 a.m.: Here is today’s schedule, with point spreads, money lines and totals:
No. 9 West Virginia (-3, 137½, -155) vs. No. 8 Maryland (+135), 9:15 a.m.
No. 13 Furman (+220) vs. No. 4 Virginia (-6, 132, -260), 9:40 a.m.
No. 10 Utah State (-1½, 155½, -125) vs. No. 7 Missouri (+105), 10:40 a.m.
No. 16 Howard (+2,000) vs. No. 1 Kansas (-22, 146, -10,000), 11 a.m.
No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (+2,000) vs. No. 1 Alabama (-24, 154½, -10,000), 11:45 a.m.
No. 12 College of Charleston (+185) vs. No. 5 San Diego State (-5, 142½, -215), 12:10 p.m.
No. 15 Princeton (+850) vs. No. 2 Arizona (-15, 154, -1500), 1:10 p.m.
No. 9 Illinois (+115) vs. No. 8 Arkansas (-2, 144, -135), 1:30 p.m.
No. 9 Auburn (-1½, 151½, -120) vs. No. 8 Iowa (Even), 3:50 p.m.
No. 12 Oral Roberts (+240) vs. No. 5 Duke (-6, 146, -280), 4:10 p.m.
No. 15 Colgate (+700) vs. No. 2 Texas (-13½, 150½, -1,100), 4:25 p.m.
No. 10 Boise State (+110) vs. No. 7 Northwestern (-1½, 128½, -130), 4:35 p.m.
No. 16 Northern Kentucky (+1,500) vs. No. 1 Houston (-18½, 121½, -5,000), 6:20 p.m.
No. 13 Louisiana (+500) vs. No. 4 Tennessee (-11½, 136, -700), 6:40 p.m.
No. 10 Penn State (+125) vs. No. 7 Texas A&M (-2½, 134½, -145), 6:55 p.m.
No. 15 UNC-Asheville (+1,200) vs. No. 2 UCLA (-17½, 136, -3,000), 7:05 p.m.
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
