NCAA Tournament: March Madness Betting Odds & Notes (March 22)

Julian Miller
Written by: Julian Miller

After an exciting first full day of the 2024 NCAA Tournament featuring 16 (mostly) great games, the second full day of March Madness is upon us. We’ve gone through as many college basketball stats as we could get our hands on to highlight some of the most interesting betting nuggets for each matchup scheduled to take place on Friday.

Take a look at them below and keep them in mind while you’re putting together your March Madness picks for March 22.

Early games

All odds courtesy of

(9) Northwestern vs. (8) Florida Atlantic – 12:15 p.m. ET

  • Florida Atlantic has won nearly 80% of the games in which the Owls have been favoured by -155 or more on the moneyline this season, while Northwestern has lost more than half of the games in which the Wildcats have been +125 or worse on the moneyline.
  • Florida Atlantic has averaged 82.5 points per game this season (16th-best in the country) and went 21-4 overall when the team scored more than 69 points, which is about what Northwestern gave up to opponents per game on average.
  • Northwestern has averaged just 67 possessions per game this season (334th in the nation) and that number has dropped to only 63.6 possessions per game since star guard Ty Berry suffered a season-ending knee injury in February.

(14) Colgate vs. (3) Baylor – 12:40 p.m. ET

  • Baylor has made an average of 8.6 three-pointers per game this season, but Colgate has held opponents to shooting just 29.8% from behind the three-point line (14th-lowest in the nation).
  • Baylor has averaged nearly 23 free throw attempts and 17 free throws made per game this season, but Colgate only averaged 13.5 personal fouls per game this season (5th-lowest in the nation) leading to an average of 14.2 trips to the free throw line for opposing teams.
  • Baylor has started off slow in many of its recent games, covering the first-half spread in just four of its last 14 contests.

(12) UAB vs. (5) San Diego State – 1:45 p.m. ET

  • UAB gave up an average of 75.2 points per game this season, and San Diego State finished with a 12-1 record when the Aztecs scored more than 75 points in games this year.
  • San Diego State held opponents to an average of just 66.6 points per game this season (36th in the nation), while UAB is used to scoring 77.8 points per game.
  • UAB went 20-12 against the spread this season, including a 7-3 record against the spread over its last 10 games, while San Diego State went just 13-18 against the spread throughout its season.

Bet on UAB vs. San Diego St.

UAB +7
SDS -7

Bet Now!

(15) Western Kentucky vs. (2) Marquette – 2 p.m. ET

  • Western Kentucky went 8-3 against the spread as underdogs this season, and Marquette was just 3-2-1 against the spread during games played at neutral sites.
  • Marquette averaged just 32.8 rebounds per game this season (285th in the country), while Western Kentucky was the 24th-best rebounding team in the nation with 39 rebounds per game.
  • Western Kentucky allowed an average of 74.1 points per game this season, and Marquette finished 13-5 against the spread when the Golden Eagles scored over 74 points in games.

(16) Stetson vs. (1) Connecticut – 2:45 p.m. ET

  • Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley has gone just 1-2 against the spread in first-round games in the NCAA Tournament throughout his time with the Huskies.
  • Connecticut has played some of its worst defence against Quad-4 opponents like Stetson this season, allowing six of its nine Quad-4 opponents to go over their team totals by an average of seven points.
  • Stetson averaged 77 points per game this season and went 14-7 against the spread when scoring over 64 points, while Connecticut held its opponents to just 64.4 points per game this year.

(11) New Mexico vs. (6) Clemson – 3:10 p.m. ET

  • New Mexico covered the spread in all four of its Mountain West Conference Tournament games and has won six straight games against the spread heading into the 2024 NCAA Tournament, while Clemson has only covered the spread in one of its last five games.
  • New Mexico, which averaged 81.7 points per game this season (21st in the nation), went over the game total in 13 of its last 16 games before going under the game total in all four of its MWC Tournament games, while Clemson stayed under the game total in seven of its final 10 games.
  • New Mexico averaged 17.6 personal fouls per game this season (239th in the nation) and allowed opponents to shoot nearly 20 free throws per game, while Clemson’s leading scorer, 6-foot-10 center PJ Hall, shot nearly 80% from the free-throw line this year.

(13) Yale vs. (4) Auburn – 4:15 p.m. ET

  • Yale averaged just 68.2 possessions per game this season and held opponents to only 66.6 points per contest (39th-lowest in the nation), while Auburn often pushed the pace and averaged 83.3 points per game (13th-highest in the country).
  • Despite its high-scoring offence, Auburn went under the game total in all three of its SEC Tournament games, and the Tigers finished the regular season going under the game total in 17 of their 31 games.
  • Yale was a double-digit underdog in just one game this season (-15.5 to Kansas on Dec. 22) and managed to cover the spread by half a point.

(10) Colorado vs. (7) Florida – 4:30 p.m. ET

  • Florida went over the game total in 23 of its 35 games this season, while Colorado went over the game total in 20 of its 33 games.
  • Florida finished its season with an 18-4 record in games in which the Gators were favoured by -120 or more on the moneyline, while Colorado finished with a 2-3 record in games where the Buffaloes were +100 or worse on the moneyline.
  • Colorado averaged 78.7 points per game this season and finished with a 12-6 record against the spread and a 16-2 record overall when scoring more than 78.5 points, which is what Florida allowed its opponents to score on average per game.

Late games

All odds courtesy of

(9) Texas A&M vs. (8) Nebraska – 6:50 p.m. ET

  • Nebraska has won 13 of the 14 games this season in which the Cornhuskers have been favoured by at least -115 on the moneyline.
  • Nebraska has gone over the game total in seven of its last 10 games, while Texas A&M has gone over the game total in eight of its last 10 games.
  • Nebraska averaged 77.6 points per game this season and went 17-4 against the spread when scoring 71 points or more, which is right around what Texas A&M gave up to opponents per game on average this year.

(13) Vermont vs. (4) Duke – 7:10 p.m. ET

  • Duke and Vermont have both only gone over the game total twice in their last 10 games, and Duke has a 13-18 o/u record this season while Vermont has a 9-21 o/u record.
  • Duke shoots almost 38% from the three-point line on average (15th-highest in the nation), while Vermont has held opponents to 31% from three (46th-lowest in the country) this season.
  • Vermont went 0-2 against Quad 1 opponents like Duke this season and failed to cover the spread in both of those losses.

Bet on Vermont vs Duke

UVM +12.5
DUKE -12.5

Bet Now!

(16) Grambling State vs. (1) Purdue – 7:25 p.m. ET

  • Grambling State played six Quad-1 opponents like Purdue this season and lost all six games by an average of 31 points, while Purdue played three Quad-4 opponents like Grambling State and won all three games by an average of 34 points.
  • Purdue averaged 40.4 rebounds per game this season (11th-highest in the nation) and allowed opponents to grab just 29.7 rebounds per game, while Grambling State averaged just 32.4 rebounds per game and allowed opponents to grab 33 rebounds per game.
  • Purdue finished the season with a +427 scoring differential overall and outscored its opponents by about 13 points per game, while Grambling State finished with a -42 scoring differential overall and was outscored by its opponents by just over one point per game.

(13) Charleston vs. (4) Alabama – 7:35 p.m. ET

  • Alabama averaged the most points per game in the country by tallying 90.8 points per contest, but they also allowed just over 81 points per game, which helps explain the Crimson Tide’s 17-15 record against the spread.
  • Alabama covered the spread in just one of its last seven games heading into the NCAA Tournament, while Charleston covered the spread in five of its final seven contests.
  • Alabama finished the regular season with a 24-8 o/u record and went over the game total in 10 of its last 11 games despite many of them landing in the 170s.

(16) Longwood vs. (1) Houston – 9:20 p.m. ET

  • Longwood gave up an average of 67.9 points per game this season, and Houston finished with a 15-6 record against the spread when scoring more than 68 points.
  • Houston forced opponents to commit almost 16 turnovers per game this season (12th-highest in the country), while Longwood ranked 257th overall in turnover rate in the nation.
  • Houston held opponents to a three-point shooting percentage of just 30% this season (18th-lowest in the nation), while Longwood finished 338th overall in three-point percentage.

(12) James Madison vs. (5) Wisconsin – 9:40 p.m. ET

  • James Madison had five players who shot at least three three-pointers per game this season and finished with a three-point shooting percentage of over 35%, while Wisconsin ranked 344th overall in the nation when it came to three-point defence.
  • Wisconsin has gone over the game total in eight of its last 10 games, while James Madison has gone over the game total in six of its last 10 contests.
  • James Madison, which averaged 84.4 points per game this season (10th-best in the nation), went 26-2 this year when scoring more than 69 points, which is about what Wisconsin gave up to opponents on average this year.

(9) TCU vs. (8) Utah State – 9:55 p.m. ET

  • TCU lost four of its last six games entering the NCAA Tournament, and it also failed to cover the spread in four of its last six games.
  • Utah State assembled an 8-6 record against Quad-1 and Quad-2 teams this season, while TCU was only able to put up an 8-12 record against Quad-1 and Quad-2 opponents.
  • TCU’s leading scorer Emanuel Miller (15.9 points per game) is expected to play against Utah State, but he’s still recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the Horned Frogs’ Big 12 Tournament loss to Houston.

(12) Grand Canyon vs. (5) Saint Mary’s – 10:05 p.m. ET

  • Saint Mary’s enters its NCAA Tournament matchup with Grand Canyon having won nine of its last 10 games and putting together an 8-2 record against the spread.
  • Saint Mary’s registered the largest rebounding margin in the country this season, grabbing an average of 12 more rebounds than its opponents per game, while Grand Canyon also put forth a respectable rebounding margin by grabbing five more rebounds per game than its opponents (34th in the country).
  • Saint Mary’s allowed just 58.7 points per game (2nd-lowest in the country behind only Houston), while Grand Canyon averaged 79.8 points per game.